According to Eurogamer.net, the Nintendo Switch has reached 154.01 million sales and needs just 10,000 more units to surpass the Nintendo DS’s 154.02 million, making it Nintendo’s best-selling console within weeks. The Switch has already sold three times what the iconic SNES managed and is now positioned to challenge the PlayStation 2’s “more than 160 million” sales record that has stood for decades. This extraordinary success comes while Microsoft has all but abandoned the console battle with Sony, publishing Xbox games on all platforms and being slippery about next-gen hardware. Meanwhile, Sony’s PlayStation 5 is outpacing PS4 sales and a rumored handheld is in development, but both companies appear to be significantly rethinking their strategies in a generation that “hasn’t really gotten going.” Nintendo’s achievement represents a complete turnaround from the Wii U era, when executives took pay cuts during the company’s worst-performing console period.
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Nintendo’s quiet revolution
Here’s the thing that gets me: when did we collectively decide to write Nintendo off? It feels like it started during the Wii era, when they stepped away from the raw power fight. Everyone mocked the Wii as a low-powered toy that couldn’t compete with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. But Nintendo wasn’t trying to compete on their terms – they were busy rethinking what a console could be.
And look where that got them. While Sony and Microsoft have been having what Eurogamer calls “a wobble in console-town,” Nintendo’s been cartwheeling through with record-breaking sales. The Switch isn’t just successful – it’s about to become the best-selling games machine of all time. That’s insane when you consider the state Nintendo was in after the Wii U disaster.
The hybrid advantage
What’s really fascinating is how everyone’s now chasing Nintendo’s idea. The Steam Deck, that rumored Sony handheld, the ROG Ally X – they’re all variations on the hybrid concept Nintendo perfected eight years ago. It’s the ultimate unspoken validation.
Basically, Nintendo understood something fundamental that others missed: phones became the entry-level gaming device. Consoles weren’t the affordable gateway anymore. So instead of fighting that trend, they created something that offered what phones couldn’t – proper console gaming that seamlessly transitions between TV and handheld. Genius, really.
Where everyone else is headed
Microsoft’s approach is particularly telling. They’re basically admitting the console battle isn’t worth fighting anymore by putting Xbox games everywhere. Their next hardware might be “some kind of PC” – which sounds like they’re conceding the living room to focus on the PC gaming space they already dominate with Windows.
Sony’s doing better with PS5 sales, but even they’re experimenting. That rumored handheld? It feels like they’re trying to capture some of that Switch magic without fully committing to the hybrid approach. The problem is, they’re coming to the party eight years late.
The future is weird
So what happens next? The next console generation will probably feel… different. Without the traditional rivalries, without that predictable cycle of new hardware every several years, things are going to get weird. Microsoft might release an Xbox-branded PC, Sony will do a PS6, but both seem to be catering to an increasingly niche audience.
And Nintendo? They’ll just keep doing their thing. Surviving, intermittently thriving, and quietly leading the way while everyone else plays catch-up. The sales data doesn’t lie – when you compare Nintendo’s trajectory to Sony’s historic numbers, it’s clear who’s winning the long game. Maybe being the “odd one out” was the smartest move all along.
