Nintendo has officially crowned a new sales champion. In its latest financial report, the Japanese company confirmed that the Nintendo Switch has become the best-selling console ever produced by Nintendo, overtaking the legendary Nintendo DS after nearly two decades at the top.
Nintendo Switch overtakes the Nintendo DS
Thanks to a strong holiday shopping season, total Nintendo Switch sales have reached 155.37 million units worldwide, surpassing the 154.02 million units sold by the Nintendo DS. The overtake happened right at the end of the reporting period: as recently as November, the two consoles were still selling at almost identical levels.
This milestone marks a historic moment for Nintendo, as the DS had held the company’s internal sales record since the mid-2000s.
Still selling, despite the Switch 2 launch
What makes the achievement even more impressive is that Nintendo is already focusing most of its game development resources on Switch 2. Despite this, the company plans to continue selling the original Switch for the foreseeable future.
For context, the DS family stayed on the market for roughly 12 years, from 2004 to 2016. The Switch launched in 2017 and has been available for just under nine years. That leaves plenty of runway for additional sales—and fuels speculation about an even bigger target.
Can the Switch challenge the PlayStation 2?
With more than 155 million units sold, the Nintendo Switch is now edging closer to the PlayStation 2, which remains the best-selling console of all time with over 160 million units sold globally.
While surpassing the PS2 is still a significant challenge, it is no longer out of reach. Continued sales of the original Switch models, alongside strong interest from late adopters, could push Nintendo’s hybrid console into truly uncharted territory.
Strong Financial Results for Nintendo
The record-breaking hardware sales were accompanied by an excellent quarter for Nintendo’s finances. The company reported a near doubling of revenue compared to the same period last year, alongside solid profit growth.
- Revenue: 1,905.8 billion yen (approximately €10.29 billion), +99% year on year
- Gross profit: 300.3 billion yen (around €1.62 billion)
- Net profit: 358.8 billion yen (around €1.94 billion)
Switch 2 and Switch 1 Sales at a Glance
Nintendo also shared updated sales data for both generations of hardware.
Switch 2 sales so far:
- Hardware: 17.37 million units
- Software: 37.93 million units
Original Switch lifetime sales:
- Hardware: 155.37 million units
- Software: 1.5 billion units sold
In the most recent quarter alone, Nintendo sold 3.25 million Switch units, with the OLED model leading demand, followed by the standard version and the Switch Lite.
