Nintendo’s Switch 2 posted the fastest hardware launch on record, selling 1.6 million units in the United States in June and 1.54 million in Japan during its first month, according to Circana and retail data cited by Journal du Geek. The system’s debut lifted U.S. hardware spending to an unprecedented US$978 million for the month. A report from GamesIndustry.biz’s offshoot The Game Business says the blockbuster console start has not translated into robust software demand beyond Nintendo’s own titles. First-party games accounted for 62% of physical sales in the United States during launch week—rising to 86% of sales in the UK when the Mario Kart World hardware bundle is included. One unnamed publisher told the outlet that sales came in “below our lowest estimates.” Cyberpunk 2077, from CD Projekt Red, was the top-selling third-party title. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella offered a more upbeat view, noting that third-party market share in the U.S. is “far better” than it was at the original Switch launch in 2017. Even so, he cautioned that hardware sell-outs do not necessarily predict long-term software momentum, and said the next gauge will be holiday demand from mass-market buyers. Industry commentators cite several factors weighing on third-party uptake: a heavy attach rate for the Mario Kart World bundle, extensive backward compatibility encouraging players to revisit older titles, ports of previously released games dominating the initial catalogue, and a lack of early review copies that muted launch-day visibility. Nintendo is expected to disclose updated shipment and software figures when it reports earnings on 1 August.