The inevitable has happened — the Switch has finally outsold the DS, making it Nintendo's all-time best-selling console

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Switch has reportedly become Nintendo's best-selling console ever
As of the end of 2025, it has finally surpassed the DS's previous record
The Switch remains behind the PlayStation 2 by about 5 million units, according to SIE

Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch is officially its all-time best-selling piece of hardware, finally surpassing the previous record set by the original DS console as of December 31, 2025.

The company's latest financial data update (sourced by The Verge) shows that the original Switch (also accounting for the Lite and OLED models) has reached 155.37 million hardware units sold. That's been enough to dethrone the Nintendo DS and its lifetime sales of 154.02 million units across all models.

The Switch has also crossed 1.5 billion software units sold as of December 31, 2025, vastly outpacing any system in its history. The next closest is the DS at 948.76 software units, closely followed by the Wii's 921.85 million.

Still, Nintendo has some legwork left to do if it wants the Switch to surpass the lifetime sales of the PlayStation 2. According to Sony Interactive Entertainment's cumulative worldwide hardware unit sales, the PS2 is sitting at 160 million units (as of March 31, 2012).

Despite an underwhelming Christmas performance, the Nintendo Switch 2 has done alright in its first six months on store shelves. At 17.37 million hardware units sold as of the end of last year, it was Nintendo's fastest-selling console at launch. Its momentum may continue to be rocky, though, as analysts have warned consumers to brace for a price hike sometime in 2026.

Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart World Bundle

The best handheld games consoles for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best handheld games consoles
1. Best overall:
Nintendo Switch 2
2. Best for PC gamers:
Steam Deck OLED
3. Best budget
Nintendo Switch Lite
4. Best for remote play:
PlayStation Portal

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

Rhys is TRG's Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for over four years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.