Nintendo Switch is now the bestselling home console in history, sales figures show.
Nintendo sold an estimated 10.67 million Switch units in 2021’s third quarter, bringing total Switch sales to 103.54 million units sold since its release in 2017, according to updated sales numbers from the video game giant.
“Switch is just in the middle of its life cycle, and the momentum going into this year is good,” said Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa in a call after the earnings report was released on Thursday, reported Bloomberg. “The Switch is ready to break a pattern of our past consoles that saw momentum weakening in their sixth year on the market and grow further.”
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The high sales in 2021 were helped, in part, by the company releasing its OLED Switch in October, an updated version of the console that had a significantly improved display, according to financial information released by Nintendo on Thursday.
Nintendo did say that it forecasts a decline in Switch sales due to chip shortages and supply chain problems, but it expects to sell 23 million consoles in 2022’s first quarter.
The record for the highest-selling home console was previously held by the Nintendo Wii, which the company sold an estimated 101.63 million units of between 2006 and 2013. The Switch has not surpassed the Nintendo DS as a handheld console, however. The DS sold more than 154 million units between 2004 and 2016, making it the highest-selling.
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The Nintendo Switch was an outlet for many during the pandemic, offering a platform for social interaction through games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons or distraction while isolated at home during the initial lockdown.
Representatives for Nintendo did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
