Nearly 8 years after the system’s debut, Nintendo Switch has crossed a major sales milestone. The system has now officially outsold PlayStation 2 in the United States, with 46.6 million units sold. Those numbers come from Circana’s Mat Piscatella, who noted that Switch is now the second best-selling hardware platform in the region, behind just the Nintendo DS. It should be noted that this is only true in the U.S., as PS2 remains ahead of both in worldwide sales, with 160 million consoles sold during its lifespan. Whether Switch will ever be able to surpass that number remains to be seen!
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The success of Nintendo Switch was all but guaranteed. Ahead of the system’s launch, many pundits assumed Switch was doomed to fail, given how poorly the Wii U had sold for Nintendo. Many wondered if Nintendo would have to start bringing its games to platforms like PlayStation or Xbox to survive. Switch not only far surpassed expectations, but the system has seen incredible software sales, with games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons becoming some of the best-selling video games of all-time.
Surpassing PS2 sales in the U.S. is quite impressive, but it remains to be seen how many more milestones Nintendo Switch has left. Sales of the system have been slowing down over the last year, as consumers begin to make plans for Nintendo’s Switch successor. The so-called “Nintendo Switch 2” will be officially revealed sometime between now and March 31st, when the company’s fiscal year comes to an end. Fans have been eagerly awaiting information about the system, but Nintendo has been light on details, only offering small hints about what to expect. We know that the new system will be backwards compatible with existing Switch games, and that it will support the current Nintendo Account system. There have been several potential leaks lately, but it’s hard to say how much stock to put into them.
It’s going to be difficult for the company to top the success of Switch, but there’s reason to believe the new system will see a lot of strong support early on. Many past Nintendo systems were abandoned late in their lifespans, so the company’s internal developers could focus on software for the new system. Over the last year or two, Nintendo’s big first-party developers have been similarly quiet, but the company seems to have learned its lesson. In the absence of those developers, Nintendo has been tapping outside studios like Grezzo, Aquire, and Tantalus Media to fill the void with titles like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD.
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With 2025 quickly approaching, we should soon learn about Nintendo’s future plans. Switch still has some high-profile games on the way next year, including Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. It’s possible both those games could see special edition consoles used to give Switch hardware sales another late life boost, but we’ll have to wait and see!
Are you surprised that Switch sales have surpassed PS2 in the U.S.? Do you think the company’s new console will be revealed soon? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky atย @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
