Nintendo’s latest financials are out and while the focus is on how well Nintendo’s newest console, the Switch 2, has performed, it’s the older generation machine that’s a hair’s breadth from reaching a staggering milestone for the company: becoming Nintendo’s best-selling games machine.
Sales data for the period ending 30th September 2025 shows Nintendo Switch is around 10,000 sales from levelling the colossal lifetime record set by Nintendo DS. The DS has 154.02m sales and the Switch has 154.01m – it’s neck and neck. And given that the Switch is still actively selling in notable quantities, it’s a record this industry-shaping hybrid handheld console looks set to break.
The full-year sales forecast for Nintendo Switch is 4m units, incidentally, and there are two more sales quarters to go.
For reference, the Nintendo Wii – another champion seller for Nintendo – sold 101.63m units during its lifetime, which gives you an idea of the enormity of Switch’s success. The Wii U, meanwhile, sold a woeful 14.56m units.
But there’s still a bigger fish in the proverbial pond when it comes to lifetime console sales, and that is, of course, PlayStation 2. Sony’s best-selling machine is the record-holder, with the PS2 surpassing 160m sales last autumn. But that tally is not out of reach for Nintendo’s Switch should the sales keep trickling in.
