Nintendo Switch marks its 7th birthday by selling over 2 million units in 3 months
Even though the Nintendo Switch was first released in May 2017 and has a successor on the way, it is showing no signs of slowing down. In just the last 3 months, 2.1m Switch consoles have been sold, according to Nintendo’s financial results for Q1 (April 1 to June 30) of the current fiscal year.
These 2.1m Switches sold included the regular Nintendo Switch, the OLED model and the Lite model. Software sales totaled 30.64 million copies. Both software and console sales were down by about 46% compared to the first quarter of last year, however it should be noted that the major release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom caused both hardware and software sales to shoot up when it was released in May 2023. In the absence of this “Zelda effect” this year, it can be said that Switch hardware and software sales fell but remained strong.
In addition, some of Nintendo’s games released during Q1 have already sold over 1 million copies. Despite being remakes, Paper Mario RPG, released on May 26, has sold 1.76m units and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, released on June 27, has sold 1.19m. This is testament to the enduring popularity of Nintendo’s beloved franchises. The continued release of a wide variety of indie games on the Switch also no doubt contributes to sales of the console. The Switch also has many exclusives- both first- and third-party games (for example, Sega recently revealed why they only launched Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble on the Switch).
The latest episode of Nintendo Direct (which dropped on June 18) revealed that Switch owners have many more exciting major new titles to look forward to, including The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (releasing on September 26), and Mario & Luigi: Brothership (due out on November 7, 2024).
