The Nintendo Switch 2 is back on top as the highest-selling console in the US this month, after lagging behind Sony’s PS5 at the start of the year.
The Nintendo Switch 2 might be the fastest-selling console ever but there’s been a question mark around its sales momentum over the past few months.
Nintendo previously admitted sales in the West were ‘slightly weaker’ than expected over the Christmas season, and across January and February this year, sales of Sony’s PlayStation 5 were higher than the Switch 2 in the US, in both unit and dollar sales.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reason why, beyond some cheap PlayStation 5 bundles, although Nintendo has acknowledged that many games so far on Switch 2 appeal more to Japan than the West. It seems this might have been the case, as following the launch of Pokémon Pokopia, the Switch 2 is back on top in the US.
As revealed by Circana senior director Mat Piscatella, the Switch 2 was the best-selling hardware platform across unit and dollar sales for March 2026. It is also the best-selling platform in 2026 year-to-date, with Sony’s PlayStation 5 being pushed into second place already.
When compared to the first 10 months of sales for the original Switch, the Switch 2’s unit sales are 12% higher, so any worries of a slowdown may have been a mild hiccup.
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Hardware spending in March grew by 69% when compared to a year ago, to $500 million (£370 million), with Switch 2 cited as the driving reason for the ‘overall gain’, while PlayStation 5 spending increased by 3% compared to the same period last year.
Piscatella described Pokémon Pokopia as a ‘system seller’, as it became the fifth highest-selling game of the month based solely on physical sales (Nintendo doesn’t release digital sales data). While a large chunk of Nintendo’s audience still buy physical, it could have possibly rivalled the current number one, MLB: The Show 26, if digital sales were included.
However, it remains to be seen if the Switch 2 will stay on top next month. In a post on Bluesky, Piscatella states there was a ‘surge’ in PlayStation 5 sales at the end of March following the price hike announcement, so that might ripple onto April’s chart.
As for other new entries, WWE 2K26 was the third highest-selling game of the month, followed by Bungie’s Marathon. Interestingly, the latter was the highest-selling game on PC in March, and is currently the sixth best-selling game of the year so far across all platforms, so it might’ve sold better than the current Steam numbers suggest.
Other new games include Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection at number seven and Crimson Desert at number 15, although the latter doesn’t include digital sales so it would have been much higher in reality.
Resident Evil Requiem is still the highest-selling game of the year so far. According to Circana, the sequel now ranks among the top five best-selling Resident Evil games in all-time dollar sales after only two months, trailing behind Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 4 remake, Resident Evil Village, and the original Resident Evil 4.
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