Nintendo: The Switch is our highest-selling console ever

Nintendo officially has a new MVP in its hardware portfolio.

The venerable video game maker announced in its latest earnings report (via IGN) that the first Nintendo Switch is officially the best-selling gaming hardware in Nintendo history. You can actually see the overall rankings on Nintendo’s website, which confirms that the Switch has now sold 155 million units, putting it just ahead of the Nintendo DS, which previously led the pack with 154 million units sold.

To be clear, this doesn’t make the Switch the best-selling gaming hardware, period. This title still belongs to the PlayStation 2, which stands at around 160 million units sold. The Switch could potentially catch up and even surpass the PS2 if given enough time, but the existence of the Switch 2 could put an end to any future success of the old console.

As an aside, Nintendo also confirmed that the Switch 2 sold 17 million units in less than a year, putting it well above the 13.5 million units the Wii U sold over its entire life.

Speaking of the Wii U, the Switch’s runaway success didn’t always seem inevitable. The Wii’s oddly named sequel was the company’s biggest failure since Virtual Boy, and in the months leading up to the Switch’s launch in early 2017, it seemed like Nintendo needed a hit. seriously.

Now that the Switch has established itself as the most successful brand in Nintendo’s history, we can also say with certainty that it was the best idea the company ever had, at precisely the time Nintendo needed it most.

Maybe one day the Switch 2 will also get items like this. Who knows?