Nintendo is focusing on the Switch 2, but isn't retiring the original console just yet

Say goodbye to your little friend

(Credit: Nintendo)

• 📉 Nintendo intends to wind down the original Switch as development shifts to the new Switch 2

• 🤔 The console isn’t going away just yet, but demand for new hardware will be key to how long it sticks around

• 🤝 Nintendo says that 84% of sales for the Switch 2 have been for players upgrading from the original console

• 🚀 The Switch 2 has been a runaway success for Nintendo, and a record-breaking launch for the firm in virtually every metric

Nintendo has announced its intention to slowly transition its focus away from the OG Switch and towards the shiny new Switch 2.

That’s according to a financial results briefing this past Wednesday, where the firm announced that “going forward, we will shift our primary development focus to Nintendo Switch 2 and expand our business around this new platform.”

Nintendo isn’t shuttering the original Switch yet, and it said that it’ll continue to sell Switch hardware while “taking consumer demand and the business environment into consideration”.

• Best Buy Switch 2 Pokémon Legends-Z-A

• Target Switch 2 Pokémon Legends-Z-A

• GameStop Switch 2 Pokemon Legends-Z-A

• Walmart Switch 2 Pokémon Legends-Z-A

• Amazon Switch 2 Pokemon Legends Z-A

There are several major Switch titles launching this year October, although with the eventual winding down of the new console, we may well see fewer games released for the system.

According to Nintendo, 84 percent of Switch 2 consoles have been purchased by people transitioning from the original Switch, with only 16 percent being ‘new’ players as such.

Nintendo has recently been quite bullish about anticipated Switch 2 sales, according to recent rumors that pointed to a potential 25 million units sold by March 2026, asking suppliers to ramp up production to avoid a sales slump as stock slows.

This boom in sales has seen Nintendo reportedly double its marketing spend since the console’s release back in June to attempt to sustain such a high rate.

The console has already broken several sales records, taking less than a month to hit five million sales and becoming one of the fastest-selling consoles to reach this milestone.

The original Switch took four months to reach five million units, and sold 2.74 million in its first month, while the PlayStation 5 took 2.5 months to hit the same marker, and sold 3.4 million in its first month. By comparison, it took just 26 days for the Switch 2 to hit 5 million sales. It’s since surpassed 10 million units sold.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Nintendo Switch 2 sales are up some 77 percent against the original Switch in the period from release to a few months after launch, with strong demand expected to continue into the holiday season.

Up next: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment review roundup: ‘the best entry in this spin-off franchise’

Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.