Yep, The Switch Has Now Outsold The NES

Now you're playing with power!

I’m sure it’ll surpass the Wii, but the curious question is if it’ll beat out the ps2.

What magical Switchcraft is this?!

@Toy_Link Hybrid Power!

@Dm9982 I think it will in software sales.

Hardware? Only with a pricedrop down the line. The DVD player in the PS2 was too good a deal...

Now a Switch Pro with an OLED screen, thinner bezels. Still with the same power so people won’t cry.

That's great news although we should be comparing its sales to their portable consoles too

My cousin’s son got his second Switch yesterday, I like to think that was the sale that took it beyond the mighty NES lol great stuff and long may it continue. We could be looking at another 100m+ system here guys, when all is said and done.

To make a fair comparison you should include the relevant hand console that sold along side the NES.

So what you are really saying is that the Switch has not yet out sold the NES.

Playing with figures to make then read how you want, is called politics.

Sounds good besides there is nothing new from Nintendo coming to switch in the next months.

I mean I just got one and like it and I'm by no means Nintendo faithful, so they must be doing something right.

@Slowdive,

Will have no issues doing that, Nintendo's biggest threat going forward is the production line.

@zool
For the first 6 years on the market, the NES/Famicom had no real handheld alongside it. The Game Boy launched one year before the release of the Super Famicom. Plus the Game Boy sold the majority of its units post SNES.

It's going to be interesting to see if the Switch will eventually outsell the Wii. It's not going to be easy, but it is certainly possible.

I've contributed to 4 of those sales. The original SKU and 3 Lite versions. All for me.

@Toy_Link The Game Boy also had life extending things through its lifespan- Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy camera (it had lots of commercials I remember) and most importantly Pokemon. Also depends on if the GBC is considered a unique system or a variant of the original GB...

@Rexenoboy,

I have two recent model Switch consoles, plus the original console bought at launch, gave it to my sister so she could play Animal crossing.

It'll be interesting if it bests the Wii. Like the PS2, traditional video games weren't the only incentive to get a Wii. Switch is just a video game console in the general public view.

@Toy_Link there is an overlap and sales figures during the overlap should be included. Otherwise to be fair don't include the Switch Lite sales.

Can it really be classed as a home console when 1 of the 2 models contributing to its sales is purely a handheld? Both can be handheld, but only one can connect to a TV. If it has to be classed as one of the two (as Nintendo seems to be doing) isn't it a handheld?

I'm not trying to troll or stoke flames here; I'm genuinely curious.

@Collette Exactly. I have a hard time seeing switch beating the combined sales of Wii and DS (250m). Maybe gamecube and gba (103m), or wii u and 3ds (88m).

@johnvboy
I sold my original SKU and bought a grey Lite because I always played in handheld mode and the Lite is much more comfortable to hold than a regular Switch. Unfortunately, that first Lite of mine got destroyed in a freak biking accident. I then purchased a yellow Lite but after a few months that bright yellow really started to bother me. A good friend of mine was looking for a secondhand Switch so I gave him mine free of charge and bought myself a new grey one.

Off topic. I’ve just got an Xbox one and bought forza 3 in the sale at the moment. The rumble is the best rumble I’ve experienced in a game it’s amazing the triggers even rumble as you brake and press the throttle the controller is awesome. So now I’m looking at my switch pro controller with its HD rumble and thinking that its nothing special in any game so far in fact a constant disappointment. But why? Why is the rumble under used? Why do the triggers not vibrate?

I own a switch and a switch lite. Wasn't so sure how the Lite would hold up but MAN do I play even more games with it. Super portable and it runs great, DQXI looks gorgeous on it. Easily sunk several hundred hours into it and I use the main switch only for local multiplayer and super smash, the joy cons haven't really held up well over the past 3.5 years (own 4) but the Lite can take a beating in comparison!

@zool they actually did a pretty good piece to see how many hardware & software sales Nintendo has had in comparison to the Switch. Here it is: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/07/talking_point_is_nintendo_making_as_many_games_as_it_used_to

But to be fair it didn't compare SNES and GameBoy

@sandman89 I have just started Forza Horizon 3 also, have you got the Hotwheels and Blizzard Island DLC in the sale? Well worth getting... As you say the rumble is great, surprised me too... The game overall for me is close to Forza Horizon 4...

The Switch is a beast!

I have two Switches myself (one regular, one Lite), but by talking about the console and recommending it, I’ve also contributed to at least six other purchases among friends and family. This never happened when I was talking about the 3DS for example. The Switch has a certain mainstream appeal not seen since the Wii days, without sacrificing any integrity or quality.

