Six years ago, the company known as Nintendo was in dire straits. Their previous system, the Wii U, had been a colossal failure. Many felt this was shocking because the system before that, the Wii, was one of the biggest hits in video game history. But in contrast, the Wii U barely sold any units at all. Due to this, many wondered if Nintendo was on its “last legs.” That’s when they revealed the Nintendo Switch at a massive event in January 2017. They teased the future, and many hoped it would be bright. Six years to the day later, the system still shines brightly.
Many online fans are celebrating the 6th anniversary of the Nintendo Switch and remarking on all the things it’s done incredibly over the years. As of the end of 2022, the system passed 122 million units sold across all three versions of the Switch. On the software side, by the end of last year, it was at 994 million units sold. That means it’s possibly already crossed a billion software title sales, but we don’t know for sure.
Hardware sales-wise, the Switch is the 3rd best-selling system ever, and with a little luck, it could become No.2 or No.1, depending on how much longer it is on the market.
But that’s just one thing that makes the system so incredible. When it came out, the portable system kept selling so fast they couldn’t keep them in stock! Even Nintendo wasn’t expecting the reaction to the Switch that it got!
Arguably the most important thing that Nintendo did was that almost every year, they went all out to give Switch owners an incredible gaming lineup. In 2017 alone, gamers got Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Kario 8 Deluxe, ARMS, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and more! Every year after that has been marked by incredible releases that have pushed sales higher and higher. Just as important, the Switch and its software lineup have been nominated multiple times for various awards, including Game of Year, which it did win in 2017 many times over.
Nintendo is the king of the video game world once again because of the Switch. They’ve even dominated despite the release of rival consoles like the Xbox Series X/S and the PS5.
As for what comes next from Nintendo, we don’t know. There are plenty of Switch rumors about when we might see the next system. But for now, we’re going to enjoy the console we have.
