The Switch 2 might be the new hotness for Nintendo and the games industry, but that doesn’t mean the previous console has stopped selling games. As part of its financial results report for the latest fiscal quarter, Nintendo revealed updated sales figures for the most popular Switch 1 games and it’s astonishing to see Mario Kart 8 Deluxe so far ahead of the pack. According to the company, the previous Mario Kart title has moved nearly 70 million units since releasing in 2017. That’s practically seven million copies a year.
In second place comes Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is no slouch either. At 48.62 million, it’s a pretty significant distance from third place on the list. Coming in third is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which has put up a respectable 36.93 million copies. As we get further down, the gap between games becomes less pronounced, likely because the games start to get a little more niche.
Interestingly, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has not seemed to pick up any momentum since releasing in 2023. Putting up a staggering launch of roughly 20 million units, over the past two years, the title has mostly remained near that figure. According to Nintendo, it has only really moved another two million copies since release, which can’t be a good sign for the long-term health of this particular style of Zelda.
To save you from skimming through text just for numbers, here is the updated top 10 best-selling Nintendo Switch 1 games list:
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 69.56 million
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 48.62 million
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 36.93 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 33.34 million
- Super Mario Odyssey – 29.84 million
- Pokémon Scarlet/Violet – 27.61 million
- Pokémon Sword/Shield – 26.96 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 22.15 million
- Super Mario Party – 21.23 million
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – 18.53 million
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
