Nintendo Switch Has Already Beaten The Wii U’s Lifetime Sales Numbers In Japan

The Nintendo Switch has been setting some impressive records over the past year, proving that Nintendo is back in the game like never before. But now it's set a truly remarkable one, which could tie in to an even bigger one just weeks from now.

Sales numbers indicate that the Switch has already managed to beat the lifetime sales of the Wii U in Japan – and it's done so within less than one year, compared to what the Wii U took six years to accomplish.

Famitsu reported the numbers earlier today, reported that the Switch has managed to reach 3.4 million units sold by the end of the year, compared to the 3.3 million Wii U units that have been sold in Japan over its entire lifespan.

But these numbers could easily tie into worldwide number soon enough. The Wii U has managed to sell just over 13.5 million units worldwide in all, and the Nintendo Switch is nearing that number very rapidly. Nintendo has already noted that it's sold 4.8 million Switch units in the U.S. in the first year, and European numbers are around the same area. So, suffice to say, Nintendo may have passed that mark already, or it will soon enough. We'll know more for sure with a follow-up report coming later this month, which will take a look at the system's holiday sales.

Once the system's first year anniversary rolls around on March 3rd, we should have a better idea of exactly what it sold, as Nintendo will no doubt have those numbers compiled, leading into its next sales season for the system. Based on what we've seen though, there's a good reason behind that momentum, between ideal hardware design, a stellar line-up of first party games (like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, among others), and growing support on both the third party and indie game front.

We'll let you know what the final numbers look like as they come around, but, yeah, the Nintendo Switch is having a strong first year, and there's no sign of things slowing down now.