The Nintendo Switch launched back in 2017, and it is still a hot item on the market. Famitsu is reporting that sales in Japan alone have surpassed 20 million units between March 3rd 2017 to May 23, 2021. The Lite makes up just under 4 million of that statistic at 3,849,858, while the standard Switch made the bulk of the sales at 16,168,420.

In addition to that, Famitsu also listed the top five best-selling games in Japan: Animal Crossing at 6,778,146 units, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at 4,285,272 units, Pokemon Sword and Shield at 4,052,660 units, Splatoon 2 at 3,844,200, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at 3,844,200.

To put this in perspective, Statista.com reports as of May 2021, 85.7 million total units sold worldwide with North American consuming 32.1 million of those units.

Nintendo’s president had alluded to the fact that the Switch is around the mid-stage of its life cycle in a Japanese publication Nikkei in February 2021.

As the Switch enters its fifth year on the market, one of our focal points is ensuring it has a long life cycle…I always say that the Switch is around the middle [stage] of its life cycle.

-Shuntaro Furukawa

Nintendowire

It certainly will raise interesting conversations in the gaming community. With numbers this strong, should Nintendo wait to release an updated version, famously referred to as the Switch Pro? What do you think of these numbers? Do they surprise you? Do you think if/when the Pro is released, the sales will be just as strong? Let us know in our Boss Rush Discord!

Sources: Nikkei, NintedoEverything, Nintendowire, Statista