Nintendo Switch Has Outsold The N64

Nintendo's lastest financial earnings results are now available, giving us a look at the company's hardware and software sales for the past fiscal year. Not only did Nintendo's recent spate of Switch exclusives sell an impressive number of copies, the Switch console itself has also hit a new sales milestone.

During the fiscal year ended March 31, Nintendo moved 16.95 million Switch consoles. While that fell just short of the company's revised plan to sell 17 million units during the fiscal year, it did represent a 12.7% year-on-year increase. Moreover, it brought the system's global sales thus far up to 34.74 million, surpassing the lifetime sales of the Nintendo 64, which stands at 32.93 million.

The Switch has been an impressive rebound for Nintendo after the poor performance of the company's previous home console, the Wii U, which moved 13.56 million units over its lifetime. The hybrid system, on the other hand, has been selling remarkably well since launching back in March 2017, managing to outsell its predecessor in just 10 months. However, it remains to be seen whether or not it'll match the company's best-selling home console, the Wii, which stands at 101.63 million.

This past fiscal year was also a big one for Nintendo in terms of software sales. The company released a handful of notable exclusives for Switch, which have all moved some impressive numbers. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold more sold more than 13.81 million units, making it the series' best-selling installment and Nintendo's third best-selling game for Switch, while Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee sold a combined 10.63 million copies. Those numbers have quickly rocketed both titles up Nintendo's list of the 10 best-selling Switch games.

This fiscal year has the potential to be even bigger for Nintendo. The company has a number of major exclusives lined up for Switch in 2019, including a new pair of Pokemon games, Sword and Shield. There have also been numerous reports that Nintendo will release a cheaper Switch model this summer. While not necessarily denying that a new version of the system is coming, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa responded to those rumors, saying the company has "no plans to announce" any new hardware at this year's E3.