The Nintendo Switch has hit a huge sales milestone, as it has now outsold the lifetime numbers of the NES. The Switch had a lot to live up to when it launched in 2017, following the dismal performance of the Wii U, but the system has shattered expectations over the past few years.
2020 has been one of the Switch's best years, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this holiday season, but it doesn't need to, considering the incredible numbers it has seen so far.
Nintendo recently released its Q1 2020 sales figures, which revealed that the Switch had sold 61.44 million units to date. This put it within spitting distance of outselling the NES, which sold 61.91 million units throughout its lifespan. The Switch has since beaten those numbers. According to Nintendo Life, Famitsu in Japan is reporting that the Switch has sold 62 million units, putting it ahead of the NES's lifetime sales.
The next sales milestone for the Switch is 76 million units, which will put it ahead of the Nintendo 3DS. The fact that the 3DS hasn't received any new games in 2020 proves that the system is dead and likely won't see any significant bump in its sales figures, so it's unlikely that the goal posts will move any further.
The fact that the Switch has outsold the NES is a huge achievement for the system. The Switch has outsold the Wii U, the GameCube, the SNES, and the Nintendo 64 since launch, putting it ahead of some of Nintendo's best (and worst) systems. The NES was Nintendo's first home console and it has a great deal of historical significance. Without the NES, the video game industry may never have recovered from the crash of '83, nor would Nintendo have gained such a foothold within the industry. The Switch is the weakest console on the market and will trail far behind the next generation of systems, but its portable nature and a killer line-up of titles mean that it has a bright future ahead of it, especially with the Animal Crossing: New Horizons helping to bring in a brand new audience to the system.
Source: Nintendo Life
