The Switch is now Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time
The original Switch is officially the best-selling Nintendo console of all time after overtaking the DS handheld in lifetime sales. In its latest earnings release, Nintendo reports that the Nintendo Switch has sold, as of December 31, 2025, 155.37 million units since its launch in 2017, compared to 154.02 million units for the 2004 Nintendo DS.
In November, Nintendo reported that the Switch and DS were neck and neck. We expected the holiday sales period to see the Switch outperform the DS, even though Nintendo announced that main development would focus on the Switch 2. Nintendo previously said it would continue to sell the original Switch “while taking into account consumer demand and the business environment.”
Nintendo must continue to sell the Switch if it wants to dethrone Sony’s PlayStation 2 as the best-selling video game console of all time. The PlayStation 2, discontinued in January 2013, sold more than 160 million units during its 13-year lifespan.
Demand for the Switch 2 accelerated over the holidays, with Nintendo reporting 7.01 million units sold in the October-December quarter, compared to 4.54 million units in the previous quarter. In total, the Switch 2 has sold 17.37 million units since its launch in June 2025, less than a year away from surpassing the Wii U’s 13.7 million lifetime sales.
