SWITCH TO BECOME MOST SOLD NINTENDO GAME CONSOLE, SURPASSING DS

OSAKA, Jan 28 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The Nintendo Switch is slated to become the most popular console sold by Nintendo Co., likely to surpass the Nintendo DS, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The success of the Switch, which has sold 154.01 million units compared to 154.02 million of the DS as of the end of September 2025, has come with the release of a wide range of popular games, including the Super Mario franchise. The company's older consoles Game Boy and Wii have sold over 100 million units each.

The first-generation Switch was released in 2017. The console is comprised of a display screen and detachable controllers and can be used in a handheld mode or a television mode. Players are also able to connect online to participate in wider competitions.

Among the popular software titles, the Kyoto-based company saw massive success with "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" launched in the early days of the global COVID-19 pandemic which kept people from going outside. The game became the top domestic seller for the Switch at over eight million units, according to Famitsu, a gaming and entertainment publication by Kadokawa Game Linkage Inc.

Nintendo has introduced four versions of the DS since it was first released in 2004, a foldable console with two screens in which the player operates the lower touchscreen using a stylus.

"The successes (of the DS and Switch) are a result of developing works that make the most of the features of gaming consoles, as well as an accumulation of ideas centred on how consumers want to play games," said Katsuhiko Hayashi, the head of Famitsu.

Nintendo released the Switch 2 in June 2025, selling 10.36 million units as of the end of September.

The company is expected to release the units sold as of the end of December on Feb 3 along with its quarterly earnings results.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO