The original Switch is officially Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time after surpassing the DS handheld in lifetime sales. In its latest earnings release, Nintendo reports that the Nintendo Switch has, as of December 31, 2025, sold 155.37 million units since its launch in 2017, compared to 154.02 million units for the 2004 Nintendo DS.
The DS, like the Wii, had a lot of games that drew in people who were not “core gamers”, such as Brain Age and Nintendogs.
The fragile hinge between the two screens also reduced the number of cheap used systems on the market.