It’s Official, Total Switch Sales Have Now Surpassed The Game Boy And PS4

There’s just no stopping the mighty Switch!

Today, Nintendo has released its nine-month earnings report, officially confirming that the total hardware sales for the Switch have now exceeded the Game Boy, placing the hybrid console firmly in second place behind the Nintendo DS (oh, and it’s also now outsold the PlayStation 4, which managed 117.2 million during its lifetime).

Coming in at 122.55 million units in total over its lifetime, the Switch sold an impressive 14.91 million units during FY 2023, and while this is an overall drop of 21.3% when compared to FY 2022, the Switch OLED Model enjoyed a significant boost in sales, rising by 92.5%.

Here’s how the Switch sold in FY 2023 by hardware SKU:

Nintendo Switch – 5.22 million units (-55.7%)
Nintendo Switch – OLED Model – 7.69 million units (+92.5%)
Nintendo Switch Lite – 2 million units (-37%)

Now, let’s take a look at exactly where the Switch stands against Nintendo’s other consoles:

As for why the Switch didn’t sell quite so well in 2023, Nintendo states that this is primarily due to the shortage of semiconductors and other component supplies, which apparently affected hardware production until around later Summer. Software sales also fell by a total of 7% and Nintendo reckons that this is also in part due to the decline in hardware sales. Plus, y’know, it’s a six year old console!

It’s still a remarkable achievement for Nintendo, and it has us wondering just how close the Switch will get to the Nintendo DS over the next couple of years. Logically, Nintendo will keep the Switch in circulation even when it introduces its eventual successor, so we’ve got our fingers crossed that it might wind up being the top-selling Nintendo console of all time. Stranger things have happened!

What do you make of the Switch’s latest sales milestone? Share your thoughts in the comments below!