The release of the Nintendo Switch 2 console promises to be the largest in history, analysts believe: they previously predicted that by the time the device goes on sale, the Japanese manufacturer will have produced from 6 to 8 million units of the console. Based on the volume of pre-orders in Japan, Nintendo Switch 2 is on track to set a record.
Image source: Nintendo
«”With Japan accounting for a third of global Switch purchases, that’s implying 6.6 million pre-orders worldwide,” said Pelham Smithers of Pelham Smithers Associates, a market research firm that specializes in the Japan market, Bloomberg reports. Sony has had the two biggest console launches to date, with the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 selling 4.5 million units each in their first two months on the market. The PlayStation 5 was dogged by shortages during its first year, and without them, the next-gen console would have overtaken the PlayStation 4.
Earlier this week, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa warned that not everyone in Japan would get what they wanted: the company has received 2.2 million applications in its home country. Pre-orders have opened in the UK and EU; while US consumers have complained of problems pre-ordering in their region. The Nintendo Switch 2 and launch game Mario Kart World are set to launch on June 5.