Nintendo Switch Has Now Sold Over 129 Million Units

Very impressive, I think they could possibly dethrone the DS, it all depends on how long they support the system after the next system drops.

I want the Switch to succeed and at the same time I don't want the DS to be dethroned

Great numbers, super impressive that the Switch has kept up this momentum without an official price cut.

It all comes down to if the Switch 2 will be able to play Switch games, and how long Nintendo continues to sell the Switch once the next thing comes out.

It's up over last year in the same quarter where they shipped 3.43 million units.

it does say something when your current machine has outsold your previous one by over 113million units! I'm sure when the Switch 2 is released, there will be price cuts etc for the Switch 1, so that will increase total unit sales as well.

But for now, more info on your Switch successor please, Nintendo!

The only way Switch will surpass DS is if Nintendo themselves are still actively supporting it during Switch 2’s first couple of years and give it a hefty price cut.

If they ditch it entirely, Switch will eventually settle at… I’m gonna say around 143m.

@michaelf I don’t expect any real info on the successor until early 2024. It will affect their sales in the Switch’s ‘last’ Black Friday and Xmas if they pull back the curtain on the next big thing.

Nintendo Switch is proof that you don't need a powerful console like PlayStation or Xbox to play. Handheld devices are more and more popular today and that's why the Nintendo Switch is selling so well today. In my opinion, Nintendo did a better job with the console than Sony and Microsoft did with PlayStation and Xbox respectively.

~25 million to go, and still without a price cut. And with stuff like a brand new 2D Mario (in the wake of a money-printing movie) ahead. Really seems like it might take the 2024 winter holidays at longest, potential successor announcement/release notwithstanding.

@arabiansanchez Yeah, I'm of the same opinion. But it will get to a point when Nintendo needs to release something concrete for the hungry hordes!

I'd expect more concerted info to be drip fed (and more), come Spring '24, like the timescales you're thinking of.

@Dark_Knight True, but I think Microsoft is going to make an XBOX branded SteamDeck competitor before the end of 2025. (it will be a Windows 12 machine running on an ARM chip with XBOX GamePass)

And Sony already has a new handheld in development. (though it only streams PS5 games locally)

Doesn't feel like it's going to topple DS or PS2.

Maybe if a Pro Version came along! But I'm finally going to accept it's not happening.

@sanderev

Today, more and more manufacturers release handheld devices, eg Steam, Asus, Ayaneo, GPD, Logitech, and probably Lenovo. Handheld devices are a great replacement for Xbox or PlayStation, eg Steam Deck, Asus Rog Ally...

I think if it's not passed 145m units sold when they announce the Switch 2 then I don't think it will beat the DS.

Blimey, still got holiday season to go this year! The Switch isn't going to disappear overnight the moment the next console is revealed / released, but if it can get within touching distance by the end of this fiscal, I dare say it will it will overtake DS gradually over the next couple of years. They should have a spectacular winter period with their line up.

I still don't see Nintendo hitting that 15 million target, yes Zelda moved more Switch this quater compared to last year but still over 10 million to sell, there is no game that will really get Switch hardware selling until Mario Bros Wonder in October and I don't see that moving as many Switch's as people think it will especially not like Pokemon did last year

Despite Switch sales will dethrone NDS sales and might be the highest sales of all video games, but... I still have more satisfaction from playing the 3rd party multi console games on PS4 that also available on Switch version due to the PS4 version have better performance than the Switch version.
When talking about 1st party and 3rd party exclusive on Switch, Nintendo Switch machine is my answer.
But, when talking about 3rd party multi console games, PS4 / PS5 are my answer.

Hard to say whether it'll overtake the DS. On the one hand, it seems to have entered the tail end of its lifespan and the gap is still 25 million units. On the other, it's sold 18 million additional units since end of Q1 last year so it still has some great momentum. I want to say it depends on when the successor hits store shelves but even then it'll keep selling for a couple years after that.

If you announce a new system, current system sales could take a dive. Switch though keeps rolling along. If they keep the system out along the new one and drop the price, then "yes". If not, probably won't catch DS.

@TheBigK exactly what I believe as well. If they drop the price and keep it out as a lower cost option, then it will.

Apologies for the broken record, but when is the Lite going to get a decent price cut? Well, well overdue. I see Sony slashed £75 off the PS5 recently - admittedly it's an ugly monstrosity I would never wish to buy so needs all the help it can get before they release the inevitable remodelled version - but I'd like to see the Switch Lite available for £125, or maybe even £99.

