The Nintendo Switch has sold 52.48 million units worldwide in under three years, making it the third-best Nintendo home console in terms of sales. The only other Nintendo home consoles to have outsold the Switch are the Wii and NES, which sold 101.63 million units and 61.91 million units respectively. This growth has been made possible by the ever-expanding library of third-party and indie IPs that have backstopped mainstays for Nintendo like Pokémon Sword & Shield and various Mario titles.
In terms of software numbers, Nintendo is doing pretty great there as well. The biggest sellers across the more than 310 million pieces of software sold are all the big names. According to Nintendo, 22.96 million copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, 17.68 million copies of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and 16.59 million copies of Super Mario Odyssey have all been shifted so far.
The real killer growth goes to a not-so-surprising big release, Pokémon Sword & Shield.
Pokémon Sword & Shield sold 16.06 million units in its launch quarter—4.21 million sales in Japan, and 11.85 million sales in the rest of the world. Sun & Moon sold 14.69 million units in its launch quarter in 2016. This puts it in direct competition for one of the top slots in terms of series sales. Diamond & Pearl shifted similar numbers with 17.67 million units sold. Pokémon Sword & Shield still have a ways to go to catch the best-selling Pokémon entries Red & Blue.
But with the launch of two new expansions as part of the $30 expansion pass, coming this year, there’s going to be a pretty healthy spike in sales for these two titles. The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra are the two expansions coming to Pokémon Sword & Shield in the summer and winter, respectively. The DLC will add new zones, expand the Pokédex with 200 entries, and add new battles to fight for the end-game player.
Pokémon Sword & Shield is out now for the Nintendo Switch.
