Thanks To Switch, Nintendo Has Now Sold Over Half A Billion Handheld Consoles

Of course Nintendo did

I'm still waking up, and I thought for a second there that this meant over half a billion Switches...

Man that title confused me for a second, cause "Billion" in english isn't the same as "Billion" in german cause "Billion" in german would be "Trillion" in english

Switch is a separate category i'm afraid , no half bill for you Ninty until you release a dedicated portable that fits in a pocket.

Oh so it's a HANDHELD now?

Guess Nintendo Life will need to go back and delete all of those "Switch outsells N64, Switch outsells Wii U, Switch outsells NES" articles now since they make no sense if the Switch is a HANDHELD. 🤷‍♂️

Full disclosure - I've been saying Switch is a 3DS replacement, not a Wi U replacement, since the beginning, that Nintendo had abandoned the home console market in favor of a handheld that does TV out, but I've been told I'm wrong enough to know that the Switch is a home console that's portable, not a handheld, that I was almost starting to believe it. But I should have know, right all along. 😎

Main argument - Wii U and Switch power are on par, Switch is a next gen upgrade over 3DS. If anything, Switch was a handheld version of the Wii U, not a next gen Wii U, which still makes it a handheld, not a home console. Wii was at least 2 Gamecube duct taped together, so it was an upgrade to the previous gen home console. Also wasn't a handheld.

But it was only ever a matter of time before NL writers fit the Switch definition into whatever role suited their purposes, regardless of what they've been saying over the years. It is what they say it is. 😝

wonder what the environmental impact of that is lol

Well done, lots of Nintendollars.

@rjejr
Imagine getting triggered by this.

Can't be me.

@rjejr I've been saying the same thing, i mean it should be obvious to anyone.

The console works just fine without a dock but the dock doesn't work without the console.

This means Nintendo's main focus when making the Switch, was it's ability to be portable, because that part works alone.

The home console part doesn't work on its own.

This is the very definition of portability with TV out.

Don’t forget that smartphones, like those of Apple and Google, are considered handhelds too. And Nintendo has a fair share of competition there!

@rjejr I know the feeling. I'd been saying that the Switch had to be some kind of hybrid system, before it was officially revealed and only rumored to exist, essentially being a portable console you could connect to a TV. People thought I was crazy, but then all of a sudden they forgot their previous arguments after the official Switch reveal. I'd go so far as to argue that the Switch fits into both categories simultaneously, like having a 2-in-1 tablet/laptop. I just hope Nintendo doesn't split their base again between portable and home consoles. The Switch is the perfected form of a fusion of the Wii U and PS Vita.

I'm still hoping that Nintendo makes a cheaper tv-only Switch model to go along side the primary Switch (Hybrid) and Switch Lite (Handheld). That'd confuse even more people. 🤣

@rjejr it's almost like a hybrid's purpose is to be what people want it to be at a time. 😮😄 But it's always more fun to argue about stuff on the internet than get the word "hybrid" right. Still, tabloids and fanblogs are hardly unknown for tailor-phrasing everything to what sounds more interesting on the topic to cover, so I can partly understand your sentiment here.

And while PSP can certainly be called a spiritual predecessor to the concept, you still need a separately sold component for it, so it's only of Switch caliber if we go all the way to also put Super Game Boy on that shelf. Wait, maybe I shouldn't give this fandom any more ideas...

@mariomaster96
No it's not your thinking of the yanks

@raino_san
Go back to bed son. It's a phone

@rjejr I think it was a replacement for both. It is essentially a Wii U that can be a handheld if you want. I didn't keep my Wii U when I got my Switch.
If Nintendo stray from the switch model then they are mental. The PSP was the only successful non Nintendo handheld and Nintendo have only had 2 home consoles (Wii and NES) selling over 50m units. It is the market they do well in, surely they know it now.

Not only is the Switch a handheld and a home console, it's also a tabletop console. So we can count up the Switch's 85m sales with Nintendo's other tabletop console, the Virtual Boy! Giving an amazing 85m tabletop console sales!

Nice work Nintendo. Will overtake the Wii this year and maybe even the Gameboy if it does particularly well

We are 4 years into the systems life, why are people still confused about how a hybrid system works.

How did I know people would be splitting hairs over this...never change comment section....never change.

@Giygas_95 I kid you not, as I sip my coffee, I swear I was thinking the exact same lol

Can't really compare this to nintendos previous handheld consoles, the switch is a hybrid

@mariomaster96 Whoah weird

@electrolite77 4 posts and you reply to everyone but me, I think I've been insulted. Also, it's all about the math. Keep reading. If you dare bwa ha ha ha ha

@Westlondonmist "I think it was a replacement for both."

