Nintendo’s latest financial results have revealed some interesting tidbits regarding the company’s current strategy. The headline is, of course, the ongoing success of the Nintendo Switch. The console has now surpassed 122.55 million sales since it was released in 2017. This makes it the third best-selling console of all time.
Nintendo’s third quarter earnings report shows that the Switch, Switch OLED, and Switch Lite achieved 8.2 million combined unit sales between 1st October and 31st December 2022. This new figure reveals that the Nintendo Switch has surpassed both the Sony PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Game Boy in total lifetime units sold. 118.69 million combined units were achieved by the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. The PlayStation 4 reported a final total of 117.2 million units total.
There’s only two consoles left with greater sales records. However, surpassing them will be challenging indeed. The Nintendo DS is in second place with 154 million units sold. This doesn’t include the 75.9 million units reported for the Nintendo 3DS. First place is currently held by the Sony PlayStation 2, with over 155 million reported unit sales.
Given the decline in Nintendo Switch sales, it may be difficult for the console to take the top spot. Console sales were down 23 percent compared to the 10.6 million units sold in the same quarter last year. As a result, Nintendo has lowered its end-of-year forecasts for both hardware and software sales.
Nintendo Switch Software
Another landmark figure has been announced for Nintendo Switch software. With 994 million Nintendo Switch games distributed as of 31st December, 2022, the 948 million Nintendo DS games record has now been surpassed. Thus, the Switch will soon become the first console in Nintendo history to surpass one billion games. Sony Interactive Entertainment had already accomplished this feat three times with the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
That said, it is worth remembering that the Nintendo Switch is the result of the merger between two of Nintendo’s markets: home consoles and portable consoles. If we combine the sales of the Wii and Nintendo DS generation, Nintendo could claim 255 million consoles and 1.8 billion games distributed worldwide.
Ultimately, the Nintendo Switch’s popularity may be dwindling, but this is to be expected as the console ages. A successor to the popular console is undoubtedly around the corner, though it’s likely Nintendo won’t want to rush the release and hamper continuing Nintendo Switch sales. Especially given the upcoming release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. A game which is expected to be a huge success.
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