Amazing sales for the Switch, no real reason why it shouldn't overtake Wii, especially as Nintendo only said a few month's back the device was only at it's halfway life... Although you never know with Nintendo, that could just be a PR statement to keep consumers buying it...
Regardless, great sales and they should continue!!

@BANJO best thing for Nintendo would be to release a Switch Pro next year. To offset next-gen sales

I think it'll take the Wii but the ps2? That'll be hard one to beat down.

@Rexenoboy,

Do fancy a lite, saw one in the flesh a while ago ant it looked very robust.

Am I right in saying the DS has outsold both?

@johnvboy
It sure is, just don't expect it to survive a fall with your bike into a river. 😅

The NES install base around 60 Million
Master System around 10 Million
That's every possible console player i.e. the market,
So in today's markets the NES would probably be around the 200 Million making it the best selling console ever,
This only includes NES and master system to give a today number equivalent

Unless they announce some games soon I wouldn’t expect the switch sales to get anywhere close to Wii sales.

With Nintendo’s foot off the gas it feels like we’re winding down already. Tho I imagine a new console development announcement will be at E3 next year with a release window the following year.

@Dm9982 I hope it does, but it is the console the WiiU shouod have been. It came out more than half way through a console generation. They at least need to do an update to it as a lot of people are now eyeing up the PS5. Lockdown has really helped Switch ssles but Nintendo really need to show sone new software.

@CupidStunt I concur. I’m still not done buying switch software for sure, so when they announce more stuff in down to buy. Also would totally get a Switch Pro or two if they announced that!

@sanderev They are in a strange situation, excellent sales but little known about upcoming games.. A pro and a few new big heavy hitter games is what's needed to keep the Switch going for the next two years I would say.
Although the other route would be to just coast, have a few remakes and in a year's time announce Switch 2 is in development with a release 6-9 month's afterwards...
I'm sure games like Super Mario Odessey 2, Splatoon 3, Mario Kart 9 etc are being thought about about and in their first phase of development now, these won't release on Switch but instead will be Switch 2 games, that's for sure...
Their quietness shows they are up to something...

It’s a funny way to be doomed isn’t it? According to social media Switch is doomed. Hmmmmm

@Dm9982 I want a Switch Pro soooooo bad, gadget whore that I am!

I believe it will beat the Wii easily, it just has too much momentum. But I think what will stop it getting past the PS2 is in 3/4 years they will need to release the Switch 2. 3rd party games then will be next gen only and won't be portable/scalable to the switch. And I reckon Nvidia will have something amazing by then that's going to really impress people with what's possible on a hybrid. Especially with their DLSS 2.0 tech.

With my switch for the past three years, I feel like I am in the golden age of gaming right now.

But u wud expect more sales of devices like this as population's increase and technology becomes more common...if records r not broken I'd b suprised...

Cool.
Im hoping that Switch lands around 90M in 6 years, and mb 105-110 in 7 years.
Switch is prob my favorite Console since childhood. Had a more or less complete break from videogames under the late Wii and Wii u-era, now Im gaming regulary thanks to Switch.

@Kilamanjaro thanks for that, I do remember reading it.

As for console sales, I have bought every Nintendo home console (at launch) since the N64, and every handheld since then, upgrading as a new version was launched. Had the 3ds got a new version after the Switch launch I would have that as well. As it is I have not bought a new console since I purchased the Switch, 3 years ago, I don't need a Lite. So the sale of Nintendo consoles to me in the last three years is poor. The Switch sales, I think will peak next year and then slow, revenue will decrease and there won't be a second console to revive the figures........ unless Nintendo has something new under wraps.

@Rexenoboy,

What do you mean?, I was counting on that.

What I notice most every time I go check the list of best selling consoles of all time is that Sony has utterly dominated the home console market since the launch of the first PlayStation. Sony's home consoles make up four of the top five sellers in the category. Other than the anomaly that was the Wii, it's just obliterated the competition. And even in the time of the Wii it still sold 87.4 million PS3s, which is actually more than most of Nintendo's handhelds have even sold. Nintendo has dominated the handheld space, but I don't actually find that quite as impressive as what Sony has done in the home console space. And part of that might be that Sony's home consoles have actually on the whole greatly outsold Nintendo's handhelds in each generation too, which is crazy when you consider that I think most of us see Nintendo's handhelds as being some kind of nearly unstoppable juggernaut. So, well done Nintendo, but major kudos to Sony.