Nintendo April - June FY23/24 revenue = $3.2 billion (¥461.34 billion) & operating profit = $1.3 billion (¥185.44 billion) are crazy high. Even Playstation whole 1 year operating profit for the last FY22/23 is only $1.8 billion. Nintendo profit miles better than PlayStation even their revenue is lower

Easy to say now with hindsight but remember back in the days of the Wii U the Switch selling 29 million would have been relatively successful in comparison.

The fact that it's actually 129 million and still going is mind boggling (in a good way obviously)

Amazing to be improving year on year at the beginning of 7th year on sale, TOTK playing a big part.

Conservative estimates for rest of fiscal year: Q2 - 4 million, Q3 (holiday) - 7 million, Q4 - 3 million. That would leave Switch on around 144 million sold by end of fiscal year 2023-24. That would leave it 10 million short of DS numbers.

I think they announce Switch 2 in June 2024 and release it in October same year. My guess is the Switch dethrones the DS some time in 2025 as long as Nintendo keeps selling it as a budget console.

Strangely enough I could see the Switch squeeze out 25-30 million more units if it stayed on the market for 2 more years with no true successor and the next console is more like a Switch Pro. It's getting to the point where people are going to want to replace their base Switch, it's already happening quite a bit with the OLED. If the next console is a true Switch 2, then the Switch will likely top out closer to 145 million.

Switch is actually severely outpacing PS2 by around 25m now during its 6 first years,
Don't believe me?

Check out this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_sales
It took PS2 more than 10 years to pass 150m. The sales of PS2 declined so much already after its 5 first years, while Switch is still selling extremely well by now, and still outsells PS5 and Xbox Series for the mostly.

Switch will 100% pass NDS+PS2, no doubt.
It will have +140 or even +145 by 3/3-2024 during its 7 year anniversary, while PS2 were at "just" 117m. despite never having a price-cut! That's insane!

@Keman I'm glad someone here can look long term. Too many think 'if it doesn't beat it this year, it's got no chance' lol. Can it sell 20 million units in the next 3 years? I reckon so (especially if they discount it, and their next console being more expensive.)

I can’t see it beating the ds, maybe if a price cut comes. Except for Mario Bros Wonder I don’t see heavy hitters, I think most people got a switch by now. Holiday will move more units but that many before a new one comes out? Nintendo does not release many games on their (by then in 2024) older consoles.

I’d still be down for an OLED switch lite.

Those Tears of the Kingdom numbers are just wild. They take my breath away.

My predictions :
They will wait with announcing switch 2 until spring/early summer 2024 because of 2023 switch christmas sale and mario.

• Switch 2 will release between october - desember 2024.
• launch games will be mario kart 9, COD and 3D donkey kong.
• new online structure and VC.
• possibly a new type of social hub

@GrailUK
It's both sad and scary that so many out there who're by now scared of that Switch will surpass NDS or PS2.
It took PS2 13 years to pass 158m. so Switch for now just needs just sell another 29m Switches in 7 more years to surpassing PS2, that's nothing.
Switch will easy sell 12m-15m more units until 3/3-2024, so that means that Switch just needs about 15m another units in 6 more years to surpass PS2 then.

Switch will continue to sell even when Switch 2 comes out. Like with GBA when NDS came out. I think that "Switch 2" will be released in the first half of 2025. Nintendo will surely be pushing Switch fully for the "last" time in 2024. I have a feeling that Metroid Prime 4, new Mario 3D game, a new 2D Zelda, 2-4 more surprises will be coming in 2024.

Many are also ignoring that Switch still outsells PS5 and Xbox Series in many months yet now, so why should Nintendo suddenly ditching Switch then?

Nostalgia is a drug for many, that's because many don't want to see their beloved NDS or PS2 getting surpassed then.

If Switch actually had price-cuts as usually like with other consoles, it easily had like 7m-10m another units by now then.

One more insane thing is that Switch alone has now sold +30m more than every of SEGA's consoles and handhelds combined together...

I'm both excited and worried by the day when it's officially that Switch has surpassed NDS+PS2.
The reactions will be unimaginable, unlike anything seen before in the gaming.

@Keman Youtubers have this skewed perception of momentum, like it somehow carries across to the next system. And for the hardcore (Youtubers), I dare say they are right, but it's hardly blue ocean big thinking. I think it's mostly down to the fact they think the Switch "gimmick" of being a hybrid is somehow a fad, lightning in a bottle, whereas I think by now it's as cemented as analogue triggers. Their next system will stand on it's own two feet I'm sure. The people buying a Switch now, need to be buying a Switch 2 in however many years time (and I mean the demographic, not the actual same people lol)

Considering how long the Switch has been out on the market for, it still has a steep hill to climb that gets steeper by the day. As it is, they would have to sell about 25 million more units to beat the 3DS, and CNN is reporting that Nintendo expects to sell only around 15 million for the next fiscal year, down two million from the latest fiscal year.

