Nintendo Switch North American Sales Outpace Wii U Lifetime Totals
Nintendo sells 15 million Switch units in North America, officially surpassing the Wii U's worldwide lifetime sales. The console remains the top-selling system in the U.S. for ten consecutive months.
Nintendo announces that North American sales of the Switch hit 15 million units, a milestone that pushes the console past the Wii U's lifetime worldwide sales of 13.56 million. The NPD Group confirms that the Switch maintains its position as the best-selling console in the U.S. for ten straight months, showing strong and consistent consumer demand.
Although the Switch trails behind the lifetime sales of the older PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the hybrid console is still early in its lifecycle. The recent release of the $199 Switch Lite, a strictly portable version of the hardware, expands the system's appeal and introduces a new entry point for budget-conscious gamers.
Despite ongoing concerns about a limited software library, Nintendo reveals that 14 different titles sell over one million copies in the region. Four first-party games, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, each boast sales exceeding six million copies, driving the global Switch install base to nearly 38 million units as of mid-2019.