SUMMARY
- Nintendo is known for its massive line of handheld gaming devices.
- Nintendo Switch was the latest in the company's list of handheld devices, selling close to 140 million units.
For more than a year now, Nintendo Switch has retained its place as the third-best-selling video game console in the console war. It has successfully managed to surpass the lifetime sales totals of Sony’s PlayStation 4 and its own Game Boy.
Nintendo’s last financial results published a year ago on February 7, 2023, confirmed the achievement for Nintendo Switch sales. And it has maintained its position by steadily selling more units over the months. Although the Switch is doing fairly well in the console market, how’s it faring among its own brand’s consoles? Let’s find out.
Nintendo Switch sales
Nintendo’s financial report dated February 2023 revealed that the hybrid console had sold a total of 122 million units in its lifetime by 2022. By December 31, 2023, its sales had increased by over 17 million, to record a total of 139.36 million units sold in its close to six-year life cycle.
Switch is now the third best-selling console in US history
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Reports suggest the Switch sold around 15 million units between April and December 2023 alone. This can largely be credited to the release of its first-party title The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in May 2023. The game has sold 20 million copies, becoming the ninth-best-selling Nintendo title of all time by December 2023.
Nonetheless, the 17 million units sold in 2023 were still a million short of Nintendo’s projection. According to the financial result, Nintendo anticipated around 18 million sales for the fiscal year 2023. They also mentioned that the number has been constrained by semiconductor shortages. Besides, back then it stated that with the Switch successor at least one or two more years away, the Switch continues to be very much in the game.
Nintendo’s best-selling console
Being the third best-selling console within a span of less than six years is no small feat. But still, that does not make it Nintendo’s best-selling game console of all time.
Talking of Nintendo’s active consoles, the company has three devices that are actively being supported by the Japanese company. These are Nintendo Switch, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS. Considering just these three, Nintendo Switch leads the race with the most units sold. Switch with 139.36 million is way ahead of 3DS with 75.94 million and Wii U with 13.56 million. Nonetheless, Nintendo has announced that the Wii U and 3DS would be discontinued this year.
Similarly, talking of Nintendo’s all-time software sales, Nintendo Switch is its best-selling software with 1,200 units sold as compared to the Nintendo DS’ 948 million and Wii’s 921 million.
However, if one were to look at Nintendo’s all-time best-selling console, the now discontinued Nintendo DS still reigns. Nintendo DS was a foldable handheld game console released between 2004 and 2005. It was later discontinued worldwide on May 20, 2014, and was succeeded by the Nintendo 3DS in February 2011.
In its life span of close to a decade, Nintendo DS sold a total of 154.02 million hardware units. To date, it remains the second most-sold console just behind PlayStation 2 with 159 million units, while the Switch follows the two. Thus, the Nintendo DS, although discontinued, leads the race of Nintendo’s best-selling consoles. However, considering it is no more in the market, and the Switch is still active, it won’t be surprising to see Switch take over.