The Nintendo Switch is proving to be the golden hen for the Japanese company. The handheld console has consistently raked in excellent sales figures since its launch back in 2017. And with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to stay indoors in 2021, it was a good time for console makers like Sony and Microsoft to dominate the markets with the release of their next-gen consoles.
However, owing to the chip shortage, the actual availability of these consoles remained sluggish, at best. But where Sony and Microsoft’s offerings dwindled, the Switch stepped up.
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The Nintendo Switch exceeds lifetime sales of Wii and PS1
In a tweet by Daniel Ahmad, senior analyst at Niko Partners, sales data for the Switch was revealed:
The Nintendo Switch has surpassed sell in of 100 million units, reaching 103.54m as of December 31, 2021.
It reaches the 100m milestone faster than the PS4 and Wii (The DS reached 100m faster).
The Switch has also surpassed the Wii (101.63m) and PS1 (102.49m) in lifetime sales. pic.twitter.com/T5hOiEBUNg
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 3, 2022
In the tweet, Daniel states the console has topped sales of 100 million units. A tall order as sales for the Switch actually went down by 6% in European markets for 2021 as compared to 2020, according to reporting by GameRant. However, Nintendo Switch still remained the best-selling game console in Europe, Japan and the United States.
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The Switch also crossed this figure faster than the PS4 and Wii, Nintendo’s previous top-selling console apart from the DS.
Daniel further revealed that the Switch had sold 103.54 million units by December 2021. A figure that surpasses the lifetime sales figures of both the Wii and PS1. Notably, Nintendo’s handheld console has been leading the unit sales figure for quite some time, Business Wire reported in December 2021 that the Switch was the top-selling console in the U.S for 35 out of the previous 36 months.
NPD group’s Mat Piscatella revealed in a tweet
US NPD HW – Nintendo Switch was December 2021's best-selling hardware platform in units sold, while Switch and PlayStation 5 effectively tied for dollar sales leadership in the month. Nintendo Switch led 2021 hardware in both unit and dollar sales.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) January 18, 2022
Chiefly, while Sony’s offering matched the dollar sales for the Switch, Nintendo retains the crown for units sold. Talking of units sold, Daniel provides additional numbers in the comments for each iteration of the Switch.
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“Nintendo Switch OG: 81.68m
Nintendo Switch Lite: 17.87m
Nintendo Switch OLED: 3.99m”
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The original Switch remains the top-selling console from the video game company while the latest offering, Switch OLED trails it. The former costs $299, but the beefed up screen of the Switch OLED would set you back $349. Additionally, Daniel notes that U.S leads the list for Nintendo Switch hardware sales with 40.12 milion units.
Nintendo has closed 2021 with a bang. But with the Steam Deck’s release looming on the horizon, gamers could see a change in the status quo of the handheld market. However, that remains to be seen.