Wait, I've got a question. So you all say home console...couldn't you put it on the list of portable consoles too? What would its place be there?

I've never understood why people get so hung up in getting all the right parameters for an accurate comparison on sales figures that they have no personal stakes in. It's a Nintendo device and it's selling well enough to keep Nintendo in the video game business, that's all I really need to know. I'm a gamer, not a Nintendo investor.

@zool so should we count Joy Cons that can be bought later. Maybe even a pro controller?

@jarvismp People on the Internet think that the current president of the US is the "greatest of all time!" and want to carve his face into Mount Rushmore. The internet is NEVER right.

Gratz Nintendo! Although with Xbox based in USA and PS based in Europe now, I would like to see worldwide sale numbers not just Japan (HQ for Nintendo) numbers. With great power comes great responsibility! So, encore it with a mid-life upgrade to Switch Pro with SSD (128 GB+) and upgraded refresh rate/frame rate.

@Slowdive

Great point! YOUR MESSAGE WAS ONLY #15 SO I REPOST IT FOR PEOPLE TO SEE IT AGAIN

"The Switch will outsell the Wii as well. Mark my words. The Wii was a fast burner, and the Switch has been building up momentum after momentum followed by great releases over the years."

As it is a hybrid console DS is the target not Wii.

@Friendly
A Switch Pro could possibly prolong its life to make it happen, but I still think it will come short of such a goal.

@johnvboy
Their biggest threat is a 1st party game drought

@Lord
No, earlier this year they stated halfway into its life.
So expect a new console in 2023, not before
Probably will release a Pro before that to prolong its life

@sandman89 Have you played Grid Autosport? The HD Rumble in that is superb, best I've experienced by far

@jamesthemagi,

Makes no difference, to us it's the end of the world, but to potential Switch owners there is a console with lots of games.

I think it will pass the 3DS and then the GBA, if nothing else.

It has enough games that have been advertised free in social media, like BotW and Animal Crossing.

@RainbowGazelle I call it a home console with the ability to go portable. I'm glad they did this because now I don't have to sit in front of the tv 100% of the time to play.

It will outsell the Wii, of course. The question that should be asked is will it outsell the DS?

@BANJO Eh, I'm not so sure those games are being held off until the Switch's successor. Really, those games should no more than 2 years away and they'll probably release on the Switch as sort of a "second wave". We saw the same thing with the Wii, the lineup died down a bit in 2008/2009, but then in 2010/2011 there were a lot of major releases like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Skyward Sword, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, etc. Similarly, I think games like BotW2, Mario Odyssey 2, Mario Kart 9, and Splatoon 3 (also Prime 4 either being the Switch's swan song or a cross gen release) could form a second wave in 2021/2022 before the successor releases in 2023/2024. The Switch's momentum has been going too well for them to think about the successor's lineup this soon, and remember the titles we're going to be seeing in 2021/2022 were probably being planned as early as 2017-2019, when the Switch was utterly dominating. They're probably not thinking about the successor's launch lineup right now, they're thinking about how to wrap up the Switch's lineup at this point.

@zool let's see what the future brings! They're highly profitable for the moment and are still pleasing fans, so no complaints on my end. Wish they had a larger focus on newer first party IPs. Here's hoping to a Mario Kart 9 game coming out by March!

PS2 is going to be hard to beat. There are a truck ton who bought it primarily as a DVD player. (And people bought replacements as they weren't the most durable console ever made)

@GrailUK,

The PS2 basically brought DVD to the masses.

@MeowMeowKins of course not, that would be just plain daft. But if you think we should I won't disagree. 😀

@johnvboy exactly

I'd like to see the Switch's numbers compared with handheld systems as well since it IS a hybrid system. I could see it possibly surpassing the Wii if its current momentum is maintained, but I'm not sure if it'll make it past powerhouses like the original Nintendo DS.

It took only 3 years for Switch to get this far that should be the biggest unknown surprise here. But then again we will get NintenDoomed fandom trying to rain on the success. Buy a PS for playing only DVD is a poor comparison it should be the only listed for the games it played. They only use this because without that the sales would be horrible last place. Called grabbing for straws to make apples/orange comparisons. Take out the DVD drive and PS would never make sales only because that is why the majority bought it for. But then again they will grab for straws to bluster anything they can say.

@MeowMeowKins and I've got an answer. It is already included as a home console, the Switch Lite is the handheld version. But the Switch Lite should not be included unless all past handhelds are also included with their respective home consoles.

