Nintendo forecasts that the Switch will surpass the Nintendo DS in sales this year, making it the company's top-selling console despite a slim lineup of Switch title releases for the rest of the year.
Nintendo Believes Switch Can Outsell DS as Highest-Selling Console
Analyst Suggests Nintendo Will Have 'Banger' Software Lineup to Reach Switch Sales Target
With an estimated 13.5 million units expected to be sold in the upcoming financial year, Nintendo anticipated the Switch's total sales to reach 154.82 million units, as noted in its recent financial earnings report. Currently, the Switch has sold 141.32 million units, and Nintendo hopes it skirts past the Nintendo DS's total sales figure of 154.02 million units.
The 7-year-old Switch's success in the past year was bolstered by major game releases like Zelda TotK and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which sold over 20 million and 13.4 million copies, respectively. Looking ahead, however, Nintendo's software lineup for the remainder of the year appears relatively thin, featuring titles like Endless Ocean Luminous, and spin-offs Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi's Mansion 2 HD.
However, CEO of game consultancy firm Kantan Games, Dr. Serkan Toto, suggested that Nintendo Switch could "have some strong software planned for later this year," if its "aggressive target" sales for the current Switch is indicative of such.
Toto noted that reaching 13.5 million unit sales late in the Switch's life cycle is a challenging goal, "so it either has some bangers to be released this fiscal or it will finally cut prices at some point in the near future," additionally commenting that Nintendo has "a lot of work to do selling the current model" until at least March next year.
