Nintendo has officially released its financial results for the holiday quarter of 2025 (Q3 FY2026), and the figures paint a picture of a company at a crossroads. While the Nintendo Switch 2 is shattering records, the stock market has reacted with a cold shoulder, sending shares diving by 11% in a single day.
The Record Breaker:
The Switch 2 has cemented its status as the fastest-selling console in Nintendo's history. Since its launch in June 2025, it has reached 17.37 million units shipped, already surpassing the lifetime sales of the Wii U in just seven months. For comparison, the original Switch took nearly a year to hit similar milestones.
The Best-Selling Console Ever?
Meanwhile, the original Nintendo Switch has officially reached 155.37 million units, finally surpassing the Nintendo DS to become the company’s best-selling hardware of all time. It is now only 5 million units away from dethroning the PlayStation 2 as the king of all gaming consoles.
Why the 11% Stock Crash?
Despite the "green" numbers, investors are nervous for three main reasons:
Thin Software Lineup: Beyond hits like Mario Kart World (14 million copies), the upcoming first-party schedule looks light. Analysts worry that without a "Zelda-sized" blockbuster in 2026, momentum might stall.
Profit Margin Pressure: The Switch 2 costs more to manufacture than its predecessor. Combined with a global memory chip crunch driven by the AI boom, Nintendo’s profit margins are being squeezed.
Conservative Forecasts: Nintendo kept its full-year profit forecast unchanged at 370 billion yen ($2.4 billion), which missed high-flying market expectations.
The Verdict:
Nintendo is winning the hardware war, but the "honeymoon phase" of the Switch 2 launch is ending. The focus now shifts to software. With Mario Tennis Fever arriving this month and Pokémon Pokopia in March, the Big N needs to prove that its "handcrafted" games can keep up with the hardware’s lightning-fast start.
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