It's like Apple including all it's tablet sales together with its PC sales to make the PC sales look better.

@Bolt_Strike While I would like what you said to happen, I mean it would be great if the Switch lasted that long in it's lifespan, Nintendo is renowned unfortunately for winding down their consoles before releasing the next...
I would be amazed if Mario kart 9 released on the current Switch, the same with Splatoon 3...
I think BOTW 2 will be once again used as a cross-gen release to Sell the Switch 2 at launch... Metroid 4 while incredibly popular with the hardcore is not mainstream enough, it would unlikely launch with Switch 2 as it would not push hardware momentum like BOTW 2 would... For that reason I expect Metroid 4 to launch near the end solely on the current Switch, it could be it's swansong..
Time will tell....

@zool It's like Apple including all it's tablet sales together with its PC sales to make the PC sales look better.

This is why if the real sales were for games for PS only they would be far less then they say. They always do this to cover for the fact it sold less better then they wanted. Companies always do this or others do this to cover up poor sales. Switch and Switch Lite did they all themselves no DVD drive. Just with Physical and Digital games they can do this in 3 years tell you the gaming consumers knows what they want.

@ BANJO4m While I would like what you said to happen, I mean it would be great if the Switch lasted that long in it's lifespan, Nintendo is renowned unfortunately for winding down their consoles before releasing the next...
This is what is called NintenDoomed fandom mindset - at least they wine-down instead of just killing aka Vita.

@ BANJO4m I would be amazed if Mario kart 9 released on the current Switch, the same with Splatoon 3...
You do know Mario is a Nintendo IP and they won't miss doing this release as well.

@ BANJO4m I think BOTW 2 will be once again used as a cross-gen release to Sell the Switch 2 at launch...
What cross-gen are you talking about? Current Switch will more then be able to play BOTW2. Trolling now are we...

@ BANJO4m Metroid 4 while incredibly popular with the hardcore is not mainstream enough, it would unlikely launch with Switch 2 as it would not push hardware momentum like BOTW 2 would... For that reason I expect Metroid 4 to launch near the end solely on the current Switch, it could be it's swansong..
Time will tell....
Nintendo never played by others play book release this is why they survived this long. If others haven't figure this out by now they never will.

@Friendly The Wii had one of those too but Iwata was too greedy to cough up the licensing fees to use it so it remains inaccessible to this day. What a lovely man huh?

@BANJO It usually does. Wii U is the exception, not the rule. Most consoles last about 5 years, with the more successful ones even going 6-8. Since the Switch is one of the more successful, it'll probably be on the longer side. I wouldn't expect the successor until 2023 at the earliest. And there's plenty of games that should be ready by 2021/2022 based on the typical release schedules of their developers. Because of that, I expect 2021/2022 years to give us at least the following:

BotW2
Mario Odyssey 2
Mario Kart 9
remakes of Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
9th gen Pokemon games
another Fire Emblem game
a 3D Kirby game
a 2D Metroid game

There's some pretty heavy hitters in that bunch that could really drive a potential second wave.

The successor could launch with games like Prime 4, Splatoon 3, and a 2D Mario game. While not as top tier as the Switch's launch lineup, that should be enough to get people excited for the next console

@zool So are we counting all of the Wii assorted accessories? Because if you do, it'll be impossible to topple

@Bolt_Strike While I see your view and Prefer it, I still find it very unlikely...
We simply have different expectations of how it will all play out... It will be interesting to see what happens.. 😀

@Handy_Man lol this almost feels like a troll comment 🙈😅

Fam, the console to date this year has sold 13.7 m units as of August 8th from January 4th. The switch has seen growth of 93.6% year on year from 2019 (in 2019 the switch at this point was at 7.1 m)

This is so crazy it has the gaming industry's head exploding for a console in its 4th year.

So if this trend were to continue to the end of the year that would mean 19.2 m + 93.6% would put it at nearly ~38 m.

Of course these are simply projections, but the fact that these projections can even exist should tell you that the switch is guaranteed to hit over 100m. That's not even a debate.

It would be great if it did, but I just don't see Switch beating the Wii. Wii was the ultimate casual console that most people played once and put it away.

@OorWullie I haven’t actually. I do mean to but haven’t yet. Are you talking pro controller or switch console?

