Nintendo Switch becomes gaming giant's best-selling console in history

The Switch is now the best-selling Nintendo console in history, having surpassed 155 million sales since it launched in 2017.

It means the device, which saw a huge boom in sales over the pandemic, has now surpassed the Nintendo DS as the firm's most successful gaming hardware.

And the Switch is now behind only Sony's PlayStation 2 in the overall gaming charts, which sold more than 160 million units in the years following its launch in 2000.

But Nintendo's latest financial report, where it announced the news, also saw shares in the company fall 11% following investor concerns over software sales and memory chip prices.

Despite this, the company said its sequel the Switch 2, had got off to a "good start" since its release in June 2025, selling 17 million units as of the end of the year.

Industry expert Christopher Dring said there were "very low expectations" for the original Switch when it launched, but said its success could be explained by a strong roster of games from Nintendo's powerhouse franchises.

"Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Mario Kart have all had their most successful games released during the Switch 1 era," he said.

"Even games like Luigi's Mansion and Mario Party have sold tens of millions."

And he said the pandemic also had an impact, with lockdowns seeing sales rise as people looked for things to do when stuck at home - and freelance video games journalist Rachel Watts agreed.

"Everyone I knew had a Nintendo Switch," she said.

"Nintendo's roster includes games geared towards younger audiences, and, as a handheld console, it made the Switch incredibly popular."

But the success of the Switch has led some to question whether its successor - the aptly-named Switch 2 - can recreate the magic.

At a post-results briefing on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported Nintendo boss Shuntaro Furukawa said higher memory chip prices could potentially weigh on profits.

The cost of many electronic devices could increase in 2026 because the price of Ram - once one of the cheapest computer components - has increased significantly.

And other elements such as US tariffs and "the current economic situation in many of Nintendo's major markets" could mean the second Switch never quite reaches the highs of its predecessor, said Chris Scullion, deputy editor of Video Games Chronicle.

"While Switch 2's success is all but guaranteed, Nintendo might have to settle for it 'only' selling a lot, rather than it selling more than any other Nintendo device before it," he said.

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