Despite some new competition from Sony and Microsoft, the Nintendo Switch is still going strong. In fact, the company says that the console-handheld hybrid just posted its strongest October yet.
For the month of October, Nintendo sold 735,926 Switch and Switch Lite units in the United States alone. That’s the second-highest October sales number for any console, according to NPD, which has tracked console sales since 1995. The top-selling console in October was the Nintendo Wii back in 2008, which sold 807,000 units.
Polygon provides more context on the sales figures:
The Switch has been the best-selling video game console for 23 consecutive months. Its March 2017 debut followed the launches of the PlayStation 4 Pro in November 2016 and the Xbox One X in November 2017. Those were, of course, midgeneration upgrades; the last time Nintendo had the older model among the big three was when the PS4 and Xbox One followed the Wii U’s 2012 launch by a year.
NPD says that Nintendo has sold 22.5 million Switch consoles in the U.S., and Nintendo itself said its own internal “sold-in” data (units shipped to retailers) shows sales of 68 million units around the world.
It’s safe to say that Nintendo is well-positioned for the holiday season, despite the release of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Aside from having a price advantage, the Switch and Switch Lite are significantly different products from what Sony and Microsoft are offering. That differentiation should help the Switch soldier on as new hardware rolls out.
