Generally, more than a few years into a console's life, the unit sales would start to taper off. The Nintendo Switch has been immune to this, as the hybrid system has maintained a very steady pace when it comes to demand. According to Nintendo's most recent fiscal report, The Switch has sold 89.04 million units since its launch in 2017. For reference, these numbers more than quadruple the sales of the Wii U, which peaked at 13.5 million throughout its lifespan.

The Switch has been one of the the fastest selling consoles of all time, closing in on 90 million sales in just over four years. A month ago, Nintendo announced its newest member to the Switch family, OLED model, which will be launching this holiday season. The platform has also had one of the hottest selling games in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (35.9 million copies, as of May 2021). 

According to an article by Gamasutra, it's reported that Nintendo plans to see a full year of hardware sales hit 25 million. Given the rate that it flies off shelves due to the demand for mobile gaming, the Switch does fit a quality of life demand for gaming on the go. Mainstream first party software has been a little few and far in between for the platform, but the expansive eShop digital library almost guarantees something to play. It doesn't pack the processing power of the Xbox Series X and PS5, but its dedicated fanbase that's grown up with the brand for three decades have likely raised generations that are familiar with the Nintendo and Mario name by the time they're six.

the PlayStation 2 still holds the record for highest selling console worldwide at 158 million units. Could the Nintendo Switch come close to that number, or even bypass it? 

SOURCE: Gamasutra