Agreed. Wii U by default, 3DS by design. And I'm ok w/ that. But see below about math. Nintnedo, nor NL, shouldn't count it as both handheld and home console sales, that's double dipping when you get to the total systems sold. And yea, no going back, handhelds w/ TV out from here on out.

@Damo If that's your way of thanking me for generating all of the posts, you're welcome. 😉 I'm not saying you knew I'd be the one, don't post as much as I used to, but you had to know somebody would get this ball rolling. It was as inevitable as Thanos.

"We've never said it's strictly a handheld or home console - it's both, hence the term 'hybrid'."

See linked article below, which does not contain the word "hybrid" or any mention of any Nintendo handheld or portable console.
Not throwing my man Craddock under the bus or anything, article is fine the way it's written, NL has always covered Switch as a HOME console, until this article. Which was my point.😉

So as a hybrid do you get to add it's sales to both handheld, 1/2 a billion, and home - whatever that is - and list Nintneod's TOTAL hardware w/ Switch counted twice since it's a hybrid? Ok we both know that's a rhetorical question, you have to pick one. I think you're right, Nintendo would list it w/ handhelds, not home, per your Lite exception. But then why so many "Switch is Nintendo's 4th, 3rd, 2nd best selling "HOME" console" if you, Nintendo and I all know it gets counted w/ handhelds? That was my point. W/ the article below as my proof so to speak.

@nhSnork "it's almost like a hybrid's purpose is to be what people want it to be at a time."

I thought a hybrid's purpose was to be it's own thing by being neither of the other's. It's neither a home nor a handheld, it's a hybrid. You know, like what is the sound of 1 hand clapping? I have no problem calling it a hybrid. I've been saying that since day 1 as well. I've been commenting on here over 12 years, I say everything about everything at 1 time or another. 😂 And if people want to compare the sales of Nintendo's latest hybrid game console - it's the video game console that we care about anyway - to Nintnedo's previous game consoles, well then by all means. Nintendo's hybrid outsells Wii U, Virtua Boy, N64, Gamecube, DS phat. But in this article the titles says "Handheld" and the first sentence says handheld. So there's that.

Then there's this article from last year. Don't see hybrid mentioned, just a list of Nintnedo home consoles. 🤷‍♂️
Let us know if you think the Switch has what it takes to become Nintendo's number one best-selling home console in the comments below.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/08/nintendo_switch_sales_surpass_61_million_equalling_the_mighty_nes

@eaglebob345 I've been waiting for a $199 SwitchTV since launch. Seemed sensible since it's an NVidia Shield w/ a Nintendo skin on it anyway. But it kinda feels like that ship has sailed. I mean it could still happen b/c Nintendo Logic, and nobody but nobody knows what Nintendo will ever do next, but I'd be surprised now if it happened. Kind of like Pikmin 4. 😢
Bonus points for the animated Pokemon avatar. 👍

@Razer Ooh, like the logic, hadn't thought of it like that. Very "if" "then" statementy. Needs more emoji though, also not triggered enough. 😁

@westman98 Oh come on, you know that's not me triggered. Too many emoji, not enough $#$%^&. Actually not a single $#$%#. How can you think I'm triggered if there aren't any $%#$%? 😉

Also, post #109 in the below linked article, you get it.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/08/nintendo_switch_sales_surpass_61_million_equalling_the_mighty_nes

I’m responsible for 8 of these purchases. 🥇

It’s a hybrid and therefore belongs in most conversations. Come on guys, it’s nearly 5 years old!

@Damo because there is a subtle difference between a console that has the ability to be played portable and a portable with TV out capabilities.

The former requires much of the meat of the console to be attached to the console itself, but the console has the ability to be played portable - this is EXACTLY what the Wii U was, a console that had portable features.

The Switch is a portable first with the ability to be played on TV, but the main sticking point here is portability, the fact that you don't need a dock to play the console is further proof of this.

So yes it is a hybrid, but when making this thing, Nintendo's main focus was clearly it's ability to be played portable, the gimmick here is actually it's ability to connect to the TV.

@electrolite77
At least it's not the stupid console generation debate on Wikipedia.

@electrolite77 "Seriously? Four years in and people are still whining about whether Switch is a Handheld or a Home system?

Sweet mother of divine mercy."

