Gamers knew it was coming, but Nintendo finally broke a record set and had its DS handheld for over a decade. The Nintendo Switch is now the best-selling Nintendo console of all time, making it the second most popular games console to date.
New Nintendo sales figures say the nine-year-old console has now sold 155.37 million units. Its Nintendo DS handheld, originally released in 2004, was the previous record holder at 154 million units. The Switch continues to sell, so it could end its run with a significant lead over the DS.
Switch sales have remained strong despite the release of the new Switch 2 and price increases for older hardware. However, the Switch 2 costs more, and the original Switch has a wider library of games, which may tempt new buyers.
The Switch 2 has also beaten the brand’s Wii U in lifetime sales, having been on sale for less than a year. That’s not a huge surprise considering Nintendo previously made the Switch 2 its fastest-selling console of all time. It has now sold 17.37 million Switch 2 consoles, while the Wii U sold less than 14 million in the five years between 2012 and 2017.
Sales could slow if Nintendo raises the price of the Switch 2, which increases the ongoing cost of RAM. Nintendo’s president, Shintaro Furukawa, has not confirmed whether or not a price increase is coming, but indicated that it is likely at a later date.
According to Bloomberg, Furukawa told analysts, “We do not expect a major impact during the fourth quarter of this year. However, after the next fiscal year, if this price increase lasts longer than expected, it could potentially put pressure on our profits.”
Nintendo’s next target is the best-selling console of all time: Sony’s PlayStation 2. The 2000 console sold at least 160 million units, although Sony has not confirmed exact sales figures. Just prior to the release of the PlayStation 4, the PlayStation 2 had been on sale for over 13 years, with production continuing until 2013.
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