As we get closer to the sixth anniversary of the Switch, it seems Nintendo's beloved hybrid system has broken yet another record. According to the latest NPD Group data for 2022 (via industry analyst Mat Piscatella), the Switch was officially the best-selling console for the fifth year in a row in the US.
Sony's PlayStation 5 was in second place and Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S was in third place. In terms of revenue, PS5 banked the most last year. And the overall market is said to have exceeded $56.6 billion but was down by 5% compared to 2021. Piscatella notes how "factors impacting 2022 spending" included continued supply constraints, a light slate of premium releases and macroeconomic conditions.
In terms of the best-selling games of 2022 in the US (in dollar sales), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 took out the top spot, followed by Elden Ring in second and Madden NFL 2023 in third. Also making the top 10 was Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in sixth place and Pokémon Legends: Arceus in eighth place. And just outside of this Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in eleventh.
Nintendo managed to sustain sales last year with key releases such as Splatoon 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and even some DLC for games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It also used some special themed bundles to help shift hardware - releasing OLED models inspired by games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and the latest Splatoon entry.
Do you know anyone who purchased a new Nintendo Switch last year? Did you? Leave a comment below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 55
Kinda crazy to think that the Switch is Nintendo’s best selling home console, and is really only behind the DS overall!
Switch had another fantastic year I see. Here’s to 2023 and beyond. Have a good week ladies and gentlemen. 🥂
Good results for both Switch and PS5.
Xbox needs to pull their finger out big time. This is their strongest market and still lagging in third. Gamepass alone won't cut it.
Switch keeps on keeping on.
I bought my youngest daughter the Pokemon OLED model ............which I'm totally jealous of.😜
I'm pretty sure the PS5 is no longer selling at a loss, but as far as I know, Nintendo consoles usually start out selling at a slight profit that continually grows as the generation goes on. So between Sony's higher revenue and Nintendo's presumably higher profit margins, I wonder who came out on top in actual profit from console sales.
I'd finally bite and grab a Switch Oled this past black friday, was a cool sale at Wal-Mart so i had to but yeah, still dont think Switch will overtrhone the PS2 as much as i would love to, oh well 🫤
Anybody got the prints money gif?
I purchased a second Switch this year as a Christmas gift. Truly, it’s an impressive console, probably my favorite console I’ve ever purchased, and I say that as someone that purchased all three of the big consoles. I hope the Switch topples the PS2 someday.
You love to see it. Not surprising at all considering Nintendo had a really strong year last year with some big sellers included, not to mention the usual evergreens.
Been gaming since the 80’s. First system was the original NES with Mario Bros / Duck Hunt. Had tons of systems over the years. Nintendo Switch is my all-time favorite.
I still love it, despite how aging it is now. So many great games.
Folk claiming the Switch is running out of steam are making gaming far too much effort lol.
Can it do it this year? Yeah. Something tells me TotK is going to have a lot of folk in the industry wondering why they didn't think of that.
@EriXz
Yeah, that's probably. As it stands, not many people out there these days need a cheap DVD player. Also the Switch doesn't break down nearly as much as ps2s did. I remember all those discrete errors and chewed up discs for sure.
@Freek good work. My youngest is 4 and I've just gotten him into playing games. It's magical.
@P-Man it's Incredible; in fact, Nintendo Switch is my all time favorite Console from Nintendo.
@Doomcrow same. Got my NES for Xmas when I was 4. I adore my Switch. I've always preferred handhelds, and the Switch is a great one. Before this it was the GBA. I have waaaaay too many handheld and a PS5, but I mainly play my Switch. Really looking forward to TotK.
...like as in replaying BotW and Ocarina, with Between Worlds next.
It's really not the worst way to live, tbh.
And people wonder why there's no Switch 2 yet...haha
It’s a great console with some of the greatest games. It’s just a shame with the ROM dumping and pirating of new games that aren’t even released yet.
How can this be, I thought the Switch was dead in the water without a Pro revision, as it would not be able to run those third party triple AAA games that never sell on the system anyway.
Guess the core fanatics will just have to endure a few , more years of a lower powered console still outselling all those uber powerful machines, while everyone else just plays games and has fun.
This proves there is no need for a "next-gen" Switch...small upgrades shall do the trick Next up...the Netflix app...and the sales shall burst even more
Great to see Nintendo still at the top. I'm a bit confused as to why the PS5 is top of the software sales, when digital sales aren't included for the Switch games? Surely that is a substantial addition to the sales, in-fact it might be the majority in some cases. Which means that status should be taken with a pinch of salt in a way.
@D_Munk
That is purely on Nintendo for not providing digital sales data.
The stats people can only work with the info provided and they make clear that digital sales are not included for Nintendo titles.
@Anachronism Portable hardware cost more to make. Smaller so more expensive components needed and the screen alone make the cost production skyrockets. I doubt the switch hardware makes more profits than the PS5 hardware which is much more simple to make.
@SBandy1 considering Microsoft as a top publisher in Steam / PC and designing their platform Xbox as a service aside a console, I think other metrics are needed to measure Xbox penetration. For example, monthly active users in online services.
