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Nintendo Switch sales hit 15 million in North America, top Wii U lifetime sales

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The Nintendo Switch has achieved the milestone of 15 million units sold in North America, with the hybrid console looking to continue its momentum into its fourth year since launch.

The Nintendo Switch, including its recently released new version, the Nintendo Switch Lite, has sold more than 15 million units in North America since the console’s launch in March 2017, according to Nintendo’s internal data.

Additionally, over the first nine months of 2019, Nintendo Switch sales in North America were up more than 20% compared to the same period last year. The NPD Group, which tracks sales in the U.S. video game industry, said that the device has been the best-selling video game console for 10 months in a row.

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To further place the Nintendo Switch’s success in perspective, its predecessor, the Wii U, only sold 13.56 million units in its entire lifetime worldwide. Nintendo Switch sales in North America have surpassed that figure, and its worldwide sales of 36.87 million units, as of June 30 this year, have already more than doubled the Wii U’s lifetime sales.

Nintendo also said that 14 titles for the Nintendo Switch have sold more than 1 million copies, with four games selling more than 6 million copies, namely Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

This year’s lineup of games certainly helped push the console past 15 million units in North America, as titles such as Super Mario Maker 2, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Astral Chain, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening have proven to be very popular. Heading into the holiday season, the just-released Ring Fit Adventure, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and Pokémon Sword and Shield are expected to provide a boost to the hybrid console.

Nintendo is hoping for a strong holiday season for the console’s sales, similar to last year. The Nintendo Switch overtook the PlayStation 4 as the best-selling console of 2018 in the United States on the back of its holiday sales, despite the PlayStation 4 winning the monthly sales battle from January to October last year.

The Nintendo Switch is expected to continue hitting milestones as it enters its fourth year on the market, though it remains to be seen how it will be affected by the launch of the PlayStation 5 in next year’s holiday season.

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Aaron Mamiit
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