The Nintendo Switch 2 has ended its first 12 months on sale as the second fastest-selling hardware in U.S. history.

New data from Circana reveals the Switch 2 has a 5.9 million U.S. install base after a year. Only the Game Boy Advance’s 6.5 million units over its first year in the market exceeds it, Mat Piscatella, Senior Director, Video Games at Circana said.

Nintendo has said Switch 2 is its fastest-selling hardware ever globally, despite some sales struggles at the back end of 2025 in western markets. In May, Nintendo said it expected to sell fewer Switch 2 consoles over the console’s second year, because Switch 2 sales "were more concentrated in the launch year in comparison to previous hardware systems." And let’s remember that Nintendo will increase the Switch 2's price by $50, raising the console to $499.99 on September 1.

Perhaps in part due to that price rise announcement, Switch 2 sales were boosted in May. According to Piscatella, May 2026 hardware spending increased by 38% when compared to a year ago, to $249 million, with the Nintendo Switch 2 offsetting a 43% year-on-year drop in PS5 spending (and a 58% dip in unit sales) driven by recent price increases. Xbox Series hardware spending actually grew 7% versus a year ago, while unit sales fell by 12%. Nintendo Switch 2 was again the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars for May and 2026 year-to-date, with PS5 second across both measures and time periods.

In fact, PlayStation hardware unit sales fell to their lowest May total since May 2000, while Xbox hardware unit sales were the lowest ever recorded for a May month. These shocking results undoubtedly had to do with recent price rises, which in PlayStation’s case were brought into effect in April. Microsoft announced significant price rises for Xbox Series X and S this week, blaming the ongoing “components crisis.” They kick off on August 1.

Clearly, getting into console gaming has become more expensive over the course of this generation. Traditionally, console gaming becomes cheaper over the course of a generation as consoles come down in price. Not so in 2026, which has been something of a bloodbath for the video game industry. The average price paid for a new unit of video game hardware reached $502 in May, up 14% compared to a year ago ($440), Circana revealed. May 2026 PS5 average pricing increased by 33% versus a year ago to $672, with Xbox Series up 22%, to $524.

All three console manufacturers are under intense pressure on their hardware pricing, with reports indicating Sony's PS6 and Microsoft's Project Helix could launch around $1,000. Last month, Sony said it had yet to decide when to launch the PS6, nor how much it would cost, as memory shortages continue to hit hard. Earlier this month, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said the spiralling cost of new and existing consoles would require "radically different business models" over the coming generation. She added that the industry had "reached a point where it will be hard to imagine" mass audiences still being able to afford "thousands of dollars" for a new console generation.

As for Switch 2, Nintendo expects to sell 16.5 million units over the coming financial year, down from the 19.86 million it has sold since launch. This would still place cumulative Switch 2 sales after 22 months ahead of those of Switch 1 at the same point in its life cycle. Whether the Switch 2 can then go on to maintain Switch 1's long-lasting success, however, remains to be seen.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.