The Nintendo Switch remains an extremely hot console–figuratively, of course–nearly four years after its launch, and this is especially true in Japan. The console appears to have accounted for a remarkable 87% of all consoles sold in the country during 2020, even with the launch of two newer systems at the end of the year.
According to Famitsu and shared via GamesIndustry.biz, about 6.85 million consoles were sold in Japan during the year–that’s all game consoles put together. Of those, 5.9 million were either the Nintendo Switch or the Switch Lite, while the PS4 and PS5 combined to sell about 798,000 units. This leaves very little room for other consoles to reach that 6.85 million number, and with the Xbox brand not having much weight in Japan, that’s to be expected.
Overall, the Nintendo Switch has sold more than 68 million systems worldwide, and it should overtake the Nintendo 3DS in 2021. It has already eclipsed the 3DS in terms of software sales, as it has become an extremely popular platform for third-party and indie developers. The Switch’s predecessor, the Wii U, only managed a little over 13.5 million units sold during its lifetime, while the Wii still stands as Nintendo’s best-selling home console with more than 100 million systems sold.
Nintendo has yet to confirm its existence, but we’ve heard several reports of an enhanced “Switch Pro” releasing this year, as well. According to a dataminer, the console could include an OLED screen and support for 4K output when docked.
