According to GameSpot, the Nintendo Switch has reached 154.01 million units sold as of September 30, putting it just 10,000 units away from surpassing the Nintendo DS’s lifetime total of 154.02 million. The Switch is almost certainly Nintendo’s new best-selling platform already, since these numbers are over a month old. Analyst Daniel Ahmad from Niko Partners says the Switch “probably not” catch the PlayStation 2’s all-time record of 160 million units. Nintendo has downgraded its original Switch sales forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2026 from 4.5 million to 4 million units. Meanwhile, the Switch 2 has sold 10.36 million units in its first four months, making it the fastest-selling console ever and outpacing the PS5, PS4, Wii, DS, and original Switch over similar periods.
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<h2 id="the-switch-legacy”>The Switch Legacy
Here’s the thing about the Switch’s incredible run – it basically redefined what a gaming platform could be. A home console you can take anywhere? That was revolutionary back in 2017. And eight years later, it’s still selling millions of units even as its successor has launched. The fact that it’s about to pass the DS, which had multiple hardware revisions and a massive casual gaming boom, is absolutely wild when you think about it.
But let’s be real – the original Switch is clearly winding down. Sales dropped 60% year-over-year for the six-month period ending September 30, and Nintendo knows it. They’re projecting just 4 million more units for the entire fiscal year. That’s why catching the PS2 seems unlikely. The math just doesn’t work unless Nintendo decides to deeply discount the original model, which seems counterproductive when they’re trying to push people toward the Switch 2.
Switch 2’s Explosive Start
Now let’s talk about that Switch 2 performance. 10.36 million units in four months? That’s not just good – it’s historically unprecedented. To put that in perspective, the PS5 sold 7.8 million in its first four months, and everyone thought that was incredible. The Switch 2 is blowing past every console launch in history, and it’s not even close.
What’s really interesting is how this sets up Nintendo’s strategy. They’re clearly transitioning smoothly from one platform to the next without the dramatic sales collapse we saw with the Wii U. The Switch 2’s backward compatibility means the entire Switch library carries forward, which reduces friction for upgraders. Basically, Nintendo has built an ecosystem rather than just selling hardware generations.
What This Means For Gamers
So where does this leave us? For current Switch owners, there’s no rush to upgrade if you’re happy with your current games. The original Switch will likely get price cuts, making it an amazing entry point for budget-conscious gamers. For developers, the massive installed base means they can keep supporting the Switch audience while gradually shifting focus to Switch 2 exclusives.
The real question is whether Nintendo can maintain this momentum. The Switch 2’s incredible start puts enormous pressure on the software pipeline. They need must-have games to keep people buying hardware, especially once the early adopters have their units. But given Nintendo’s track record with the Switch’s software lineup, I’m not too worried.
One thing’s for sure – the gaming landscape looks very different than it did a decade ago. As Daniel Ahmad noted, the Switch probably won’t catch the PS2, but it’s already cemented its place in gaming history. And with the Switch 2’s record-breaking start detailed in his analysis, Nintendo’s hybrid approach appears to be the company’s winning formula for the foreseeable future.
