The Nintendo Switch continues to break all records. While the Japanese manufacturer’s machine is approaching its sixth year of career, it is still enjoying resounding success, especially in France. Indeed, the Switch has officially become the best-selling console in France. The Wii previously held this title.
The Switch is living proof that graphics and the race for power are not everything in video games. Although lagging behind from a purely technical point of view compared to its main competitors (PS4 and Xbox One, not to mention the PS5 and the Series X/S), the Switch quickly won over the crowds thanks to its innovative hybrid machine conceptproviding both a handheld and home console experience.
Since its launch in 2017, the Switch has shattered sales records previously held by old Nintendo consoles. In February 2022 in particular, the Switch crossed 103 million copies sold worldwide, thus surpassing the PS1 and the Wii.
And precisely, we have just learned that the Switch broke a new record in France. Indeed, the hybrid console now displays more than 7.09 million copies sold in France. As a result, the Nintendo machine dethrones its big sister, namely the Wii, and simply becomes the best-selling console in history on French soil. Just that.
Also read: The Nintendo Switch will not see its price increase… yet
10% of the French population owns a Nintendo Switch
Casually, the Wii had held this title for 10 years, with 6.3 million copies. We found on the second place of the podium the Sony PS4, with 6 million machines sold. “We sold 987,000 Switches in 2022, which is the best performance on the market. One out of two consoles in France last year was a Switch”, specifies Philippe Lavoué, general manager of Nintendo France, in the columns of the Figaro.
Concretely, 10.5% of the French population is equipped with a Switch at the time of writing these lines! During 2022, Nintendo also recorded excellent figures on sales of games, with titles set to appear in the ranking of the best sales of the year of the Syndicate of video game publishers in March 2023.
Thereby, Pokémon Purple/Scarlet have reached 700,000 sales, followed by Pokémon Arceus (575,000 sales) and the unstoppable Mario Kart 8 and its 445,000 sales. An impressive performance for this game launched in 2017! As for 2023, the future looks pretty bright for the Switch with the upcoming launch of a highly anticipated heavyweight on May 12: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
