Nintendo Switch clears 150 million sales, closing gap with PS2 once again after Sony bumped up its own figures last year

Mario faces the camera with a thumbs up pose in Super Smash Bros. Ulimate.
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The PS2 might still be the best selling console of all time, but almost eight years after its launch, the Nintendo Switch continues to close the gap, with Nintendo now confirming that it shipped over 150 million units as of the end of last year.

To be exact, as of December 31, 2024, a whopping 150.86 million Switch family units had been sold, which is an enormous figure. That accounts for regular ol' Switches, as well as the Switch Lite and OLED models – the latter of which has, unsurprisingly, become the most popular of the three options since financial year 2023. 

Sony may be quaking in its boots, as if another 10 million of Nintendo's current-gen consoles are sold, the PS2 may finally be dethroned, even after the company updated its sales figures last year. For many years, it was believed 155 million PS2s had made it out into the world, but last November, Sony said it'd actually sold over 160 million of the things. At the time, Nintendo's most recent figures stated that its hybrid console had hit 146.04 million sales, so it's managed to close the gap a fair bit since then. 

Will the Switch ever be able to overtake its 25-year-old competitor, though? Well, that remains to be seen. In its latest financial results, Nintendo says that despite sales being "stable given the fact that the platform is in its eighth year," software and hardware sales are ultimately down year-on-year, with hardware specifically being down "30.6% year-on-year at 9.54 million units." Furthermore, it's also amended its financial forecast, reducing the number of expected Switch hardware sales from 12.5 million units to 11 million units for the financial year ending at the end of March. 

On top of that, while it might not have an exact release date just yet, the Switch 2 is also around the corner. When that launches, it seems less likely that people would be buying its predecessor, but who knows, maybe the 2017 hybrid console will eventually be able to pass that coveted 160 million mark. After all, the chance of Sony updating its PS2 sales yet again seems slim.

Indie developer behind the last Wii U and 3DS games says Switch 2 Mario Kart textures are "extremely telling that this system is significantly more powerful" than the Switch.

Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of 12DOVE's news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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