Nintendo Switch 2 sales fall 41% to 2.67 million after price rises driven by the memory chip shortage

Nintendo sold 2.67 million Switch 2 consoles in the three months to 30 September 2026, down 41% from a year earlier, after raising the console's price to cover soaring memory chip costs, CNBC reported on Thursday 5 November 2026. Sales were also below the 3.82 million sold in the April to June quarter.

The numbers

Why sales fell

Memory chips are a core part of every console, and a global shortage has pushed their prices up sharply this year. Nintendo raised the Switch 2 price in Japan early in the year and then in the US and Canada during the quarter, and buyers held back.

The year has had hits, including Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Pokemon Pokopia, but no big blockbuster. Investors are pinning hopes on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a remake of one of Nintendo's best-known games, released on Thursday. "It's not enough to make investors happy, especially after the device is now as expensive as it is," Kantan Games chief executive Serkan Toto told CNBC.

What it means for buyers in Pakistan

The same memory shortage is lifting the price of phones and laptops, so console, phone and PC prices are all under pressure (laptop prices in Pakistan). If you are buying a console or games priced in dollars, check the rupee cost first with our currency converter and the dollar rate today.