Support for the original Nintendo Switch isn’t going to end just because its successor, Nintendo Switch 2, is heading to market. During its Q3 FY2025 earnings call on Tuesday, Nintendo said that they will continue to support the console if demand requires.
As part of their latest earnings call on Tuesday, Nintendo gave an update on the Switch business as a whole. The company announced that the console had surpassed 150 million units sold, creeping closer to the 160M of the PlayStation 2. It was also revealed, however, that sales have slowed quicker than the company expected. That required Nintendo to lower its operating profit by 22% due to Switch sales falling by 30% for the quarter.
As far as why the drop, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa doesn’t believe the announcement of the Switch 2 has led to a slower sales rate of the original console.
“We don’t think the impact of the reluctance to buy is that great, and we think that it is solid for the eighth year, but we have not been able to reach the plan,” he said according to Sankei.
Going back to support for the original Switch, it’s not out of the norm for Nintendo to support a console for at least a few years after its predecessor made it to market. The Nintendo Wii was released in 2006, but Nintendo kept services online until May 2014. For the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, online services lasted until April 2024. Whether continued online services means games will still be releasing for the original Switch two, three, or more years after Switch 2’s launch remains to be seen.
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