The Switch is officially Nintendo’s best-selling console ever, surpassing the 3DS.
The company’s fiscal Q3 2021 earnings report revealed 11.57 million Switches sold, the console’s best quarter since launching in 2017. Lifetime sales total 79.8 million.
Despite the launch of next-generation hardware from Sony and Microsoft in November, the Switch remained the top-selling video game console in the U.S. for the 24th straight month.
Nintendo also sold 76 million games in its latest quarter.
- “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” has sold about 31.1 million copies since its March 2020 release. It was the No. 3-selling game in 2020.
- The best-selling Switch game, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,” has sold 33.4 million units.
- Nintendo saw 29 Switch titles sell over 1 million copies in Q3.
As with the broader gaming industry, Nintendo has seen gains during the pandemic. From April through December 2020, net sales increased 37.3% year over year. Digital sales increased 104.9% compared to 2019.
Consumer spending in the U.S. games industry reached $57 billion across all categories in 2020, a 27% increase over the prior year, according to NPD Group. Hardware sales, specifically, increased 35%.
