The Switch Has Overtaken The SNES In Lifetime Hardware Sales

The table must be updated. I see the Switch on 4th place there.

@setezerocinco : The list appears to be in order of most software sold, as opposed to hardware. Something's gotta give.

@setezerocinco The reason for that is because while the Switch has outsold the SNES in terms of hardware sales, in terms of software sales it's behind by almost 70 million at the moment.

I absolutely think it will surpass the NES. But will it meet Wii numbers? I'm not convinced. My guess is 70-80 million.

Switch annual hardware shipments by calendar year:
> 2017: 14.86 million
> 2018: 17.42 million
> 2019: 20.21 million
Switch annual software shipments by calendar year:
> 2017: 52.57 million
> 2018: 111.03 million
> 2019: 147.06 million

By comparison...
3DS annual hardware shipments by calendar year:
> 2011: 15.04 million
> 2012: 14.80 million
> 2013: 12.90 million
3DS annual software shipments by calendar year:
> 2011: 37.47 million
> 2012: 47.52 million
> 2013: 67.29 million

In terms of hardware sales, 3DS started strong but stagnated quickly. Switch started similarly strong and has only become more successful over time.

In terms of hardware sales, Switch is crushing the 3DS, and it's not even close. 3DS lifetime software sales will end up topping off at ~385 million copies, while Switch software sales will reach that figure before the start of the holiday season and will reach a lifetime total of 700+ million copies.

Still really, really impressed with those Wii U software numbers.

I also wonder how many copies of Animal Crossing amiibo Festival Nintendo produced as the Digby amiibo was only intended to be included with the initial print, and yet they still couldn't sell them all, even at ridiculously cheap prices (I still see it languishing in clearance bins).

And still no Virtual Console that the way less populair Wii U has....

Nintendo bring every game to Switch!!

And great online first person shooters.

@Heavyarms55
Switch has a shot at reach 70 million units sold by the end of 2020 and is guaranteed to reach that milestone by Spring 2021.

At this point, Switch selling 100+ million units lifetime is pretty much guaranteed. Its sales would need to collapse quite spectacularly over the next few years to fail to reach that milestone.

@TheAwesomeBowser : I imagine that those software numbers only account for retail sales. Surely if they included all of the bargain priced junk in the eShop that Switch software sales would have easily eclipsed most of Nintendo's past systems by now.

And not even 3 years old. Anyone forecasting an impending doom for Switch is way off.

Great to see Nintendo bounce back this generation and find that magic we know and love. Regardless of the final numbers, the Switch is a massive success and is likely to end up the second best selling console or maybe the best? Who knows...the Switch is a success and the gaming industry is all the better for it.

So it's halfway to the Wii, and theoretically halfway-ish through its lifespan. Obviously sales are gonna slow down over time, but releasing a "Pro" or some other kind of notable revision would give it a boost (as the Lite did). I'd say it's got an outside shot of catching the Wii, but I'm no analyst, haha.

@Silly_G I am responsible for one of those Amiibo Festival sales figures I am afraid. Never played the game but needed those cute little doggies for my collection.

The Wii U figures are indeed impressive and just go to prove that despite the system's flaws it had a fantastic library of brilliant games.

This chart doesn't really make sense without including the handhelds. The Lite is only a handheld anyway, and the Switch now effectively has to do the job of two consoles in terms of Nintendo's turnover.

Be interested to know how they account for the DS or 3DS/2DS sales - do they bundle togther all the sales of the revisions / different models, or list them separately? EG, do 3DS, 2DS & New 3DS all belong under the same sales category?

The Switch is on a roll. Congrats Nintendo! I would've thought the gamecube sold more systems than what it shows. Oh well, I do have an idea that will probably, maybe, I'm almost certain will boost the Nintendo Switch system sales by a modest 12,379%. You see, we need Nintendo to buy out all the Entertainment Center manufacturing companies in the world. Then Nintendo needs to make sure that no part of the Entertainment Center can fit the next gen Playstation and xbox consoles. The top only has enough room for a big tv and a Switch dock. Then the shelves only fit Nintendo Switch physical games. This idea is pretty amazing, I know. It's ok if you want congratulate me in the comment section. I am not afraid of positive comments toward me. Negative comments just show that you secretly love my idea but are afraid to show it. Hehe. I might start a kickstarter later today and I think we need to raise um, eh, about 52 trillion dollars. That's not that much if you want to setup a payment plan. I'm sure that this is my best idea yet.

