The Switch has now surpassed the Game Boy, one of the most influential handheld systems ever released, in terms of global sales, and is now the third most successful video games console of all time, second only to the DS. Although the PlayStation 2 is still the highest-selling console ever, with around 158 million units sold since it launched back in 2000, Nintendo is gradually catching up to Sony's iconic system with its own gaming hardware. Whether the company will finally knock the PS2 off its top spot remains to be seen, but Nintendo's console still has a chance.
It was just last year that the Switch surpassed PS4's sales, which meant the Nintendo hybrid console was the fourth highest-selling console at the time of that report. When it launched in 2017, the Switch became a phenomenal success, combining a home system with mobile gaming, with a roster of titles, including standards such as Mario Kart. This was the win the Japanese company needed after 2012's Wii U proved to be a let-down. This was a shame, as the Wii U was a direct follow-up to the immensely popular Wii console but for some reason, the successor all but flopped.
But that's all in the past now, and a report from VGChartz says the Switch has surpassed the lifetime sales of Nintendo's OG handheld system, the Game Boy. Estimates show that the latter has sold more than 118.69 million units worldwide, while the former has just about passed that with a figure of 118.99. Given this, the Switch is now the third most successful games console of all time in terms of sales. A breakdown shows that nearly 50 million of these units have been sold in the US, around 30 million in Europe, 27.44 million in Japan, while 18.45 million is attributed to the rest of the world. The sales figures also take into account the Switch Lite and Switch OLED.
For those who are perhaps too young to remember, the Game Boy was one of the most iconic handheld consoles of its era, if not of all time. Launched in 1989, the 8-bit machine was a gaming phenomenon, shipping with copies of Tetris, which probably helped to secure the success of both Nintendo's console and Alexey Pajitnov's addictive block game.
Despite the fact that the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 are now two years into their lifespan, there's still no signs of a Nintendo next-gen console. No doubt the tech conglomerate has something up its sleeve, but for now, it will be interesting to see how far Switch sales will go and whether it could possibly give the DS and PlayStation 2 a run for their money.