The Wii & Switch are the only Nintendo consoles to sell more than their predecessor

The Nintendo Switch is on track to surpass the Nintendo Wii in lifetime sales.

101.63 million – that is the total number of Nintendo Wii consoles sold since the system’s release in 2006. Yes, that is an insane amount of units that the big N was able to move. What is even more astounding is the number of Nintendo Switches that have sold to date. The Switch is currently sitting in the #3 spot for lifetime overall Nintendo console sales.

According to the stats listed on Nintendo’s official website, the Switch has sold 55.77 million units as of March 31, 2020, with the Nintendo Entertainment System just slightly beating these sales numbers with a whopping 61.91 million units sold. Only around 6 million units remain before the Switch takes the #2 spot on that list.

At this rate, it is inevitable that the Switch will surpass the NES, but can it climb the ranks all the way to the #1 spot?

For reference, in 2009 Nintendo sold roughly 26 million units of the Wii, the console’s highest sales year to date. So far in 2020, Nintendo has seen its highest adoption rate for the Switch yet, with 21 million consoles sold.

Demand for the Switch has skyrocketed in lockdown and had it not been for the shortages that the company faced, that 21 million unit number would likely be significantly higher. The Switch was sold out at all major retailers, with some consumers being forced to purchase one for heavily inflated prices through scalpers on sites like Ebay.

Nintendo has managed to sell 21 million Nintendo Switches in 2020 even with the global health crisis leading to product shortages.

The Wii’s lifetime sales number of 101.63M units spans across 10 years, with The Switch’s total sales of 55.77M units only coming from 4 years so far.

At this rate, it appears to only be a matter of time until the Switch overtakes the Wii in sales as the #1 Nintendo console of all time. Throughout the years, Nintendo has managed to truly capture lightning in a bottle. Through their innovative hardware and their dedication to their IPs, Nintendo is a perfect example of a company that blazes their own trail while settings records as they go.

[Sources: Statista, Nintendo ]