Tell me about it...gamers can be a very sad bunch at times...I bet the people who split hairs over such pointlessness as this are the life and soul of parties (if they ever get invited...)

Wow people feel strongly about this.....😴

@Damo just because it displays better when used on TV doesn't mean that it isn't still primarily a portable.

And honestly, many games look better in portable so your point is a scaling factor, its easier to scale the resolution to look better on TV than it does on portable but that doesn't mean anything.

The SNES GB add on made the GB games look better when they were on TV too, are you going to tell me that was a hybrid too?

Think about it another way.

i can play the portable console just fine without the dock, but i can't play the dock without portable console.

Therefore the portable is the defining factor here.

And it's honestly amazing to me that people still don't understand the difference between a console with portable features (Wii U) and a Portable console with TV out features ( The Switch).

@Razer Man, the Switch is different for everyone. You can't base it on your own playing habits. It's a handheld and a home console. It's, like, both. Honestly, folk went through what you are going through during it's reveal. One of the reasons it is so popular is because of it's verstility that you are so struggling to comprehend lol. It's easier to accept it as a hybrid and get on playing games (on the TV or in the park!)

See you in the next argument when we will be arguing if the Switch Pro is an iteration or a successor. I'm sure PS2 diehards will stop at nothing to prohibit it encroaching on their life time sales hee hee.

(No hate as usual here btw. I just see it differently.)

Just keep it simple. It’s a video game console that can be a handheld or a home console. That’s why it gets compared to both.

What is the definition of a handheld game console?
A system you can play games on while holding it in your hands.

What is the definition of a home game console?
A system you can play games on intended to be used at home.

The Switch ticks both of those boxes, so it is both.
Does someone disagree with those definition or why are we arguing about this again?

And before anyone brings that argument:
Yes, you could argue that any handheld is simultaneously a home console since you can use them at home too. That is, looking at the words being used, correct if the company markets it as such.

But ignoring the marketing, this argument still becomes a bit questionable, as the usual handheld doesn't have any features that are bound to home usage. The Switch is going beyond that.

At this point we are REALLY splitting hairs though.

@Giygas_95 Now that would be a story.

@chardir underrated comment.

4 years going and that's the best NintenDoomed fandom can do? This tells you how scared they are of a Portable/Docked gaming console scares them. Grabbing at straws must be tiring day after day.

"King of the handheld market" apparently means selling faulty controllers, and systems that melt away. That trick is a classic

@SwitchForce who in this whole chat has said the switch is doomed? I think it's pretty obvious from the sales that it's the complete opposite. What people are talking about is what the machine is. Me personally, I think it's a handheld first with the ability to be played on the TV. Don't get me wrong it has some amazing games/franchises that the competition would kill for, but I just don't think it's powerful enough to be called a home console. You only have to look at all the games its missing, the latest resident evils and Assassins creeds, COD, battlefield, hitman(natively), madden, GTA5, a decent fifa, Marvel avengers, later final fantasy, RDR2, any of the latest Star wars games, borderlands 3 and a few more. And the reason is its just not powerful enough(and the gaps only going to get bigger when developers go next gen only). Now whether you care about any of those games is another matter, but millions do. Don't get me wrong it's a brilliant bit of kit and a great hybrid, but to many, a system that can't play most of the latest 3rd party games isn't much of a home console.

@electrolite77 I find all the stats and stuff fascinating, Nintendo have produced something no-one's seen before and people are desperately trying to pigeonhole it but they can't. But as with the power issue, they need to just move on. Yes it's not as powerful as the western consoles, it was never meant to be. But to keep bringing it up? 4 years later? Sadness or trolling or both. They need to try having this conversation with non-gaming friends or colleagues, just to see how quickly the people they're with start making excuses to call it an early night. I'm reminded of the meme of the dude in the check shirt bending some poor girl's ear.

@rjejr For some vague reason, I read this all in Dwight's voice.

@Fandabidozi Still got the OG Switch from probably one of the first batches.

Nintendo Switch is a great handheld it's like a home console experience on the go reminds of the Nomad but with its own game library and also what the Vita could have been. If Nintendo could launch a 14 teraflop home console alongside it and bring back the 3rd party support they could be successful in both arenas. However it looks like they've bowed out of the home console market for good.

@tseliot
I’ve got my GameBoy Color, GBA SP, DS, 2 x 3DS and me Switch. I used to have a GameBoy, GBA and an other DS (RIP comrades). The Pokémon 3DS I have goes for over $1000 on eBay. 😲

Amazing stuff. Very clever of nintendo to have this hybrid system that could be considered as exclusively home, exclusively portable or both.