@BANJO I haven’t got the dlc yet as I wanted to try the game out first but now I have I definitely will

Well, my son and I both have a Switch. He originally played games on it but now all he does is watch Hulu on it. I play a sh*t ton of games on it and my backlog is ridiculous 🤷🏾‍♂️

The switch does seem to have done its best to incentivise people to buy multiple consoles. My brothers girlfriend recently got a switch and I thought they won’t be borrowing mine anymore. However she is playing animal crossing and my brother wants his own island so they borrowed mine again. Any other console you would just need a second account or a second memory card not a second console.

P.S. I don’t mind my switch being borrowed as it usually comes back with additional games.

@MeowMeowKins I think we are lost in translation. What are you talking about? 🤔😀

@Dm9982 Here's hoping it'll be in time for the Sony machine's 20th!

go wii!

and yeah

I'm a big numbers guy, so these sales figures have me pretty excited. They obviously have games in development that they're just not sharing at the moment, yet I'm still worried about them maintaining this momentum. As extensive as the library is, it's Nintendo's first party exclusives that ultimately drive sales and as things stand right now, there isn't much on the horizon. Things are about to get interesting. When those bombshells eventually do drop, they're gonna be big.

@zool so you said we should include the sales of the NES controller alongside the NES. I said should we include joycons and stuff since those are technically controllers. You said no. So I said should we include the wii stuff, and here we are.

Switch, switch lite and switch pros are going to sell like crazys when it finally arrives. I no im areadly upgrading my switch as soon as a pro comes out.

Jim Sterling: NES CLASIiIiIiIiIC!

The NES is the best console of the 4, 8, 16-bit eras, but the Switch is the best of the modern era.

The Switch is really the second best-selling home console of all time now after the Wii. I shave two thirds of sales off the Sony and Microsoft consoles because their sales were due mainly to their CD, DVD and Bluray capabilities.

@MeowMeowKins I didn't, but I did say the relevant hand console that sold along side the NES. So along with the NES the Game Boy was on sale, so both their sales should be added together, because both the Switch and the Switch Lite sales are being added together.
Not controllers 😀

Talking about numbers...Nintendo is near to achieve 5 billion games sold (not counting virtual consoles sales, Game & Watch and plug and play consoles).

@Bolt_Strike
I wouldn't expect Mario Kart 9 on Switch given how ludicrously strong Mario Kart 8 DX is still selling, but other than that, most of those other heavy hitters should be arriving on Switch from now until 2023. There is no way Nintendo is moving exclusively to Switch 2 game development anytime soon.

@Timmytron are you suggesting you wanted to pay 50-100 extra for your wii?

@westman98 MK8D wouldn't stop them from releasing an original Mario Kart game on Switch. Mario Kart is their highest selling IP, if they have any new ideas for it, they'll go for it and it'll sell like hotcakes. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe may be selling, but the sales are slowly declining and a new game would sell more.

I got my Switch day 1. It's now my favorite game console of all time. And I own at least one version of every Nintendo console, PS1-4, a few Sega machines and Xbox + x360.

@zool oh, okay. My bad. It makes sense, but the Switch Lite is still a Switch. The NES is not a Gameboy. See the difference?

@Bolt_Strike
Mario Kart 8 DX annual sell-in:
> 2017: 7.33 million
> 2018: 7.69 million
> 2019: 7.94 million
> 2020: 3.78 million (Jan - Jun)

Mario Kart 8 DX sales have actually grown YoY for the last 3 years, and 2020 looks to be the game's strongest year yet. It is clearly not selling like a normal game.

@BANJO Summer months have always been slow for Nintendo. I think we'll get a Direct early september (have been saying this for a while now) with some new game announcements and maybe 1-2 shadow drops.

Now we just have to beat the Wii 🙃

@Friendly my dad got one just for the DVD player because it was so cheap........ every now and again he would play a game.
I still have my original PS2 and still use it to watch movies and the odd retro gaming.

@MeowMeowKins well that is the point, should you include the Switch and the Switch Lite figures together because they both have the word Switch in the name.

Or it is more honest not to. Because they are different consoles aimed at a separate market?

@sanderev Hopefully a direct happens soon, it's certainly very long overdue...

@CupidStunt I just wanted to congratulate for finding the best possible internet handle 👌🏻😂👏🏻

@DrJoson No, we shouldn't. The Switch is considered by Nintendo and by all market a home console with handheld capacities. There's a reason for why the games are $60 and the console is more expensive instead of being $40 in its base game.

@AlienX what’s interesting about PS4 it’s the similar way - the top selling games are COD, GTA, and FIFA - the excellent first party exclusives like Bloodborne and Spider-Man get crushed, there was an internal report that leaked a couple years back that PS owners spent more time in YouTube and porn sites than gaming

@Friendly I gladly would've payed 50 bucks extra for it yes if that meant that I would've gotten a system that used all of its capabilities rather then having some of them be cut off by corporate greed.

