As one of the most popular consoles globally, Nintendo Switch witnessed an influx of new players and fans since its release back in 2017. According to data presented by SafeBettingSites, Nintendo Switch sales jumped by 50% in a year, with its lifetime unit sales reaching 85.7 million as of May.
More than 26M Nintendo Switch Consoles Sold in a Year
Following the disappointing sales of its predecessor, the Wii U, the Switch was seen as the new hope for Nintendo in the ongoing battle with other console giants, PlayStation and Xbox. Acting as both a portable and home console system and offering a seamless and unified experience switching between them, the console soon started to gain popularity in the gaming community.
A year after its launch in March 2017, the Nintendo Switch hit 15.5 million sold units worldwide, revealed Statista and VGChartz data. The next two years witnessed an influx of new fans, with its lifetime sales reaching 49.8 million units in December 2019. However, as the entire gaming industry exploded amid the lockdowns, Nintendo sold almost 10 million Switch units in the first half of 2020 only. The surge in demand continued since then, with more than 26 million Nintendo Switch consoles sold in the last year.
Compared to other top-selling consoles, Nintendo Switch lifetime sales is still significantly lower than 115.6 million PS4 units sold so far. However, statistics show that Nintendo Switch sold 35.6 million units more than Xbox One, whose lifetime sales hit 50.1 million this month.
North America Generates One-third of Total Sales Revenue
Analyzed by geography, North America represents the leading Nintendo Switch region, with 32.1 million units sold as of May. Europe and Japan followed with 22.2 million and 19.9 million, respectively.
One of the key reasons for the Switch’s success is the popularity of Nintendo’s first-party titles. Blockbuster series like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon are exclusive to Nintendo, meaning that fans can only play them on Nintendo consoles.
With 35.4 million sold units as of March, Mario Kart 8 Delux ranked as the top-selling Nintendo Switch game. Animal Crossing: New Horizons ranked second with 32.6 million in total sales. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokémon Sword/Pokémon Shield follow with 23.8 million, 22.2 million, and 21.1 million in unit sales, respectively.
