It’s no secret that the Nintendo Switch has been a huge success for the company since its launch in 2017.
But even before that, Nintendo had been winning the console war with SEGA in the early nineties with their previous iterations, from the NES and SNES consoles.
It’s one thing to see announcements of certain consoles smashing records on how many they have sold, but it’s another to be aware of the overall records for certain companies.
This is why data has been discovered of just how many Nintendo have sold in their nearly-40 year history of being in the games industry.
It’s Over 700 million!
Thanks to ‘Safe Bettings Sites’, they have calculated that 739.87 million units of Nintendo consoles have been sold. Compared to Microsoft’s 158.92 million, and Sony’s 541.64 million, it’s a huge difference compared to Nintendo here.
Safe Bettings stated that “..The popularity of Nintendo does not come as a surprise considering that the company has built a reputation for iconic characters with games like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and the Pokémon franchise. These characters have followed players across generations to different games and different consoles. Nintendo has been making great games for its iconic characters and delivering innovative hardware to their fans. This market positioning has propelled Nintendo to the top of the video game industry.”
As the graph shows, the Nintendo DS is the big hitter here, with 154.9 million sold, with the Game Boy and Wii trailing in 2nd and 3rd place. Yet it also shows just how much headway Sony has made in twenty five years since the debut of the original PlayStation.
READ MORE: A Switch Pro may be on the cards next year..
What could push it to a Billion?
The elephant in the graph here is Xbox. Even though their first two consoles made headway, the Xbox One began to a rough start, with their E3 announcement more about a TV Guide than it was about games.
Safe Bettings goes into this, saying “...For instance, consoles like PS4 remain popular over Xbox due to clear messaging. Sony has maintained that the PS4 was meant for gamers while on the other hand, Xbox also confused users after promising controversial multimedia features. The confusion ensured Sony retained its loyal fanbase. Sony also has a more powerful launch lineup than Microsoft.”
But Nintendo are still riding high with the Switch. Rumours are abound that a ‘Super Switch’ or ‘Switch Pro’ will be arriving early next year, with 4K resolutions and better battery when in handheld.
This could push the number from 739.87 million to over a billion devices sold overall from Nintendo, and time will tell if this will be a reality in a years time if a newer Switch is announced.
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