The Nintendo Switch has sold 68.3 million consoles as of the end of September 2020, according to the company's latest yearly financial results, making it the manufacturer's second best-selling console of all time after the Nintendo Wii. Hardware sales were up 80.9% year-on-year.
The Switch's sales have passed the Nintendo Entertainment System, which reportedly sold around 62 million units, as Eurogamer points out.
Nintendo's latest financial reports are glowing, with sales significantly up year-on-year across the board on hardware and software – no doubt motivated by the increased number of people working from home. The Nintendo Switch has been selling out constantly in 2020, driven partly by sales of mega hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
That game has now sold a massive 26.3 million copies – making it among the best-selling games of all time.
20 titles sold over a million copies on Nintendo Switch during the last financial year. Other highlights included Paper Mario: The Origami King selling 2.82 million copies, and Super Mario Bros 3D All Stars selling 5.21 million units, despite the latter being slightly underbaked as a collection of classic Mario games.
Nintendo's digital sales were colossal in the last financial year, with the company making 171.5 billion yen (around $1.65 billion) – an increase of 139.4% year-on-year. This includes DLC and subscriptions to the Nintendo Switch Online service.
But what's coming up?
Nintendo's financial report doesn't reveal anything about what's coming out in the next year (that is, September 2020-September 2021) beyond what we already know – Super Mario 3D World's arrival on Switch from the Wii U is coming in February, while Nintendo also points out "a robust variety of appealing titles from other software publishers scheduled to be released" in the next financial year.
Nintendo mentions it'll keep the Nintendo Switch "active" with new titles, and reinforce sales of existing popular games – presumably in the form of updates and DLC. The company also underlines its commitment to "campaigns and collaborations" relating to Mario, including the October launch of the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros standalone device.
It's unclear what else Nintendo has coming up in 2021 and beyond – but we're expecting to finally learn more about Breath of the Wild 2, and rumors point towards a possible 4K Nintendo Switch.
