Nintendo Switch is the longest-running Nintendo home console ever

Adam StarkeyPublished Jul 12, 2024, 11:38am|Updated Jul 12, 2024, 12:01pm

A picture of Nintendo Switch console — The Switch has put in the time (Nintendo)

As Nintendo’s new hardware looms, the Switch has managed to achieve an impressive milestone as the company’s longest-lasting home console.

While the Nintendo Switch has yet to beat the Nintendo DS in terms of lifetime sales (it’s less than 14 million behind at the moment), the console has managed to break a different record.

Since its worldwide launch on March 3, 2017, the Nintendo Switch has been the company’s primary console for 2,688 days (as of July 12) – meaning it is now the company’s longest-running home console before the arrival of a successor.

This beats a record previously held by the Famicom (known as the NES in the West), which was Nintendo’s main console for 2,686 days before the launch of the Super Famicom (SNES) in Japan in November 21, 1990.

As shown in a graph by Paidon23 on Reddit, the Switch isn’t the longest-serving Nintendo console overall. That title goes to the Game Boy, which was Nintendo’s primary handheld for 3,471 days in Japan, between its launch on April 21, 1989 and the Game Boy Color’s arrival on October 21, 1998.

It’s unlikely the Switch will pass that milestone though, as Nintendo has already confirmed it will announce the console’s successor by the end of March 2025, so it will presumably launch sometime next year. To beat the Game Boy’s record, the next Switch will need to be held back for the next two years.

Tomorrow, on 10 July 2024, we will achieve the longest period ever recorded between the launch of two home consoles from Nintendo
byu/Paidon23 intomorrow

It’s still an impressive amount of time though, especially coming after the Wii U which only lasted 1,566 days (barely more than four years) before the Switch launched.

This is the shortest time between Nintendo home consoles, while the shortest ever is the transition between the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, at 883 days – although the Color was only a relatively minor upgrade of the original Game Boy.

As of May 2024, the Switch has sold 141.32 million units. It’s the company’s second-highest selling console behind the Nintendo DS, which racked up 154.02 million sales. The DS is in turn the second best selling console of all time, behind the PlayStation 2 on 158.70 million.

Judging by the console’s surprisingly strong line-up for the rest of the year, Nintendo is gunning for the number one spot – with games like The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, and Super Mario Party Jamboree hoping to push it over the finish line.

They even announced another brand new exclusive this week, in the form of a mysterious new horror game called Emio, which rumours suggest may be a cross-gen title with the Switch 2.