Lifetime sales of the Switch have now officially surpassed the PlayStation 4, according to Nintendo's latest earnings report. The news of this milestone was expected to occur after some industry watchers reported that the Switch eclipsed the iconic Game Boy in worldwide sales earlier in January.
Despite having a relatively sparse lineup of launch titles, the Switch went on to become a must-have console over the last six years. Its unique hybrid design combined with a consistent influx of critically acclaimed exclusives proved to be a winning formula for Nintendo, arriving just in time to offset the company's lackluster Wii U generation.
The sustained success of the Switch is further illustrated by the fact that its lifetime sales hit 122.55 million units by the end of 2022, as per Nintendo's newly published financials. For context, the total PS4 sales presently amount to approximately 117 million units. Prior to this global achievement, the Switch already managed to outsell the PS4 stateside.
With this latest milestone, the Nintendo Switch became the third best-selling console of all time, right after the DS and PS2, whose lifetime sales sit at some 154 million and 158 million units, respectively. Making matters even more impressive is the fact that the Switch managed to achieve 120 million sales in under six years, which makes it the fastest-selling console to hit this mark.
For context, both the PS2 and the DS were sitting at some 100 million sales each once they started reaching their seventh anniversary. While neither had the simultaneous global release that the Switch did, both were already treated to minor discounts by the time their sales figures reached nine digits. The closest thing Nintendo's latest console got to a discount was the 2019 debut of the Switch Lite, which sacrificed TV output for one-third lower price of $199. That device was only followed by the OLED variant of the Switch, which launched two years later at $349.
Even though the Switch ecosystem has long reached the point of maturity, the sales of Nintendo's hybrid console aren't likely to significantly slow down in the immediate future. Not least because 2023 is shaping up to be another great year for Switch exclusives. Arguably the most high-profile release from that bunch is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is still over three months out. Between that and the fact that the holiday season is traditionally the most lucrative period of the year for console sales, the Switch is likely to continue enjoying a steady demand throughout 2023.
Source: Nintendo