The Nintendo Switch reached a new sales milestone, becoming the company’s best-selling console with 155.37 million units sold through December 31, 2025, surpassing the Nintendo DS’s lifetime sales of 154.02 million units.
Record breaks 12-year DS lead as Nintendo advances to Switch 2
This milestone comes as Nintendo accelerates its focus on the Switch 2, released in June 2025. The original Switch’s success followed the commercial disappointment of the Wii U, which sold 13.56 million units during its lifetime.
Hybrid design unified home and portable gamers
The Switch introduced a hybrid design that operates both as a home console and as a portable device, replacing Nintendo’s previous split strategy of separate home and handheld systems like the Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS. By combining those audiences into a single product, Nintendo significantly increased its market value.
Demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and blockbuster titles such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — which sold 70 million copies — helped drive that growth.
Switch 2 sales and company financials
The company said the Switch 2 performed more strongly out of the gate than the original Switch, with 17.37 million units sold in less than a year following its June 2025 launch. Nintendo set a target of 19 million Switch 2 units sold by March 2026.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2026 (April–December 2025), Nintendo reported a net profit of about US$2.31 billion (R$12.08 billion), a 51% increase compared with the same period in the prior fiscal year.
Still behind the all-time global leader
Despite overtaking the DS within Nintendo’s lineup, the Switch has not yet surpassed the PlayStation 2 as the all-time best-selling console. Sony’s PlayStation 2 sold more than 160 million units before it was discontinued in 2013.
Nintendo confirmed it will continue selling the original Switch model “at least while there are buyers,” maintaining availability alongside the newer Switch 2.
