Nintendo released their most recent nine months of sales statistics today. According to the document, the Nintendo Switch has sold 18.95 million units from April to December.
The number may not seem that impressive, but it brings lifetime sales for the system up to 103.5 million units, passing the Wii’s 101.63 million units to become Nintendo’s highest selling home console. This also makes the Switch the fifth best selling hardware of all time, succeeded only by the PlayStation 4, Game Boy/Game Boy Color, the Nintendo DS family, and the PlayStation 2.
Software sales, both digital and physical, stayed strong as well; the company cites Oct-Dec 21 as their highest quarterly sales since launch. Much of that may be to the always popular Pokémon series, as Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl sold a whopping combined 13.97 million units. Q3 launches include Mario Party Superstars with 5.43 million and the long awaited Metroid Dread with 2.74 million, making Dread the second highest selling Metroid game of all time.
Previously released games also saw the benefit of players entering the Switch ecosystem; notably, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold another 7.96 million units, bringing its lifetime sales to 43.35 million.
The document promises that Nintendo’s hybrid console will not slow down, even as it encroaches upon its five year anniversary in March. Pokémon Legends: Arceus and the March launch of Kirby and the Forgotten Land are framed to be key products for the rest of the quarter. This year may also see the release of the highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which itself sold 25.8 million copies.