@theModestMouse Nintendo is in a tricky situation. If they release the Switch 2 early and it does not meet expectations (or if they drastically change it to be less convenient than the Switch) then audiences will say the Switch was a fluke and leave Nintendo.
However, if Nintendo does not announce a system soon with specs or model designs for the audiences, then people will start losing interest.
They need to make their next move carefully but not so far off from the future.
@fbnaulin
Well I'm talking consoles here as that is what the article is about.
Microsoft didn't release a single game of note in 2022.
@SBandy1 yeah I get that. That's why I said we should kinda take those announcements with a pinch of salt really (for the software side).
Still Nintendo aren't doing too badly are they Roll on Tears of the Kingdom I say.
@D_Munk
Absolutely, cannot wait for that game!
Unpopular opinion, I still prefer 3DS over than Switch for some reason if I compared between Nintendo machines, but I put PS4 on number 1 for the current machine I played and Nintendo Switch fell down to number 4.
Here is the breakdown.
1. PS4
2. PS3
3. 3DS
4. Switch
5. PS2
I didn't mean to say Switch is suck after I have the machine for 5 years, something that made me disappointed after I saw some flaws from Nintendo Switch in term of porting certain 3rd party multi console games and code in box treatment on Switch version.
Switch is still doing amazing. In 2025 Switch 2.
@glaemay I mean the PS5 was confirmed to be initially selling at a loss, whereas the Switch has always been selling at a profit, so obviously being portable doesn't preclude it from being more profitable. Actually, I can't find anything saying the digital-only PS5 ever stopped selling at a loss. There are other considerations, like the PS5's more modern hardware, higher scarcity of components, and built in SSD, that could keep the cost of production a lot higher compared to the Switch's fairly outdated internals. Then again, inflation's probably taken a big chunk out of both their profits, with Sony even raising their prices in some regions, so it's really hard to say who's faring better at the moment.
@SBandy1 Sure. They had a weak year in terms of first party content. 2023 is looking better. Let's hope for the best.
@P-Man it's not really a home console though it's a mobile device with a hdmi output port on the dock lol
Best thing about the switch is it’s sleep button.
@Would_you_kindly,
It's a Hybrid so in effect both home or handheld console, which is why right from the beginning it was advertised as such... the name Switch is a pretty good indicator too.
I use mine as a home console 90% of the time.
@johnvboy it's a mobile device it uses a a mobile chip , I can connect my psp to my TV it doesn't make it a home console
Have a day one Switch. Just got my OLED and love it. Truly a fun system.
As an aside, whoever is buying Madden 23, curse you. We'll never see a decent NFL game.
@Would_you_kindly,
The PSP like the 3DS was a dedicated handheld device, the Switch is a hybrid system with a dock to connect to the T.V, so it's both.
@KevinP We already got a decent NFL game, it's called NFL Blitz 2000 for the N64.
@johnvboy the switch lite which is the same system without the dock is a handheld....
Given it’s my favourite Nintendo home system now I’m pleased to see it become their best seller. Given the mess Nintendo was in 7 years ago it’s an amazing turnaround. Good concept, good hardware, good software, good marketing, good USP. Nailed it.
We all know there's nothing stopping the Switch at this point, the PS5 and Xbox Series X came out too late, the Steam Deck even later, and the Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One were easily trump.
And this is precisely why there isn't a Switch successor yet. Why fix what currently isn't broken?
Will surpass the PS2 on sales. I've been saying that for a long time. Long reing for the Switch!
@Would_you_kindly,
No the lite is a handheld as it does not dock, it was designed for people wanting to upgrade from the 3DS and did not want to connect to the T.V.
@Edu23XWiiU,
It has a chance, even more so if Nintendo delay the successor, which looks likely as the Switch is still in great demand, with no real price cut as yet.
I believe that as long as it prints money, Nintendo will keep Switch going down the tracks, which is fine by me, because I love my Switch.
@Serpenterror That was a great game. As was ESPN 2K5. But I'm talking on current gen or near future gen. It's a shame.
@1UP_MARIO It sounds so trivial, though it is actually very handy, one of my favorite features of the Switch is the ability to just freeze the game at any time, and come back later. I hope Nintendo keeps that feature in future consoles.
@1UP_MARIO
Best thing about the Switch is how its sleep function actually works.
You press the button, it goes into sleep mode faster than a M1 Mac. And that’s seriously impressive. When you press it again, it wakes back to where you left off instantly.
It helps mitigate the somewhat long load times a lot of bigger AAA Switch games have.
@johnvboy
It’s more of a handheld though due to its hardware specifications though.
That said, the PS4 and Xbone both used a CPU designed for Ultrabooks back in 2011. It was way underpowered but developers somehow made it work.
So maybe that’s not a good metric anymore.
@OrtadragoonX agree. Puts you right in the game where you past played
@EriXz I agree but I don’t think it’ll miss the top 2 by all that much. They projected 19m units sold for the current financial year. Say they manage even 25m in the next 2 years, they’d be just a good Black Friday / Xmas short.
I bought a Switch Lite last year lol
Tap here to load 55 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...