One of the most sought-after and praised gaming consoles of the last decade has been the Nintendo Switch. Recently, the Switch overtook both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in lifetime sales, and so is one of the most purchased consoles of all time. However, it is not clear how far the Switch will climb, and the consoles it would have to beat in terms of sales are no easy targets. In addition to this, there's a number of mitigating factors that affect a console's success, and looking at what games are ahead of the Switch in lifetime sales helps to identify exactly what these factors could be.
Nintendo certainly doesn't need to worry too much about the Switch's sales compared to other consoles though, as three out of the six consoles that have sold more than the Switch are other Nintendo consoles. As one of the older video game manufacturers, it's no surprise Nintendo would have racked up a lot of lifetime sales over the years, but at the same time companies like Atari never made it out of the 80s and 90s, so Nintendo must be doing something right.
Nintendo Consoles
Nintendo consoles that have more lifetime sales than the Switch are the Wii, Game Boy (and Game Boy Color), and the Nintendo DS. It is notable how many of these are handheld consoles. Nintendo is pretty confident the Switch can outsell the Wii, and what's most abundantly clear about these two consoles is that Nintendo was trying to make gaming accessible to people who might have never gamed before.
The Wii, and indeed the DS, were marketed as tools for physical and mental wellness in addition to gaming. This marketing strategy helps to shuck off some of the negative associations with gaming, such as the idea it is unhealthy, addictive, or nerdy. The ads for the DS, in particular, emphasized that even popular celebrities like Beyonce and the late Robin Williams use these consoles too.
It also helps that Nintendo has largely avoided any major scandals relating to data breaches or exploitative working conditions, so far. On the whole, Nintendo has managed to keep up a respectable image both within gaming culture and outside of it. This helps to keep sales high.
Sony Consoles
The only other console manufacturer to outsell Nintendo is Sony. The PlayStation 2 is still the best-selling console of all time, and the PlayStation 4 and the original PlayStation still have more lifetime sales than the Switch - though the Switch has outsold the Playstation 3. There are two major factors that influence these sales: time and use.
No matter how good a console is, timing will always have a huge part in how well they sell. In the case of the PlayStation 2, it was first released in the year 2000. The biggest digital scandal at that point was Y2K, which turned out to be harmless. This is before 9/11 and the associated increase in digital surveillance and suspicions, before the Great Recession of the late 2000s, and right after the 1990s in a time of soaring techno-curiosity.
Nothing is created in a vacuum, so for better or worse those economic and political factors do impact something like the sales of a gaming console. Aside from those factors, the PlayStation 2 was impressive machinery for its time and it was exciting to own. It even had backward compatibility, something seen less and less in consoles today as technology makes bigger leaps forward.
The Switch
What is impressive about the Switch is how quickly it has risen up the chart of best-selling consoles. As mentioned, time is a big factor in release, and the other most recent entry in the chart is the PlayStation 4. The other factor is use, as in how the particular gaming apparatus is used. The Wii, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 4 are all consoles designed to be played on a TV, and this is what Sony excels at. In making the hardware bigger and sturdier, PlayStation has always been able to have high graphic capabilities (though some PC gamers might disagree). In making a handheld console some sacrifices must be made, and Sony hasn't quite mastered the handheld market just yet.
Nintendo, however, have been at the forefront of handheld gaming since the original Game Boy released. The rise of mobile gaming over the past 20 years emphasizes that there's a big market for people who want to game on the go. While playing on a TV or computer certainly offers better graphics, it doesn't help when a player is stuck on the bus or the train, and that's where handheld and mobile gaming step in.
Nintendo used the success of its previous consoles and amalgamated them into one console with multiple uses. The Switch can be handheld or on a TV, and unlike most other portable consoles, it always has two controllers by default for co-op gaming. The ease with which it facilitates social gaming is vital, as well as the ability to play anywhere. Having the option to play on a TV also helps to make the console more accessible.
However, the Switch has a more complicated socio-economic landscape to contend with, as does any current-gen console. A factor not yet mentioned is console exclusives and games available at launch, which again has a big influence over sales. One of the Switch's major assets was Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Nintendo couldn't have predicted there would be a global pandemic that would isolate people from their friends and family, making Animal Crossing a perfect way to connect and kill the boredom of lockdowns.
The 'unprecedented times' people have found themselves in has created a lot more time for gaming, and certainly helped the Switch achieve the status it has. Whether the Switch will continue to climb is unknown, but likely. It has helped solidify Nintendo as one of the strongest console manufacturers, right up there with Sony.
The Nintendo Switch is available now.