Since launching earlier this year in March, the Nintendo Switch console has sold 10 million units sold worldwide, according to Nintendo’s internal sales figures.
“As you can see in people’s living rooms, on a plane or riding the subway, fans all over the world can enjoy playing Nintendo Switch wherever they go,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “The response from fans has been great, and we’re doing our very best to satisfy demand during the holiday shopping season.”
The Nintendo Switch features a unique combination of home console and portable handheld. The Joy-Con controllers can be operated as a traditional controller, used with the Switch as a handheld, or split apart for two local players.
Those are neat features, but the success of the Switch is mostly due to Nintendo’s incredible lineup of first year titles, beginning with the huge launch game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Other big Switch exclusives include Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. For the first time in years Nintendo has also secured third-party developers like Bethesda with DOOM and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, as well as a huge library of indie games.
The Switch’s success is a huge uptick compared to Nintendo’s previous console, the Wii U. In a little over four years of an active production cycle, the Wii U sold about 14 million copies total, a commercial failure. That was in stark contrast to the insane popularity of the Wii, which sold over 100 million units between 2007-2013 as Nintendo rode the brief but explosive motion control craze.
The Nintendo Switch is available for $299, and will be one of the hottest items this holiday season. See our Switch holiday guide for tips on games.