And with the newest system right around the corner (with recent rumors saying it will launch in the latter half of 2024), people might hold off on getting a Switch in favor of the next console. So unless Nintendo does a price drop for the Switch across the board in advance of their new hardware, like they did with the Wii, I don't see people opening their wallets for another Switch, unless they have to.

@Member_the_game many claimed it would sell less than the Wii U

Will it dethrone the Ds? Well, if the switch pro or whatever is called is counted along with original switch, it's going to destroy that number easy. Everyone and their grandma seems like they are holding their breath to throw money at Nintendo once it gets preorders open. You can feel it in the air

I guess if a Switch 2 comes out, then that would technically be a new system, so Switch 1 would have a harder time getting to that total. But if something like an enhanced current Switch, a Switch Pro comes out, then I have no doubt in my mind it will dethrone the DS. Those 154 million units the DS sold are based on the OG DS, DS Lite, and DSi, correct?

I really feel the Lite deserves better sales. It has subtle improvements over the OG Switch, but they really make it my much preferred way to play.

I feel that if they released an OLED Lite at $200 or cut the price of the regular to Lite to $150, then it would do much better.

It’s still pretty astounding they achieved these sales without a single price drop. I’m not sure I’ve seen a console run this long without a single reduction in price AND continue to sell through. Personally I believe a late 2024 reveal and 2025 release for the Switch successor.

For those concerned about backwards compatibility, the Switch has now sold well over a billion units of software. I just can’t see Nintendo cutting off access to a legacy of wealth in software of that magnitude.

I feel like wonder and simply the holiday season will put some impressive numbers.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder and a potential price cut will help the Switch and potentially allow it to surpass DS and even PS2 sales.

@IronMan30 I see what you did there…

I think it is possible of it to reach that number, but maybe in a few years time. The main thing Nintendo has to do is still manufacture and offer even the smallest support for it, years after its successor arrives on the market.

Remember, the PS1 reached 100 million sales, 9 years after it launched.

It has the potential to be the best selling game console of all time, they just need to keep supporting it

I know I'm in the complete minority here, but with the Switch's sales numbers and momentum, I'm all for them not bothering to release a new one until at least 2026 or later (basically whenever they need to).

There seems to be enough steam to keep it going for the rest of this year, 2024, and then maybe things start to slow down a little in 2025, which would be a perfect time to announce the new console and then release it around March 2026, same time as the original Switch.

Then once announced they can worry about further price cuts, bundles etc for the original Switch and decide on its future and its support. Keep the money train running for as long as possible

@michaelf Thats not Nintendos way, especially not these days. Switch was announced in Oct 2016 and launched just 5 months later. That's a better way of doing things instead of drip feeding info way before launch and losing mystique, momentum and anticipation.

Considering it's about twice the retail price, it would be incredible for the Switch to dethrone the DS.

@GuruOfGreatness Switch's hardware is extremely dated even for Nintendo's standards nowadays.

@Ridlay They won't support it for 15 years like the Game Boy

@Brianst0rm

I agree (not that any of it means anything to me personally TBH as I'm a technophobe), but even so, old hardware/new hardware; it's still printing money for them and coming out with some A* classic games 🤷‍♂️ Might as well milk it

@Brianst0rm Yeah unfortunately not. If it's truly a Switch 2 I doubt they'll hang onto it. Some systems like the 3DS defintely keep hanging on, but in its case the next console wasn't just it but better like Nintendo loves to do.

umm no i though it was way past this number, and if it isn't the chances of it selling 20 more million is nothing.

@GuruOfGreatness if they milk it for too long it might canibalize the sales of the successor. Look at the 3DS launch, DS was still strong when it launched cause Pokemon BW released less than two months before

@DennisNOR you know that DK64 flopped, right? Unless it's a brilliant 3D DK, Nintendo is not taking that risk lol

@Brianst0rm
From what i can see, dk64 sold almost 5,3 million copies. Nr 7 on best selling n64 games. Is that a flop ? On top of that it has been given alot of love from speedrunners, streaming etc.

Well, if it does dethrone the DS, the odds are it would dethrone the PS2 also, but it's a tough ask given what Nintendo is like near the end of their console's lifespans. Sony would probably be able support this system well enough in its twilight years to push it to the top, but I'm just not sure Nintendo knows how to do the same. I guess we'll see. If I were making decisions at Nintendo I would actually try to make that a goal of the system, because sitting at the top of the best selling consoles of all time list says something, and I'd wanna be saying that.