Nintendo Switch takes one step closer to becoming best-selling console of all-time

The Nintendo Switch reached a significant sales milestone, making it the second-best-selling console of all time in the U.S. market.

Executive Director & Video Game Industry Analyst at Circana, Mat Piscatella, reported, “Lifetime unit sales of Nintendo Switch have now exceeded those of PlayStation 2 in the U.S. market. With its 46.6 million units sold life-to-date.”

This leaves the Nintendo DS as the only console with better sales, but that figure only accounts for the U.S. On November 26, Sony confirmed that the PS2 is the best-selling console of all time, selling 160 million consoles worldwide since the system launched in 2000.

Meanwhile, Nintendo revealed that the DS has sold 154.02 million units worldwide and the Switch eclipsed 146.04 million units as of September 2024.

The holiday season presents a perfect opportunity for the Switch to gain more ground in the race, but all signs point to the console getting succeeded soon.

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Nintendo Switch 2 rumors put a dent in best-selling console of all time hunt

Since the Switch is well into its seventh anniversary, rumors have only grown louder about a successor coming soon, making it unclear if the Switch could become the best-selling console of all time.

Developers working on future games have been “told next to expect [the Switch 2] in the [current] financial year”, according to GameIndustry.biz head Chris Dring. This comes from an episode of the GameIndustry.biz Microcast podcast released on August 13, 2024, where those Dring talked to, “hope it’s out in April or May time.”

Previously, Shuntaro Furukawa stated that we shouldn’t expect any hardware until after April 2024. In saying that, Nintendo assured fans, “Nintendo Switch software” will be accessible on the “successor to Nintendo Switch.”

This would leave the door open for Switch to sell more consoles even after the new successor is released.

For more on the Switch, check out the most recent rumor about the new Joy Cons.