No one could have predicted just how successful the Nintendo Switch would be, particularly after the abysmal sales of the Wii U. But the sake will be flowing in celebration at Nintendo’s Kyoto HQ because the hybrid console has reached another historic milestone.

In its earnings report, Nintendo announced that the Switch has now surpassed the Game Boy and PS4 to become the third best-selling console of all time, reaching 122.55 million units sold at the end of 2022.

It puts the Switch behind the PlayStation 2, which sits atop the charts with 155 million during its lifespan, and the Nintendo DS, which managed 154.02 million units sold.

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Nintendo Switch sales

• 📈 Nintendo Switch has now sold 122.55 million units

• 🤯 That puts it above the Game Boy and PS4’s lifetime sales

• 🆚 The Switch is still a long way off the PS2 and Nintendo DS, however

• 🥲 Many see The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears as the last big Switch game

Even though there’s plenty of life left yet in the Nintendo Switch – the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom alone will no doubt spur console sales – it’s unlikely the Switch will close the gap on the PS2 and Nintendo DS.

Switch sales continue to fall, dropping from 18.95 million to 14.91 million the year before, and game sales also fell by 5.6%. Even the monstrous sales numbers of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which has sold 20.61 million units in six weeks, couldn’t prevent the decline.

It doesn’t help that the Nintendo Switch is starting to feel long in the tooth compared to other competitors on the market like the Steam Deck, PS5 and Xbox Series X. The console is still home to some fantastic games – see our best Nintendo Switch games list for proof – but its aging hardware is starting to become a barrier for developers to overcome.

Nintendo finds itself in a precarious position, then. Does it continue to focus on the Switch in an attempt to drive sales even higher, or release a Nintendo Switch 2 before consumers move on to the next shiny thing that catches their eye?

If you still haven’t bought a Switch yet, it can be tricky to decide which model is right for you. Our Nintendo Switch vs Nintendo Switch OLED and Nintendo Switch vs Lite comparisons can help make things easier.