Nintendo Switch 2 breaks records with 3.5m unit sales in four days

The Nintendo Switch 2 has surpassed 3.5 million unit sales globally in its first four days.

As a result, the Switch 2 is now Nintendo’s fastest-selling piece of hardware ever, having already bested the original Switch’s early sales numbers in a fraction of the time.

The new console launched on June 5th, 2025, boasting a larger screen compared to the original Switch, a higher resolution, magnetic Joy-Cons with mouse functionality and more.

Furthermore, Mario Kart World has served as the major first-party launch title for Switch 2 after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe safely established itself as the original Switch’s best-seller, having sold over 68m copies.

Record-breaking launch

The original Switch launched on March 3rd, 2017 and while no direct four-day comparisons are available, Nintendo officially shipped over 2.7m units by the end of that month. This means that the Switch 2 has already outsold its predecessor’s first 29 days by 28% and still has 25 more days to go for a true comparison to be drawn.

Meanwhile, compared to Nintendo hardware sales two generations ago, the Switch 2 has already achieved 26% of the Wii U’s lifetime sales in just four days.

The early figures reflect the Switch 2’s launch in a vastly different landscape for Nintendo. Back in 2017, the Mario maker had to establish its new branding and introduce the very idea of a hybrid console.

Fewer Switch consoles were produced for launch, which also impacted initial sales numbers, as Nintendo appeared to play it safe after the Wii U had flopped, with fewer than 13.6 million lifetime sales.

By contrast, the Switch 2 has followed a successful eight-year generation and over 152m lifetime Switch sales so far. It’s the sequel to a console which outperformed the Wii and is now closing in on the DS and PS2 for the title of top-selling games console in history.

This time around, analysts haven’t been considering whether Nintendo can become relevant again but rather whether the games giant can maintain its renewed stronghold.

Before the Switch 2 launched, Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research at Ampere Analysis, predicted that the Switch 2 would reach 13m unit sales by the end of 2025. He also claimed that the console represents an opportunity of up to $8bn for games content over the next two years alone.