The original Switch is officially Nintendo's best-selling console of all time, as revealed in the company's most recent financial results. While all attention has been on the Switch 2 lately, which has gotten off to an even stronger start than its predecessor, the first hybrid console still sits at the top, and it will take a lot to take its place. Despite being nearly 10 years old at this point, the OG Nintendo Switch is still selling well.
While rivals Sony and Xbox may have a reputation for more powerful hardware, Nintendo has several best-selling systems under its belt. The Wii and NES still rank among the top globally, and the Switch surpassed the PlayStation 2 as the top-selling console in the U.S. In late 2024. That was no small feat, especially given how much longer the PS2 has been on the market, and it wasn't the end of the Switch's hot streak, either. It seems Nintendo has now one-upped itself in another impressive achievement.
Nintendo Switch 2 Sales Soar Past Xbox and PS5 Digital in 1 Region
The Nintendo Switch 2 surpasses the lifetime sales of the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition in at least one market.
Best-Selling Nintendo Consoles
- Nintendo Switch - 155.37 million
- Nintendo DS - 154.02 million
- Game Boy/Game Boy Color - 118.69 million
- Wii - 101.63 million
- Game Boy Advance - 81.51 million
- Nintendo 3DS - 75.94 million
- NES - 61.91 million
- Super Nintendo - 49.1 million
- Nintendo 64 - 32.93 million
- GameCube - 21.74 million
A new financial report from Nintendo revealed that the Switch sold 3.25 million units in the nine months ending on December 31, 2025, enough to push its lifetime sales to 155.37 million units sold. Up until this point, the DS was Nintendo's best-selling console at 154.02 million units sold, but now the Switch has taken its crown. The PS2 also still sits at the top of the global best-sellers list across all hardware manufacturers with over 160 million units sold.
The report also confirmed that the Switch 2 is still outpacing the company's new best-seller. It only took a few days after release for the Switch 2 to become Nintendo's fastest-selling console ever, beating its predecessor by a considerable margin. Now, Nintendo reports that the newer system has reached 17.37 million units sold to date, which means its blistering start has not slowed down. Its sales are still ahead of where the original Switch was at this point in its life cycle, but only time will tell if that trend will continue long enough for the Switch 2 to top the first one's massive lifetime sales figures.
Nintendo attributes the Switch 2's strong sales in part to its exclusive games. Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza sold 14.03 million and 4.25 million copies, respectively, in the nine-month period the report analyzed, and Nintendo says keeping this momentum with updates and future exclusive releases will help sustain Switch 2 hardware sales. It also confirmed that it plans to keep capitalizing on the original Switch through software sales. The original Switch is still receiving system updates, but this news is yet another positive sign that Nintendo doesn't plan on abandoning the older console anytime soon. Anyone who doesn't have a Switch 2 can still rest easy knowing they'll get more games and updates on the OG Switch for some time.
The new report specifically mentions expanding "evergreen titles" as part of Nintendo's strategy for making the most of the original Switch's success, so fans may expect more from the platform's biggest franchises. Nintendo did roll out a major update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons on both Switch consoles recently, so there could be similar expansions in store for other Switch games down the line. Which titles might be next or what these potential updates could look like is a bit of a mystery, but if nothing else, those still using an original Switch can look forward to ongoing support for the time being.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- March 20, 2020
- ESRB
- Everyone / Comic Mischief, Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
