Video Games

Nintendo Switch is now the third best-selling console in history

Surpassing the Game Boy

Marco Wutz

Nintendo Switch is now the third best-selling console in history
Nintendo Switch is now the third best-selling console in history /

The Nintendo Switch, which outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2022, passed another huge commercial milestone: Overtaking its hallowed ancestors, the Game Boy and Game Boy Colour, the Switch now lays claim to the title of third best-selling console of all time.

Around 17 million units of the Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED were sold last year, which brings the overall amount to about 122 million over the console’s entire lifespan. Game Boy and Game Boy Colour sold around 119 million units combined.

Another Nintendo handheld is next in line, as the Nintendo DS sits on the second place in this ranking with about 154 million units sold to players worldwide. Sony’s PlayStation 2 claims the top spot with just about one million more sales than the DS.

If the Switch can catch the DS, it seems likely that it will have enough momentum to also wrestle first place from PS2.

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch keeps rising through the ranks / Nintendo

Nintendo is certainly doing everything it can to help the Switch out on its climb to the top, as there are no news or even credible rumors about a potential successor. Instead, Nintendo appears to be preparing for another boost in Nintendo Switch production numbers.

Here are the top ten best-selling consoles of all time:

  1. PlayStation 2 – 155 million
  2. Nintendo DS – 154 million
  3. Nintendo Switch – 122 million
  4. Game Boy & Colour – 118 million
  5. PlayStation 4 – 117 million
  6. PlayStation – 102 million
  7. Nintendo Wii – 101 million
  8. PlayStation 3 – 87 million
  9. Xbox 360 – 84 million
  10. Game Boy Advance – 83 million

For reference, Sony’s PS5 currently sits at 18th in this ranking, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X|S at 26th.

Published
Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg

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