The latest financial report from Nintendo has shown that the Nintendo Switch has continued to hit major sales milestones. A total of 84.59 million units between both models have been shipped so far. This puts it above another major Nintendo seller, the Game Boy Advance lifetime sales of 81.5 million units.
This news puts the Switch as the fourth best-selling Nintendo console in history to date. The three better-selling units are the DS with 154 million, the Game Boy at 118.7 million, and the Nintendo Wii with 101.6 million. A big part of this success, in just three years, can be traced to the Switch’s ability to exist as a hybrid console. Having a portable option appeals to a ton of hardcore and casual gamers, with the dock offering the console a decent way to fill the niche of a family console too.
Year-to-year sales remain steady, but are expected to drop over the next year. Current figures say that 28.83 million Switch consoles were sold over the previous fiscal year. Nintendo expects to see around 25 million units sold over this year. It would seem they project the strong demand for gaming during the ongoing pandemic to help the Switch beat the Wii. And even if that trend takes a nosedive over the next three years, the total number of hardware units sold will likely overtake the DS.
Those profits have jumped massively due to these strong sales. Operating profit was $6.04 billion, up over 80% from the previous year. That figure comes off the back of incredibly high revenue. This total set a revenue record over the last decade, eclipsing the 2008-2009 total with reported revenue of $16.59 billion. That makes this the highest record for operating profit the company has ever had.
A big part of this is the excitement over the core franchises on the platform, like Pokémon and Animal Crossing. The recent release of New Pokémon Snap will also help push those numbers up. Although there are other tidbits that might help keep the sales train rolling. The recurring rumors of a Switch Pro continue to suggest that Nintendo intends to more directly compete with the PS5 and Xbox Seris S. Though the new model is not yet announced, speculation pours out that the refresh is due sometime this year.
