Nintendo Switch Close To Being Japan’s Best-Selling Console

After seven years, the Nintendo Switch shows no sign of slowing down. The latest Famitsu report, which focuses on hardware sales in Japan, claims that the Nintendo Switch has sold a total of 32,027,938 units. This includes all three generations of the Switch: the original one, the Nintendo Switch Lite, and the new OLED screen model of the console.

The net is closing in on Nintendo

These latest figures are especially significant because it means less than 1 million consoles now stand in the way of the Switch becoming the best-selling console in Japan. That might sound like a lot, but according to Nintendo Life, 50,000 – 100,000 Nintendo Switches are sold per week in Japan, meaning that the company’s latest record will be broken in a matter of weeks.

If Nintendo breaks this record, they’ll win the competition against themselves. At present, the highest-selling console in Japan is the Nintendo DS, which has sold a total of 32,990,000. Trailing behind the DS is — you guessed it — Nintendo again, this time with their Game Boy, which, to date, has sold 32,470,000 units.

When is the next Nintendo Direct?

It has become something of a tradition for Nintendo to hold a Nintendo Direct every year in early February. Last month, we had both the Xbox Developer Direct and the Sony State of Play, meaning that Nintendo is the only leading game company not to announce its full slate of games and other releases for 2024.

We already know of some of Nintendo’s most significant projects this year, including March’s Princess Peach: Showtime and a December remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. But there’s only one thing fans are really interested in.

Clearly, the Nintendo Switch is selling well, but seven years is a long time without any news on an entirely new console. Touted to be more in line with the Xbox One and PS4, the chances of the Nintendo Switch 2 being announced in 2024’s Nintendo Direct are slim, to say the least. But it’s certainly a long time coming.

Featured Image: Photo by Yasin Hasan on Unsplash 

Charlotte Colombo

Freelance Journalist

Charlotte Colombo is a freelance journalist with bylines in Metro.co.uk, Radio Times, The Independent, Daily Dot, Glamour, Stylist, and VICE among others. She most recently worked as a Staff Writer for entertainment outlet The Digital Fix for two years and, prior to that, worked with Business Insider and Dexerto on their digital culture desks. She’s also appeared on BBC Radio 5 and The Guardian podcast to share her expertise on technology, influencers, and niche internet subcultures.

She holds an MA in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London and has been freelancing for three years. She has a wide range of specialties including technology, digital culture, entertainment, lifestyle, and neurodiversity.’