Wow very impressive indeed.

I was always going to get one myself but lets be honest after the way things went for the Wii U. There wont have been many people on here who thought numbers like that would be possible. Especially in just under 3 years.

Here's to the next 50 Million

Just wait until they roll out the pink Switch Lite!

And to think that number could be higher if the thing was actually in stock.

Looking at the list, the Gamecube sold an impressive amount of games for its total sales and many say nobody bought any games for the Wii but that says otherwise

@westman98 I don't think it's impossible, but I really don't think it's likely. The Switch has been the new thing for nearly 3 years now people only have so much money, and, more importantly, so much time to devote to gaming. Once PS5 and Xbox Burgandy Prime come out, that's going to slow Switch sales. I'm a die hard Nintendo loyalist, but I'm also very sure that's going to happen.

Another issue is that Nintendo has dropped most of their most killer apps already. We've got the big new Zelda, Mario, Splatoon, Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Kirby and Smash Brothers already. Animal Crossing coming in March leaves pretty much only Metroid left.

Yes there's a lot of mid-range titles to keep things going and BotW 2 and possibly some other sequels, but they are going to be on the market competing with a whole new generation of rivals.

And yes, I too do not consider the Switch a product meant to directly compete with dedicated home consoles, but like I said, people only have so much time and money.

It's not the 90s or early 00's anymore. The idea that a console is gonna have an 6-8 year shelf life is just not the case anymore.

I could easily see the Switch selling another 20-30 million over the next 2-3 years. Maybe 40 million and rounding out around the 90 million mark. But I will be shocked if it hits that 100 million mark.

But I'd be totally okay with being proved wrong!

@xxx128 By then the batteries will have died they will all be useless bricks

There are two other really impressive numbers not reported here. The first is that in the month leading up to Christmas 2019, the Switch sold 6 million units - twice its nearest rival, the PS4 with 3m. Also, in the week ending 30th Nov, it sold 1.8m. No other console has sold that many in a week for over a decade, and the last consoles to do so were the Wii and DS in 2007/8/9. (Source: vgchartz)

@Ooccoo_Jr : I'll do you one better. I actually played the game.

I can't say that I was terribly enthusiastic about it as I too was more interested in the included amiibo, and while the game was very nice looking, it was slow-paced and dull as hell. An Animal Crossing party game in the style of Mario Party could be amazing, but amiibo Festival was nothing like that, and the fact that we got that over a main series title didn't help at all to endear me to the experience.

It would be nice however if amiibo Festival was included as a supplementary mode in New Horizons, but I somehow doubt that it will include any amiibo support at all.

@Heavyarms55 I think the Switch will reach 90-100 million in the end. It MIGHT beat the Wii. Especially if the Switch Pro rumors are true.

@Heavyarms55
20-30 million units sold over the next 2-3 years means an average of 10 million units sold per year. The Switch sold over 20 million units last year, including 10.8 million units sold during the holiday quarter alone. What you are suggesting is that Switch sales will drop by 50% year-over-year in 2020, which would be a catastrophe that has never happened before to a game system in its prime.

I wrote this in an earlier comment, but to compare...

Switch annual hardware shipments by calendar year:
> 2017: 14.86 million
> 2018: 17.42 million
> 2019: 20.21 million
> Total: 52.48 million
3DS annual hardware shipments by calendar year:
> 2011: 15.04 million
> 2012: 14.80 million
> 2013: 12.90 million
> Total: 42.74 million

The 3DS has sold 76 million units lifetime, and the Switch is far outpacing it in sales, with the gap getting wider and wider, yet it us suppisedly going to sell less units lifetime?

No point comparing it to home consoles only.

