Nintendo dropped its first-quarter earnings on 6 August, and the headline numbers tell a story that might surprise you: profits are way up, hardware is slightly down, and Nintendo’s IP machine is running hotter than ever. For Singapore Switch 2 owners, the results confirm the platform is in rude financial health — and point to a loaded second half of 2026.

Switch 2 Hardware: 23.68 Million and Counting

The Nintendo Switch 2 has now sold a cumulative 23.68 million units worldwide since its June 2025 launch. In the April–June quarter alone, 3.82 million units shipped — down 34.4% from the same quarter last year, when the console was riding its initial launch wave. That cooling is expected and normal for any platform entering its second year.

Nintendo’s own full-year hardware target is 16.5 million Switch 2 units for the financial year ending March 2027, down roughly 17% from the previous year’s pace. One factor affecting hardware economics: the Switch 2’s price was raised in some markets due to rising memory chip costs driven in part by AI-related demand. Singapore has not been immune to global component pricing shifts, so if you have been sitting on the fence, buying sooner rather than later remains the sensible call.

The original Nintendo Switch, for its part, continues to surprise: it has now shipped 156.59 million units lifetime, cementing its place as one of the best-selling consoles in history.

Software Carries the Quarter — Tomodachi Life Leads the Charge

While hardware cooled, Switch 2 software was up 9.2% year-on-year, with 9.46 million software units sold in Q1 and the cumulative Switch 2 software total now at 58.17 million. The standout performer: Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, which launched in April and has already sold nearly 8 million copies (7.94 million) — making it one of the fastest-selling Nintendo first-party Switch 2 titles to date.

Singapore gamers have taken to Tomodachi Life’s chaotic Mii life-sim energy in a big way, and the game’s localisation across Southeast Asian languages has made it an easy pick-up-and-play favourite for families and friends alike. If you have not tried it yet, it is available via the Nintendo eShop in Singapore.

Digital sales surged 90% year-on-year to ¥132.7 billion, reflecting the accelerating shift away from physical media — and a stark contrast to Sony’s ongoing controversy over its planned end to PS5 disc releases, which we covered in our news section.

Where the Profit Surge Actually Came From

Here is the nuance worth understanding: Nintendo’s net sales for the quarter came in at ¥517.8 billion — actually down 9.5% year-on-year. Yet operating profit jumped 150.5% to ¥142.5 billion, and net profit rose 53.5% to ¥147.4 billion, comfortably topping analyst estimates of ¥77.8–78.3 billion.

Two factors explain the profit surge. First, Nintendo received roughly US$300 million in refunds of tariffs levied under US trade legislation — costs it had previously absorbed rather than pass on to consumers. Second, IP-related income more than doubled to ¥34.8 billion (up 107.4%), driven significantly by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which has generated over US$1 billion at the global box office since its April 1 release and has become 2026’s fourth highest-grossing film worldwide. Merchandise, licensing and theme park revenues followed in the film’s wake.

Nintendo left its full-year guidance intact: ¥2.05 trillion in net sales and ¥310 billion in net profit through March 2027. That steadiness signals management confidence in the software pipeline ahead.

What Singapore Players Can Expect in the Coming Months

Nintendo’s earnings call specifically flagged several upcoming titles that should keep the momentum going through year-end — and every one of them is confirmed for Singapore on the Switch 2 eShop.

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave launches on 17 September 2026 exclusively on Switch 2. The game — the first mainline Fire Emblem built ground-up for the platform — was the subject of a dedicated Nintendo Direct on 4 August, which revealed its dual-protagonist structure, time-manipulation battle mechanics, and branching story routes. SGD pricing has not been officially confirmed, but expect it in line with other Switch 2 first-party titles (roughly S$80–S$90).

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is also on the 2026 horizon. Nintendo confirmed this in its June Direct, and while an exact release date has not been pinned down, strong financial guidance implies Nintendo is confident in a 2026 window. For many Singapore gamers who grew up with the N64 original, this one is a genuine event.

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is slated for October, broadening the Switch 2’s casual appeal heading into the school-holiday and year-end gifting season — traditionally strong months for Switch hardware sales in Singapore.

Taken together, Nintendo is entering its highest-stakes software window of the Switch 2’s lifecycle. The balance sheet is strong, the IP pipeline is firing, and the platform’s Singapore-region library continues to grow. Whether you are a day-one Switch 2 owner or still weighing the purchase, the second half of 2026 looks like the best argument yet to be in the Nintendo ecosystem.