Nintendo Switch has become the company's best-selling console ever, reaching 155.37 million lifetime sales as of December 31, 2025. The hybrid console surpassed the Nintendo DS's 154.02 million units, cementing its position as Nintendo's most successful hardware platform.
The milestone comes nearly nine years after the Switch's March 2017 launch. Nintendo's financial results for the nine months ended December 31, 2025 confirmed the record-breaking achievement, which positions the Switch as the second best-selling console in history behind Sony's PlayStation 2.
Switch now stands approximately 5 million units short of PlayStation 2's 160 million lifetime sales. Nintendo expects to sell another 750,000 Switch consoles during the current fiscal year ending April 1, according to company projections.
Original Switch sales reached 1.36 million units in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026. This represents a 66% decline from the same period in 2024, but maintains momentum for the nearly nine-year-old hardware.
Switch 2 has sold 17.37 million units since its June 5, 2025 launch. The successor console reached that milestone by December 31, 2025, outpacing the original Switch's early sales trajectory.
In its earnings report, Nintendo described Switch 2 as the "fastest-selling dedicated video platform released by Nintendo to date." The console has already surpassed Wii U's lifetime sales of 13.56 million units in just seven months on the market.
Mario Kart World leads Switch 2 software sales with 14.03 million units sold. Donkey Kong Bananza follows with 4.25 million units, while Kirby Air Riders reached 1.76 million units since its November 2025 release.
Original Switch has sold 1.5 billion video games across its lifetime. This approaches PlayStation 2's software sales record of 1.537 billion games, with the Switch currently about 37 million units short of that milestone.
Nintendo recorded consolidated net sales of 1.9 trillion yen ($12.2 billion) over the past nine months. This represents a 99.3% year-on-year increase, driven by strong Switch 2 performance during the holiday quarter.
The company's IP-related business saw a 10.1% year-on-year sales decline. Nintendo attributed this decrease to reduced revenue from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, though a sequel is scheduled for April 2026.
Switch boasted approximately 129 million annual playing users during the 2025 calendar year. This marks the first player count decrease since the console's 2017 launch, down slightly from 130 million in 2024.
Nintendo continues to support original Switch with new games despite Switch 2's launch. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, Rhythm Paradise Groove, and Pokémon Champions are scheduled for 2026 releases, all compatible with Switch 2 through backwards compatibility.
Digital sales increased 14.7% to 282 billion yen ($1.8 billion) over the nine-month period. Digital now accounts for 50.4% of Nintendo's total software sales, reflecting continued industry shift toward digital distribution.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa warned that market conditions could "pressure profitability."
Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal noted the company maintains "sizable inventories and long-term contracts" to manage memory chip demand fluctuations.
Switch's success marks a dramatic turnaround from Wii U's commercial failure. The hybrid console's innovative design and strong first-party software featuring Nintendo's popular characters drove its sustained popularity across nearly a decade.
Nintendo's connections with consumers through Switch supported Switch 2's smooth launch. The company's financial report highlighted how established player relationships facilitated the successor console's market acceptance.
