Figures show that Nintendo Switch sales have now passed those of both the Game Boy and PlayStation 4. With a total of over 122 million Switch consoles sold, it is now the third-best-selling game platform of all time. It currently sits behind the Nintendo DS with 154 million sales and the PlayStation 2 at over 155 million. This was revealed during Nintendo’s latest financial results.
With the Switch now being on the market for six years, it still has a bit of time to overtake the DS and PS2. Despite console sales slowly decreasing (down 21% year-on-year), the Switch OLED is keeping those numbers up even whilst the standard and Lite versions of the Switch are losing traction. With Nintendo hitting around 18 million sales for its current fiscal year, the company still believes these could be higher if it wasn’t for semiconductor shortages.
This is a huge milestone for Nintendo, especially when you consider their previous hardware. The Wii U hit a meagre 13 million units compared to the Wii hitting 101 million. Additionally, the 3DS only managed half the amount of sales as the original DS.
How well the console continues to do depends on how many major first-party games Nintendo produces. With a Nintendo Direct set to air tomorrow, we will finally see what they have planned for the first half of 2023. With Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe on Feb. 24 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in May, these are sure to boost sales. It is also worth considering the staggering 20 million copies of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sold during the first six weeks of release and the recent Splatoon 3 already on the 10 million mark. Furthermore, the Switch’s top seller Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has now reached over 52 million copies sold. It is safe to say that Nintendo have nothing to worry about for a while.
Do you think the Switch can outsell the DS and PS2? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to GameLuster for more gaming news.
