Nintendo’s original Switch faces Europe exit as sales still linger

Nintendo plans to end sales of the original Switch in Europe in February 2027, a regional cutoff tied to coming battery rules for consumer electronics. The move does not apply outside Europe, and an Ars Technica review of Nintendo sales data suggests the nine-year-old console still has commercial life left.

Nintendo said the European decision follows regulations that will require easily replaceable batteries in many consumer devices. The company is revising the Switch 2 to meet those rules, but it has chosen not to redesign several older Switch models for the same purpose, according to Ars Technica.

The decision comes as Nintendo shifts attention to the Switch 2, but the original system remains unusual by the company’s recent hardware standards. Ars Technica, citing Nintendo’s annual earnings releases, found that even Nintendo’s strongest platforms have tended to fade to zero sales after about nine years on the market.

Switch sales have fallen from their peak

Switch hardware shipments have been declining for several years. According to Nintendo figures reviewed by Ars Technica, the console reached nearly 29 million worldwide hardware shipments in the fiscal year that ended in March 2021.

Software sales peaked later, topping 235 million units in the following fiscal year, according to the same review. Ars Technica found that those peaks were higher than every recent Nintendo platform except the Nintendo DS.

The Switch also reached its high point later than several predecessors. Ars Technica reported that the Wii and 3DS posted their strongest hardware years in their second full fiscal years, while the Switch did not peak until its fourth.

The system’s decline has been slower than Nintendo’s recent pattern. In its ninth full fiscal year, which ended in March, the Switch still shipped 3.8 million units, or about 13% of its peak annual hardware volume, according to Ars Technica. By a comparable point, the Wii was selling at less than 1% of its former peak.

Software keeps the older console relevant

Software sales make the older Switch look more durable. Nintendo sold nearly 137 million Switch games in the most recent fiscal year, Ars Technica reported, about 58% of the console’s annual software peak.

That compares sharply with other Nintendo systems at similar ages. Ars Technica said the DS, 3DS and Wii were each selling software at less than 5% of their peak rates by comparable points in their life cycles.

The Switch 2 has started quickly, with nearly 20 million units sold in its first partial fiscal year, according to Ars Technica. That total was far ahead of the original Switch’s nearly 4 million full-year sales in the same period, suggesting strong demand for newer hardware.

Even so, original Switch software sales still outpace Switch 2 software by nearly 3-to-1, Ars Technica reported. The site said backward compatibility helps explain that gap because games made for the original Switch can also be sold to Switch 2 owners, while Switch 2-only games do not work on the older machine.

Ars Technica cited Nintendo’s recent release of Rhythm Heaven Groove for the original Switch as an example of continued support for software that does not need more powerful hardware. It also noted that price may keep the older model attractive, with the Switch 2 at $500 and the original base console listed at $340.

Nintendo has not announced a global end date for the original Switch. Based on recent Nintendo hardware history and the current software business, Ars Technica concluded that new Switch systems could remain on sale into 2029 or 2030, even as the Switch 2 becomes the company’s main platform.

This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.