Nintendo is likely over the moon with the sales of the Switch 2 this past quarter. As noted during its Q1 2026 financial report, Nintendo’s followup hybrid device moved an additional 3.82 million units for the first three months of 2026. In total, that brings the console up to 23.68 million units for its first 13 months, which is an astonishing feat. It also means that the Nintendo Switch 2 remains the company’s fastest-selling hardware to date.
As VGC notes, the only other Nintendo console to break 20 million units during its first five quarters was the Wii, which moved 20.13 million in its first year and change. The original Switch, on the other hand, sold 17.79 million in its first five quarters, or around six million fewer than the Switch 2. Nintendo estimates that the Switch 2 will sell a further 12.68 million units in the next year, which would outsell its first year and bring its lifetime total to 36.35 million.
Not resting on its laurels, the original Switch moved around 660,000 units last quarter, which is wild to think about. On sale for nearly a decade now, the console’s lifetime sales have reached 156.59 million. It really is in spitting distance of the PlayStation 2’s lifetime total, which Sony claims is 160.63 million. Factors are certainly different nowadays, and while I think it would be neat to dethrone the PS2 after so long, I’m not sure people will be rushing out to buy additional Switch 1’s when the Switch 2 is here.
Check out more Switch 2 content
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Rumor: Nintendo is allegedly looking at a Switch 2 OLED variant
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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.