@Heavyarms55 - "It's not the 90s or early 00's anymore. The idea that a console is gonna have an 6-8 year shelf life is just not the case anymore."
For Nintendo maybe (not for Sony and Microsoft going by how their long their current consoles have lasted), but that's been the case since the N64, and even then, not only were they mostly poor sellers (outside the Wii) their average life-span is 5 years, so not that big a drop from a 6-8 year time period. Given the Switch has already outsold every Nintendo console outside the NES and Wii, I can't see Nintendo retiring the Switch anytime soon, outside a sudden, massive drop in sales and/or Nintendo having a successor they're eager to push out.

On topic, In terms of consoles, the Switch is doing pretty well, losing out only to the NES and Wii, but given it's a hybrid it's also a handheld, and in this regard, it's actually the worst performer at the moment, the second worst being the 3DS. To be fair though, their earlier handhelds didn't have to contend with smartphones which I'm guessing had an impact on the 3DS and Switch's sales (also it's still only about halfway through it's lifespan, so it could very well reach 75-100 million units by the time it's retired)

@Heavyarms55 I used to think that as well...but it's almost impossible to not hit 70-80 million. I think they will be close to 70 by Christmas 2020.

@Heavyarms55 By the end of the life cycle it will be close, at least.

Does software only mean software? No physical games? If so, NES still has all the ports from Wii and Ds Onwards

@Heavyarms55

Agreed, most mainstream consoles seem to stall at those numbers.
Which is not to say that it's bad far from it, just the most likely.

@westman98

Let's not forget that the NX is 3 years old now.
And the ps5 and Xbox X are gearing up for a release date later this year.

70-80 million is a likely number but i doubt the NX will cross 100 million.
There is only so much the market can carry.

And 70-80 million units is hardly a failure.

I'm guessing that the Switch even without a pro version will have 2 more peak years with a gradual tail off thereafter. Probably 4-5 years left of production even with a successor maybe coming sooner. PS5 and Xbox will impact next year but probably will impact more in year 2 of their lifecycles. Early adoption will mainly be the hardcore. Mass adoption never really hits its stride in year one normally because of pricing. I think the Switch will hit 100 million lifetime and in terms of future Nintendo is doomed comments (we know that will always continue to come up), they haven't sold the console at a loss.

By next holiday season Switch will be Nintendo’s second best selling home console

In terms of future direction, I've always liked the thought of a Nintendo hifi concept. Back in the day you would build your music station piece by piece. I could see (or more would like), a base hardware home console with option to purchase a switch lite to go mobile. Graphical grunt at home with optional hybrid bolt on. pretty much what others have suggested many times with a boosted dock.
Ps4/vita tried it. I'm sure Nintendo could master it.

@KitsuneNight it will pass 100 mil mark. Switch has almost identical sales curve as Wii or DS

Cool, Switch beat PS4 to the 50 million-mark with cirka 2 month (PS4 reached 50 million in december 2016, 3 years and 1 month in its life-cycle).

@Krzysztof Very factual. On track to possibly being Nintendo's best selling home console period.

Wait, where is the virtual boy?

:troll:

Honestly was expecting closer to 60 million units sold after 3 years...at least this 52 million number makes it harder for developers to ignore it as a platform. I mean, it will continue to sell younger as the price drops further

@jipiboily

The Virtual Boy is considered a handheld device, even though there’s nothing remotely handheld about it lol. But a lot of times even on those charts it’s not included cause it was such a failure.

@BlueOcean exactly. It’s easier to concentrate just on the switch. Where as they were juggling Wii u and 3ds software the gen before. Now count all the first party games on the 3ds and Wii u and it’s a lot of games.

Edit. No I’m not a switch hater.

The little console that could. Remember all the doom and gloom people predicted for the Switch?

SNES will always be the best to be personally. It’s my favourite console of all time. Love Nintendo full stop, great to see switch doing so well.

