The Switch has sold 140 million units, and it's an even bigger deal than you think

The Nintendo Switch has never received an official price drop

After 7 years on the market, that original model still costs $300

The raw number of units sold is already impressive, but when you take a look at how much the top-selling consoles cost, it becomes very apparent just how popular this system is. Consider this: The leader of the pack, the PlayStation 2, launched at $299 in 2000, the same price that Nintendo charged for the Switch in 2017 (not accounting for inflation). But by May 2002, Sony had already announced a huge price cut for the PlayStation 2, bringing it to a mere $199. It took less than two years for the PlayStation 2 to shave off 33% of its original price, and that's no joke. The next year, Sony lowered the price further to $179, and one year later. again to $149. By the end of its life, the PlayStation 2 was selling for $99, which contributed to continued sales well into the PlayStation 3's lifespan. Sony didn't stop reporting PlayStation 2 sales until 2012.

By comparison, the Nintendo Switch launched for the same $299.99 price tag in 2017 and if you buy a new one today, outside of sales, it will still cost you the exact same. There have been discounts occasionally, but there has never been an official price reduction for the Switch. The exception is a small cut from 329.99 EUR to 299.99 EUR in Europe to align the pricing across markets before the OLED model launched.

Now, to be totally fair, Nintendo did introduce the Nintendo Switch Lite in 2019, offering a $199 version of the console, but unlike the PlayStation 2, this model was severely impaired. It has no TV connectivity or detachable controls, so while many customers did opt for this model — the Nintendo Switch Lite accounts for around 23 million units sold — it didn't appeal to the entire audience of the Switch in the same way. With a lower price point, the PlayStation 2 still appealed to the exact same people, but it was now cheaper. That's not the case with the Switch Lite. Plus, that Switch Lite also hasn't had an official price reduction. It's still $199.

And of course, the Nintendo DS is in a league of its own, launching at a mere $149.99. It made sense that this console sold as well as it did. And while you might argue that the Switch sold more because you can sell multiples per household (while the PlayStation 2 is usually something you only need one of), that argument doesn't apply when comparing to the DS, making this all the more impressive.

It hasn't received a major upgrade

It's pretty much still the same Switch it's always been

There's something else that's important to consider. Aside from price drops, a method that's typically been used to drive sales in the latter stages of a console's life has been upgraded hardware. This is an area where we can directly compare to the Nintendo DS because that console had a few of those. After the original model launched in 2004, Nintendo released the first revision in 2006 with the DS Lite. Unlike the Switch Lite, the DS Lite wasn't an additional option — it was pretty much the de facto DS from that point on, with a sleeker design, better screens, and a starting price lower than the original DS at its launch.

Then in 2008 (in Japan, 2009 overseas), Nintendo introduced the DSi, which was a huge upgrade with a faster processor, four times more RAM, actual internal storage, cameras, and an all-new software experience with apps like a music player that could be used with an SD card. Plus, it introduced the all-new DSi Shop for certain digital games, and a few retail games were either enhanced for the DSi in some way or were straight-up exclusive to it. The DSi would then receive a larger sibling with the DSi XL.

The point is, the Nintendo DS needed a few kicks to get its sales as far as it did, and in fact, that happens a lot with console hardware. The PlayStation 4 had the Pro model (while the Slim model replaced the original), the Xbox One has both the One S and One X revisions, and it's worth noting that the Game Boy sales we mentioned above include the Game Boy Color, despite that being a significantly different piece of hardware.

The Nintendo Switch, on the other hand, hasn't really had the same kind of major revision. The Switch Lite was essentially a cheaper, watered-down version of the console, so it's not really something that can extend the lifespan of the platform in that way. Around the same time, we got a revised original model with improved battery life, but that was it. And while the OLED model of the Switch delivered very welcome improvements, including a beautiful OLED screen and a much better kickstand, all it really did for the specs was increase the storage to 64GB. It didn't make games on the system any more exciting or visually appealing, and it didn't make it easier for developers to bring over games from other platforms. It's really just a more premium version of the same hardware rather than a proper revision. And yet, the system continues to sell very well.

Will the Switch become the best-selling console ever?

The generation is nearly over, but it could still happen

As we're heading into 2024, the rumblings have been intensifying about Nintendo's next-generation platform, with some pointing to a reveal as early as March. An upgraded version of the Switch has been heavily requested almost since the original hardware launched, and once it hits, it's very likely that interest in the Switch will fall drastically among the gaming community. But Nintendo usually plays it safe when transitioning to a new generation, and the original Switch will stick around for a while. So can the company still extend the lifespan long enough to make it the best-selling hardware ever? I'd say the odds of that happening are fairly high.

Nintendo has held off on lowering the Switch's price for 7 years, but I believe that once its successor is announced, the strategy will be to drastically lower the price of the existing models. My bet would be on discontinuation of the Switch OLED model, with price reductions from $50 to $100 on both the Lite and the original models. If the Nintendo Switch Lite were sold for $130 and the original model for $200 — give or take — the sales momentum could keep going among general audiences for long enough to sell the remaining 15 million units to make it the best-selling system of all time. Along with some lower-key releases like the upcoming Luigi's Mansion 2 HD or Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, it could very well be enough to make up the remaining unit sales.

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Can that success be replicated?

A Switch successor probably won't sell as much

While the Switch formula has proved to be very successful for Nintendo, it's hard to imagine that the kind of success the Switch has experienced will be replicated any time soon. Even if Nintendo follows the same steps, one of the big factors that did help Switch sales was the pandemic in 2020, with the launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons being particularly impactful. Plus, even if Nintendo keeps up the same formula, there's only so much time you can spend doing the same thing and still succeed. Eventually, the market will be saturated and sales will slow.

Plus, for a long time, the Switch didn't have any direct competition, but the rise of PC gaming handhelds in the past couple of years is changing that. While I highly doubt systems like the Steam Deck can sell even a remotely close number of systems, it will surely draw some people away from another console if it follows the same general format.

The good news (for Nintendo, at least) is that sales don't need to be this high for a system to be successful. Even if a potential Switch 2 only sells 100 million units, that's still a great number of systems sold and more than enough for the company to keep going. It just needs to avoid another Wii U situation.