Nintendo Switch passes Wii and PS1 in lifetime sales

By Emily Morrow February 3, 2022

As of the end of 2021, the Nintendo Switch has passed several legendary gaming consoles in sales, including the Nintendo Wii. According to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, who pulled data from a recent earnings release, the Switch has reached 103.54 million units sold worldwide, passing the extremely high 100 million units mark.

This puts it higher than the original PlayStation, which sold 102.49 million units over its lifetime, and the Nintendo Wii, which sold 101.63 million units. Surpassing the Wii in particular is a milestone for Nintendo, as the Wii is regarded as a legendary success for the company.

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

Most of the units sold were original Switch models — 81.86 million of the 103.54 million total. The Switch Lite has sold 17.87 million units to date, while the newer OLED Switch accounts for 3.99 million units.

The pace of Switch sales is also staggering: the console reached 100 million units faster than both the PS4 and the Wii, and it’s selling faster than both consoles did at the time. The only platform the Switch isn’t expected to surpass is the Nintendo DS. In addition to Switch hardware, a total of 766.41 million units of software for the console have been sold, which has helped buoy the strong hardware sales.

Surpassing the Wii in both total lifetime sales and speed of sales is an incredible achievement for Nintendo, which has an uneven history with console success. The Wii was an unfettered success when it was released in 2006, particularly coming off the heels of the GameCube, which was considered a business failure. The Wii’s strength laid in its ability to convert non-gamers into players through uncomplicated and family-accessible games like Wii Sports; thanks to the popularity of these titles across nontraditional gaming audiences, the Wii’s sales soared. Although poor marketing made the Wii’s follow-up, the Wii U, flounder, Nintendo has struck gold again with the Switch.

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Emily Morrow is a games journalist and narrative designer who has written for a variety of online publications. If she’s…

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