@BrintaPap stop with the switch pro please its all rumors nothing announced with nintendo so stop

@BANJO stop whining

@KnightsTemplar read this. there is no SWITCH pro stop talking about a clout rumor. if it comes it will come but stop

@BANJO ps NINTENDO wants a ten year life cycle on switch. knock it off with your bad speculations

@zool more honest not to. At the end of the day, they're on it to make money. If you stretch the figures, it looks good, and people will want to buy it.

@NintendoPok and let me guess, your uncle works at Nintendo and gave you this information?

@Slowdive or they could make a more powerful hybrid with tablet having the same unibody form factor as the Switch lite

@Timmytron corporate greed? All of its functions?

So you would have liked Nintendo to add a function so you could make use of all, including that, function.

And you call that company greed. According to you, every other switch owner should have spent 50 euro extra.

I call you greedy. A dvd player was 50 bucks. If you wanted it, just buy your own. When the wii launched, almost everybody had one already. Smart of nintendo to not add that function, so they could keep the price low.

That’s nowhere near greed.

If the Switch is able to appeal more towards the casual players more into the future (which is the reason why the Wii and PS2 sold very well), then it will most definitely outsell the Wii.

As for the PS2, there is definitely a possibility that the Switch might hit close, but that's only if the Switch is able to live up to the success of the DS family, but price seems to be a huge obstacle.

@Slowdive Did you seriously just put "I don't think" and "Nintendo" in the same sentence? 😂😂😂

Id love to pick one up for myself but they are stupid expensive where i live... well over 600 usd for a switch with one game at most... Really wanna play smash but cant pick the console up at the moment

@Slowdive The new (redbox) Switch is actually already the Switch Pro. However, it's clocked lower to increase it's battery life. If Nintendo could get an ever faster processor it would be faster without drawing much more power. If you compare raw power, the Switch actually isn't competitive with devices like an iPhone 11. Just look at the Apple Silicone based Macs.

That could also help the development of ARM chips, helping an eventual Switch 2 in the long run.

That's cool, but most products out-do past products with time. I doubt anybody is arguing that the Switch is better than the NES.

Nintendo has got about every other console to be a hit, and the Switch is one of their biggest ones yet. With the exception of perhaps the Wii, I would say it's more unique than any of the others as well.

As long as they can continue a supply of great software, it will continue to grow. I'm looking forward to seeing it do so.

It's the only console that has the best chance to surpass the Wii and (gasp) the PS2 after all is said and done. What an achievement it has been for Nintendo.

Different eras. The NES was the first wildly successful, massive selling console. It opened the door and paved the way for every console since. Still amazing accomplishment by Nintendo considering Switch has only been out 3 years and has outsold Xbox One by 15 million units in 4 less years on the market. All that being said the Super NES is still the best Nintendo console of all time. Comparatively the Switch has some glaring holes in terms of 3rd party titles as well as underrepresented genres and licenses.

@Dm9982 Wii for sure Switch will surpass in 2021 or 2022, but PS2 or DS will be much harder to surpass, if Switch manage to surpass both consoles i will be very plerplexed.

@Bolt_Strike Nintendo might only release a new Mario Kario on the Switch sucessor or when Animal Crossing New Horizons surpass it this holiday season or in the begining of 2021.

@X-blades this holiday season? WOW that impressive to imagine Switch could hit 100m consoles sold at the end of 2020.

i imagine at the end of Switch life cycle in 2025/2026,Switch will reach sales numbers close to the DS/PS2 sold in it lifecycle.

@TME PS4 is at around 115 million sold as of today. If any console has a chance at beating PS2 it’ll be the PS4. The Switch’s successor will be out before it can reach those numbers.

@Toy_Link now you are playing with hybrid power.

@Giancarlothomaz awee that's the spirit! Lol aim outrageously high as possible!

I feel like the success of the Switch emphasizes just how big the sales gap is between Nintendo's consoles and its handhelds, because if you look at it's position relative to previous handhelds, it's still at the bottom, and yet among consoles it's second only to the Wii. Considering the Switch is a hybrid, it's current position between the two seems less 'Wow! Incredible!" and more in line with what you'd expect from such a device (Though that said, it does seem to be doing better than the 3DS at the moment, so it could very well end up exceeding expectations, [assuming it can keep this success going after the PS5 and Xbox X are released]).

