Nintendo Switch Has Now Outsold the Wii in America

The Nintendo Wii was a massive success story when it launched in 2006. The console sold particularly well in America, but it seems the Nintendo Switch has been an even bigger success story. According to Circana (via GamesIndustry.biz), the Switch surpassed Wii in the U.S. last month, solidifying its place as one of the greatest selling consoles of all-time. At this time, an exact breakdown of the numbers has not been revealed, but GamesIndustry.biz notes that "Switch lifetime sales now trail Xbox 360 by less than one million units, and PlayStation 2 by fewer than five million." That number should put it over 40 million in the region, and the boost has been partly attributed to the success of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

How many Nintendo Switch consoles have been sold worldwide?

Back in June, Nintendo revealed that the Switch console has shipped 129.53 million units worldwide. Wii sold 48 million units in North America during its time on the market, with a grand total of 101.63 million, as of 2016. Switch is now Nintendo's second-best selling system ever, behind the DS. The Nintendo DS sold 154.02 million units during its time on the market, coming just shy of the PlayStation 2, which is the best-selling video game system ever. PS2 sold more than 155 million units during its time on the market.

When will Nintendo release a new system?

Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, and has now been on the market more than six years. That's a very good length of time for a video game system, and rumors have suggested that a new Nintendo console will arrive in the second half of 2024. Nothing has been officially announced as of this writing, but there are a lot of reasons to suspect a new console might release next year. While Switch did see a boost from Tears of the Kingdom, investors previously expressed concern that sales of the system were slowing down, despite strong software numbers.

Nintendo Switch does have some major games on the horizon, most notably October's Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The game seems poised to be one of Nintendo's biggest games of the holiday season, alongside Detective Pikachu Returns and Super Mario RPG. Little has been revealed for 2024, but Nintendo announced that a remaster of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is in development, as well as a solo game starring Princess Peach. These could prove to be some of the last major first-party games for Switch, especially if Metroid Prime 4 ends up getting pushed to Nintendo's next system. For now, Nintendo Switch fans will just have to wait and see what the future will hold!

Are you surprised Nintendo Switch has now outsold the Wii in America? Do you think Nintendo will release a new video game system in 2024? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!