Nintendo Switch has officially outsold the GameCube

By Eric Abent/Oct. 30, 2018 9:10 am EST

It seems the Nintendo Switch has found something that at least resembles enduring popularity. It only took 9 months for the Switch to beat total lifetime sales of the Wii U, and today we're learning that it's surpassed the sales of another console: the GameCube. It now seems poised to outsell other past Nintendo consoles before all is said and done, too.

In its latest round of financial results – which cover the six-month period ending September 30, 2018 – Nintendo says that life-to-date Switch sales have reached 22.86 million. That's enough to put it around one million sales ahead of the GameCube, which sold 21.87 million units in its six-year lifespan.

Of those 22.86 million lifetime sales, 5.07 million came during the six-month period today's financials cover. It seems, then, that Switch sales have slowed a little, which isn't that much of a surprise. Not only has excitement for the console probably died down a little, but 2018's first-party release lineup isn't quite as packed as 2017's was with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey.

Still, Nintendo isn't changing its previous Switch forecast of 20 million units units sold by the time its fiscal year wraps up in March 2019. If Nintendo still wants to hit that goal, the holiday season will have to be a kind one for the Switch, but with Pokemon Let's Go landing in November and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate arriving in December, the Switch could indeed be in for a major sales boost.

Next up on the list of consoles to beat is the Nintendo 64, which sold a grand total of 32.93 million units. Of course, the big question is whether or not the Switch will become popular enough to one day surpass the Wii, which is one of only three home consoles that have ever managed to sell more than 100 million units. That'll certainly be a harder goal to achieve, but as long as Nintendo can keep pumping out console-moving games like Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it might just happen.

SOURCE: Nintendo