@zool what??? The Switch has outsold the NES. You are the one playing with numbers. The Gameboy came out years later, near the end of The NES... and besides, it doesn’t make any sense to bring up Gameboy, we are talking about the NES right? should we include Genesis too?

You call it politics? I am overwhelmed with the illogic in your entire post!

If it somehow beats the PS2, I'll be impressed.

@stevep
It's be like if the PS4 outsold the PS2 moving the conversation over to the PSP+PS2.

The Gameboy and NES were separate devices with plenty of overlap in ownership. There were plenty of reasons to buy a Gameboy after owning a NES for 2-3 years. The same can not be said of the Switch Lite.

That's nice and all but it doesn't really impress me the nes is nearly 40 yrs old. It would be like saying flat screen tvs have finally outsold black and white televisions. Who cares lol.

@SleeplessKnight I highly doubt the PS4 will come close to the PS2 sales. It will probably only reach 120 million by the end of its life. PS5 is arriving this holiday, and Sony likely already abandoned first party support on the PS4. By comparison PS3 only sold around 7 million after PS4 launched.

@Linux7055 Difference is PS3 wasn’t the market leader heading into the launch of PS4. PS3 was also about 35 million units shy of PS4’s total sales. There will still be lots of people who can’t find a PS5 or can’t afford one, who’ll just buy a PS4 and a bunch of bargain bin games. Believe it or not there are actually STILL tons of gamers who haven’t even upgraded from PS3 or 360 and are more than happy being an entire generation behind. All that being said I also don’t think PS4 will break the 155 million units sold mark either, I just said it has the best chance of any current console.

@Timmytron @Timmytron it’s still accessible. Go do it yourself.

https://www.dvdfab.cn/resource/dvd/can-wii-play-dvds

Also, I’m not comparing it to the switch in any way, except sales. So i don’t get that point of your ‘argument’ at all.

And wtf are you talking about with ‘greed’. It’s obvious Nintendo wanted to prevent games ripping.

But congrats. With you calling me names and being a very unsportive 2-year old, you’re the first on my ignore list here.

@jamesthemagi maybe. Though it is a very unique system! . And a gadget.

But yeah, ps2 numbers are very far away.

@stevep you don't seem to understand numbers.
If you include Switch Lite sales then you are inflating the actual number of Switches sold.

Let's say in a year's time the comparison is between the PS5 and the Switch. Do you include every cheap Switch Lite sold against the high priced PS5? Just to boost Switch sales, I don't think so.

@MeowMeowKins yes I agree, but sometimes being honest takes a back seat.

@NintendoPok so I can’t wish for something that I’d like? Got it

Please tell me more about how I should live my life stranger!

What percent of video game owning household is it though vs the NES?
Raw numbers are useless with stuff like this. When I got an NES as a kid adults didn't play video games and they sure didn't buy consoles for themselves.

@zool 1. A NES and GB combined cost less than a Switch at launch.
2. Nintendo is looking at profits. If Nintendo makes roughly the same amount off of either purchase, do you think they care which version of the Switch you buy? Of course we're gonna count switch lite sales if compared against ps5 sales. You just suggested they do exactly that with the NES/GB to make a fair and non-political comparison with Switch sales.
3. The NES also got a redesign, at least in NA. Are we deleting those numbers from its sales total now?

@zool a Switch is a Switch, dockable or not. Do you think that other companies would count them separately? When Apple mentions the total sales of the iPhone 8 they are counting the Pro models also. It’s a Switch if it plays Switch games, it’s as simple as that. It doesn’t matter what is or what isn’t attached to it

@stevep well I guess your argument is a good one, but if Apple are comparing their Pro model with Samsung's Pro model, then they would only count Pro models, surly?

Another thing, we are counting 'home consoles' those that play on a TV. The Lite can't be docked.

Doesn't matter how much it would sold, as long as Nintendo continues to provide more games coming that would be sweet. Eventually it may beat the Wii and PS2 in the long run. PS2 was only top cause it last long on the market and those who didn't buy it as a game console bought it as a cheap DVD player, give Switch the same longevity and it'll trump it easily. If Nintendo released a Switch Pro and dropped the price of both the original Switch and Switch Lite then the numbers would rise even better.

@mlinkla we are talking consoles that are played on a tv. Which the Switch and the NES are. The Lite is not.
But if you insist on counting the Lite as a full Switch, then the GB should be included with the NES.

