Nintendo Switch passed Nintendo DS as the most sold Nintendo console of all time just recently. There have been over 155 million Switch video game consoles sold worldwide. This console was released already in 2017. Only Sony PlayStation 2 has sold more than Nintendo Switch. We saw earlier last year how Nintendo got to release the sequel and it was named Switch 2.
Current situation of Nintendo tells us a lot about how popular gaming really is today. Many people do still have the first Switch. It is also available for a game consumer to purchase. There haven’t yet been any decisions about how long will the first Switch stay in production and available for purchase. I don’t know if it will ever succeed like PS2 did. PS2 was for many people something even more than a device to play your latest video games. It was also for many a very working and first DVD player for watching also the latest movies. Currently PS2 holds the record of most selling gaming console with over 160 million units sold.
PS5 has also sold well. It holds the eight place in the list of most sold gaming consoles of all time with over 92 million units delivered. In this discussion we can also add Xbox Series S/X that have to this day sold almost 30 million units. PlayStation 4 has sold over 117 million units and Switch 2 a bit over 17 million units already. Switch 2 hasn’t been in the markets for even a year. It was released in June last year (2025).
As I am a hobbyist in this field I do have a Nintendo DS gaming console. I also do own Nintendo Switch Lite and Switch 2. I barely use a Switch console in the handheld mode. I keep my Switch 2 docked and connected to my television. As Switch 2 is fully backwards compatible with the first Switch it made a perfect sense to actually remove Switch from the setup when I first got my Switch 2 last year.
Nintendo DS is a funny and retro style of a gaming console. It offers a portable option for playing video games while being in the move. I got it just out of curiosity. It was first introduced in 2004. This was way before the modern smart phone as a gaming format was introduced. There were cellular phones but the first iPhone we did saw in 2007. With this in mind during the 2000s it would have been reasonable to buy a Nintendo DS and actually many people eventually did buy it.
I got my Switch two or three years ago. I wanted to purchase it for my somewhat intensely growing gaming setup. It offered some interesting games that weren’t available on any other system. I’m talking about games like Super Mario Wonder and Link’s Awakening and every other Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda game out there. Nintendo just seems to have this certain ability to entertain every one from children to senior. If we really go back to the 1990s we can see how first Sega and later Sony tried to destabilize Nintendo. Sega and Sony tried to offer things like blood and violence while SNES for example had their own modified and not-so-bloody version of a game like the first Mortal Kombat. Also, with SNES, the NHL hockey game didn’t include fighting at all.
Nintendo has always been for the whole family. They have been and still are a very successful gaming company. It has to be stated that Nintendo was the company that gave a console called NES or “Nintendo Entertainment System”. They were the company that made video gaming popular again back in the 1980s. Nintendo had games that were of a very high quality. The quality of the games seems to be the key to success they’ve managed to hold even today.
If you want to read more about different video game consoles and how they have sold (the website keeps updating) you can head to:
