Nintendo shared its financial report for the last quarter earlier this morning, and there was a lot of interesting information to parse through there. For starters, we got an update on their software sales, including the news that the Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild alone has sold 10 million units worldwide since launch.
However, we also got an update on Switch sales. The system now stands at 22.86 million units sold worldwide, with 5.07 million units sold this financial year so far. That is actually up over how it was selling last year, which is surprising given the weaker lineup for the console this year.
The interesting news here is that with this total, the Switch has officially outsold the lifetime totals posted by the GameCube. The GameCube sold 21.74 million units through the five years it was on the market, in spite of being a beloved machine with some very praised games. For the Switch to have outdone that total in just eighteen months speaks volumes about its general popularity.
Nintendo has also reiterated its forecast for 20 million units of Switch sold this financial year, which means that they now need to sell 14.93 million units through to March 31, 2019. It’s a tall ask, although maybe Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokemon Let’s Go can help it meet that target. If it does, then the Switch will, in two years, also end up overtaking the 33 million units the Nintendo 64 sold over its lifetime.
Let’s see if it happens.