@zool They play all the same software, the TV aspect is irrelevant for the Switch. You can't load up Super Mario Land on a NES, and I insist on counting the Switch Lite based upon that criteria. If Sony could make a portable PS5 with pared down graphics would be suddenly disclude it?
On top of that, again, a NES and a GB still cost less than tha Switch. Price is always gonna be a huge factor.

@SwitchForce PS2 has pretty much the best software attach rate of any console out there. Over 10 games sold for every console. Doesn’t sound like people bought it just for DVDs. The Switch is around 6.5 for each console.

@impurekind
You're wrong Sony home consoles have not sold more than Nintendo handheld. The Nintendo DS has soul approximately 149 million systems and Sony has so approximately 150 million PS2. Nintendo sold around approximately 119 million Game Boy systems and Sony so approximately 102 PS1 consoles. As you can see this is nearly a tie between the two. Sony sold about 80 million PS3. Nintendo sold about 80 million GBA consoles. Also keep in mind I'm talking about approximately. I did not factor in the Nintendo 3DS sales for the Nintendo switch sales or the PS4 sales. But if we combined the Nintendo 3DS plus the current Nintendo switch sales it is ahead of the PS4 at that point. So all in all Nintendo handhelds has sold more than Sony's Home console. You guys act like Nintendo was not in this industry making systems since the 1970s. The color TV console is Nintendo first Home console which was only released in Japan. Nintendo has a ton of systems sold way more than Sony when you combine everything total. It is totally false when you guys keep on pumping Sony up as if they are the greatest company the video game industry has ever seen.

@Dm9982 I doubt it'll touch the Wii, let alone the PS2, the market is quite a bit different now, you have too many options to play games on.

Back Then the DVD player in the PS2 and for the first couple of years, it was actually the cheapest DVD player you could buy on the market, made the PS2 an item people who didn't play video games, wanted.

Even the Wii managed a similar feat with casuals

It'll be hard for a gaming device that ONLY plays video games to beat that.

@Peach64 people did buy it just for DVDs, I know plenty of people who had that and maybe one or two games but it was fixed under the TV unit as a DVD player.

But you are right, because I know people who had 50+ games for it too, which makes up the attach rate, I myself had 40 or so and I preferred the GC. Games were so cheap towards the end and the console still had games coming on it well into the 2010s.

That's why it has such a high attach rate. DS would of had as high an attach rate too, if the games were lower priced towards the end.

@Amin_Parker

No one is denying how successful Nintendo's handheld systems have been, and they've obliterated Sony's handhelds every generation they've been competing together. But since Sony entered the picture it has utterly dominated the home console space (it literally holds 4 out of the top 5 selling home consoles of all time spots), and to the point that its home consoles have even outperformed Nintendo's God-like handhelds in the same generations too on most occasions, which is something I don't think most people realize or truly appreciate:

5th Generation: PlayStation = 102.49 million, Virtual Boy = 770,000.
6th Generation: PlayStation 2 = 155 million, Game Boy Advance = 81.51 million.
7th Generation: PlayStation 3 = 87.4 million, DS = 154.02 million.
8th Generation: PlayStation 4 = 110.4 million, 3DS = 75.77 million.

And, if we partly consider the Switch a handheld too:
8th Generation also PlayStation 4 = 110.4 million, Switch = 62 million.

Sony's home consoles have outsold Nintendo's [world dominating] handheld consoles 4 out of the 5 generations (or 5 out the 6 depending on how you look at it) both companies have been outputting consoles in competition with each other.

And the victory is ever more clear when it's just plain old Sony home consoles vs Nintendo home consoles:

5th Generation: PlayStation = 102.49 million, N64 = 32.93 million.
6th Generation: PlayStation 2 = 155 million, GameCube = 21.74 million.
7th Generation: PlayStation 3 = 87.4 million, Wii = 101.63 million.
8th Generation: PlayStation 4 = 110.4 million, Wii U = 13.56 million, Switch = 62 million.

PS4 has even outsold both the Wii U and Switch combined to date this generation (a generation where Nintendo has basically sold two home consoles in the same time frame).

Sony now claims 3 out of the top 5 best selling consoles of all time, and, although it won't change 3/5 the stat, there's a very likely chance the PS4 could even sell more than the legendary Game Boy & Game Boy Color combined by the time Sony stops selling it.

And those are the FACTS--which I prefer to work with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_home_video_game_consoles#Fourth_generation_(1987%E2%80%932004)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_handheld_game_consoles

@HollowSpectre Yup. The PS2 is unstoppable.

@cowntsikin Who knows? The DS is right behind the PS2, which is the best selling console of all time.