Nintendo’s best-selling console is about to change, as Switch sales continue to increase

It’s been another stellar quarter for Nintendo, as the company’s most recent sales figures show that it’s sold a whopping 154.01 million Nintendo Switch units since the console’s launch in 2017. This figure means that the hybrid handheld is 10k sales away from becoming Nintendo’s best-selling console, replacing the reigning champion, the DS.

In the 12 years that it was available, the Nintendo DS family of handhelds sold 154.02 million units globally, and now, after just eight years on the market, the Nintendo Switch is looking to take its place as Nintendo’s best-selling piece of hardware. Yes, despite the Switch 2’s launch back in June 2025, Nintendo’s September sales figures show that people are still buying the original handheld console.

In the first two quarters of this financial year, Nintendo sold 1.89 million Switch units and over 60 million software units, proving that the original model is here to stay. Nintendo attributes these numbers to the Nintendo Switch 2’s backwards compatibility, leading to people buying some of the best Switch games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Party Jamboree for their new handhelds.

Of course, the Switch 2’s sales performance is just as impressive, with the console selling over ten million units in less than six months. Nintendo has adjusted its predicted total Switch 2 sales for the financial year from 15 million to 19 million units, putting the console on track to completely outsell the Wii U within its first year. Mario’s latest kart racer is also on track to surpass ten million sales in the near future, which, if you’ve read our Mario Kart World review, won’t surprise you.

Finally, Nintendo’s financial reports reconfirm the release dates and windows for a range of first-party titles, including Kirby Air Riders and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Sadly, Splatoon Raiders is still mysteriously marked as TBD, while every other new Switch game mentioned at least has a year associated with it. See you in 2028, I guess.