The Nintendo Switch has officially passed the 3DS in total sales, amounting to 79.87 million consoles sold compared to 75.94 million. The gaming giant also confirmed that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold 31.18 million copies.
New Horizons has been a smash hit throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and is quickly approaching Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s 33.41 million units as the best selling Switch game.
In the earnings report, Nintendo also revealed that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold 22.85 million units sold, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has sold 21.45 million units, Pokémon Sword and Shield has sold 20.35 million units and Super Mario Odyssey has sold 20.23 million units. Sword and Shield are now the first Pokemon games since Gold and Silver to sell over 20 million copies.
Nintendo also confirmed sales for a number of more recently released titles between its April 1st, 2020 and December 31st, 2020 fiscal year: Super Mario 3D All-Stars sold 8.32 million units, Paper Mario: The Origami King sold 3.05 million units, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity sold 2.84 million units, and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit sold 1.08 million units and Pikmin 3 Deluxe sold 1.94 million units.
During this time period, the Switch sold 24.10 million units, amounting to a 35.8 percent year-over-year increase.
The company also broke out Switch Lite sales, revealing that the cheaper, portable-only version of the console has sold 13.56 million units since its release back in the fall of 2019. What’s fascinating about this number is the Switch Lite has already surpassed the ill-fated Wii U’s 13.56 million unit lifetime sales.
Finally, it’s worth noting that 40.9 percent of all software sales across the Switch were digital, amounting to an increase of 12.3 percent year-over-year. In total, digital Switch sales experienced an increase of 104.9 percent when compared to 2019.
Looking to the future, the Switch’s release list remains pretty sparse. That said, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, a re-release of the underappreciated Wii U title drops on February 12th, following by Persona 5 Strikers on February 23rd and Bravely Default II, on February 26th.
Nintendo has increased its forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31st to 26.5 million Switch units. The company has also boosted its net profit estimate 33 percent to 400 billion yen $3.82 billion ($4.8 billion CAD).
Source: Nintendo
