Nintendo’s Switch console has outsold the 3DS handheld in Japan as of this week, according to sales data.
Game Data Library, an organization that collects and shares Japanese game sales data, shared a graph yesterday evening that compared the quarterly sales of the Switch and the 3DS. The graph also marks the date of notable releases, which indirectly shows the effect of certain games on console and handheld sales.
Since it passed the 3DS, the Switch has become Japan’s third-best-selling game console of all time. Sitting at 24,765,068 sales in Japan, Nintendo’s latest console is still lagging behind the DS, which sold 32,878,490 units, and the original Game Boy, which sold 32,430,000 units. Rounding out the top 10 list are the 3DS, the PlayStation 2, the PSP, the Famicom (Japan’s NES), the original PlayStation, the Super Famicom (Japan’s SNES), and the Game Boy Advance.
On the same day, sales analyst Benji-Sales revealed that the Xbox Series S/X outsold the PlayStation 5 in Japan for the first time since launch. Microsoft’s latest consoles also passed 200,000 lifetime units sold in Japan as of last week. Microsoft consoles have historically struggled in Japan, where homegrown companies Sony and Nintendo have dominated the market for quite a long time.
While fans have been hoping for a Switch successor for a while, the announcement of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe‘s Booster Course Pass and its guarantee of two years’ worth of courses means it’s unlikely we’ll see a new Nintendo console in the next few years. This gives the Switch another two years to climb the Japanese sales chart, potentially even surpassing the Game Boy on its way up.