Now you're playing with power! Portable power!

@Damo I said there was nothing wrong w/ Ryan's post, he presented Switch as a home console, as NL and Reggie and Nintendo had been doing in the US for the entire 3 years of it's existence at that time. Switch was the "home console" replacement for Wii U. Switch was always everywhere compared to Nintendo's other home consoles. From Ryan's article. All home consoles, no handhelds.

"The table below shows Nintendo HOME CONSOLE HARDWARE sales correct as of June 2020."

Console Hardware Sales (Million) Software Sales (Million)
Wii 101.63 921.85
NES 61.91 500.01
Nintendo Switch 61.44 406.67
SNES 49.10 379.06
Nintendo 64 32.93 224.97
GameCube 21.74 208.57
Wii U 13.56 103.21

And then you wrote this article adding the total Switch sold to total handheld sold. 🤷‍♂️

A month from know when you write an article saying that Nintendo has sold 350 million home consoles. And then write 850 million total consoles. Just keep in mind, it isn't 850 mil, it's 750 mil, b/c you added Switch twice.

You can compare apples to oranges, you can contrast apples to oranges, but don't add apples to oranges and oranges to apples, doubling the amount of fruit you have. Pick a fruit.

@WaluigiNumberOne "you s-o-b's Nintendo you pulled a fast one'"

Confusion thy name is success!! Or some such.

If you go back to how Nintendo handled the launch there is a very strong difference between US and Japan marketing. US was all about TV out and the dock, Japan was all handheld and tabletop. Commercials, in store displays, everywhere. It was a hybrid that could do everything, but they really marketed more as a home console in the US and a handheld w/ tabletop in Japan, and not as a hybrid focus.

Of course back then whenever I would say "tablet" I'd get crucified "It's not a tablet, it's a handheld" (Arnold Schwarzenegger voice) b/c it's very important for gamers to make a distinction between a handheld and a tablet, FYI - tablet=garbage; handheld=god's gift, but a handheld and a home, SAME THING apparently. 🤷‍♂️

@tseliot "I read this all in Dwight's voice."

Dwight from the office? Never watched but familiar w/ the character via memes and what not. When I reread it after all the replies it was unintentionally in John Oliver's voice. He's been doing the late night talk show circuit of late. I'm no John Oliver though so it probably would work better as Dwight. But it can't be Dwight, don't think I've ever heard him before.

@electrolite77 "Equally valuable and meaningless at the same time."

I'm making that my new tagline. Old tagline was:
"Hey you kids get off my lawn!"

Correction, was too long for tagline, had to put it in my Description. Replaced: "Been here since before the beginning, still here after TW was gone." Since TW is back now that really didn't make any sense. 🤷‍♂️ So it's now:
"My opinions are mine and mine alone, and are equally valuable and meaningless at the same time." Sounds about right. 😎

you mean the switch lite. the regular switch is not a portable it is a home console you can take on the go.

@Serialsid must not keep up to date with all the naysayers or is one of the naysayers not admitting it.

@SwitchForce which naysayers in this whole chat??? No one thinks the switch is doomed. That just seems to be a defense mechanism against anyone who dares say anything against the Holy Nintendo! It's just a chat about what the console is. I've had a switch since launch and have put a lot of money in Nintendos piggy bank. I love the switch. Though since the PS5 came out I haven't been playing it much, the last year games wise has held little appeal to me.

@Damo My brain isn't broken, I'm not the one adding "Home console" sales into Nintendo's handheld sales. 😝

Let me ask you this, I know this wasn't your idea, you just copied and pasted from the Gamerant article, but did Nintendo ever make this official announcement or is it just something Gamerant decided to do? I feel like if Nintendo sold 1/2 billion handheld consoles they would announce it. Or maybe they consider Switch to be a home console, like Nintendo life has the past 4 years? 🤷‍♂️

Hey @ThomasBW84 - won't ask you to take sides, but you've always covered Nintendo's financials, stock price, etc. Has Nintendo ever reported Switch sales as either handheld or home console sales, or do they do the prudent thing and just always announce them as "Switch" sales?

This page has "Dedicated Video Game Sales Units" which I like. Switch is a dedicated video game unit, no denying that.

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/index.html

I like how Nintendo puts the 8 year old 3DS next to the 4 years old Swatch, leaving the Wi U out to dry. Even Nintendo is like "Wii U, what's a Wii U?" 😂