Gonna beat the NES easy, not sure if it can catch up to the Wii tho

Looking at this makes me realize Nintendo has never had good luck when it comes to home consoles. I'm glad they finally found success by making a hybrid console

If what Nintendo said about the Switch lasting longer than any console before it is true then the Switch will definitely beat the total of Wii sales

@sikthvash they group it by family of system. So 3ds/2ds and the variants will be grouped

@tstindt90 Ah, makes sense! Cool, thanks! ^_^

@MoonKnight7 Right! It was not a portable device at all, but not a home console either. It was just...a failure! I remember trying it once just when it launched at friend's friend house. And not having any fun, besides the excitement of trying it. hahaha

@Heavyarms55 The Switch will likely pass 70 million this year and then be around 90 the next year.. That’ll put it in striking distance of the Wii. And it has a really good chance of passing it

If they are counting Switch lite sales They should add Gameboy, the DS, the 3DS, etc to the comparision....

@KoekiieWoekiie maybe Goldeneye 007 Online?

Switch is doing fine. And I'm enjoying reading the "will it or won't it" debate that despite having people on both sides everybody is being civil, which is nice for a change. 😊

Whether it hits 100mil or not the fact that after Wii U, and 3DS which seems to be done at 75m, Nintendo has a console home or handheld that will likely finish "around" 100m has to be considered a win from any point of view, even Pachter. 😝.

Whether it gets there or not, well I think there are still way to many variables to consider to make an accurate forecast.

What comes first, New Switch - numbers would count - or Switch 2 - numbers wouldn't count - or Switch DS (so we can get some proper 3/DS ports and Pikmin 3 and W101) which I'm not sure if they would count or not. Probably not.

How well are PS5 and XSX received.

Does Nintendo double-dip on Switch w/ MK9, Splatoon 3, Mario Odyssey 2, BotW 2 or wait until next gen?

Will humanity be decimated in 6 months from the Wuhan virus?

Switch is selling well, and should continue to sell well for at least the next year or 2, extinction permitting.

Seriously though, time to stop w/ the home console comparisons and move onto and include the handheld, Switch Lite is a handheld, full stop, and seems to be and will continue to sell very well. And a lot of Switch are used as handhelds as well. And 3DS is done. Done, done, done. Switch is it.

And once (loud preacher voice) and once the PS5 and XSX launch, every 3rd party game on Switch is going to be called "the handheld version" so nobody compares the 720p screen to 4k tvs, b/c all next Gen games will be in 4k, and almost certainly look better than the downgraded Switch ports.

Nintendo Switch holiday 2020 marketing slogan:

"Graphics. It just doesn't matter."

NES: Sweats nervously

@FullMetalWesker In regards to why it's not coming close to outselling the older handhelds, don't forget that of the earlier handhelds, Gameboy was on the market for 12(!) years with 4 revisions including one with a substantial set of exclusives (OG, Pocket, Light, Color) and DS had blue market appeal that's unlikely to be replicated. And it's easily set to surpass the GBA and 3DS in probably 2022 for both. I'm not sure that phones have much to do with it.

@FullMetalWesker agreed, MS and Sony have been on 7 year cycles the last 2 generations and Sony has long tails as their older systems get released and sold for at least 5 additional years in markets like Brazil even as a new generation is available.

Just incredible Switch numbers. Looks like the mass audience doesn't care if the Switch isn't some overclocked bleeding edge hardware. 😁

@1UP_MARIO Yep you are right. It's no hatred but objectivity.

Wonder how many sets of Joy cons they have sold....

But where does it rank against the GBA and 3DS?!?

Go Switch! next stop, the NES!

@KitsuneNight
Switch is approaching saturation at 3 years old, but it's far from done selling.

As I have said before, the PS5 and XBSX will have a negligible impact on Switch sales, as both consoles target a different demographic, will be incredibly expensive ($500+) during their first 1-2 years on the market, and most importantly (and obviously) won't have any Nintendo 1st party exclusives that have been driving Switch sales over the last 3 years.

@jipiboily

Haha, lucky! I was never able to find one to try. Clearly the was a system way ahead of its time.

Surely as a Hyrid console that list should include Nintendo Handhelds...

"Mark my words, Nintendo Switch will fail."
Sligeach_Eire, 2016.

Regardless of the sales number the NintenDoomed fandom will always cherry pick to find what fits their neat world of only xbox or psx consoles.