Featured Image Credit: Leon Bennett/Variety via Getty Images
Topics: Nintendo, Nintendo Switch 2
At this point Nintendo has a long and storied history of impressive console releases tapping into the vast audience for their games in order to shift hardware at a scale that only Sony can really relate to.
That said, the earlier years in Nintendo's hardware manufacturing history were a little more up in the air than they are these days, when every new release is basically a guaranteed success (if we're all prepared to ignore the Wii U indefinitely).
That success has culminated in the release of the Nintendo Switch and its successor, the handily named Nintendo Switch 2, both of which have done incredibly well since releasing to the general public.
Now, the Switch 2 has passed a major milestone in just seven months that many consoles fail to achieve in their entire lifespans.
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As first reported by MyNintendoNews, the Nintendo Switch 2 has hit 4 million sales in Japan, surpassing the beloved GameCube in the process.
Now, obviously there are some considerations here which do mitigate the situation slightly.
The most important of those is that they are vastly different consoles, with the Switch 2's handheld feature essentially allowing it to operate as two different things.
This might make a more pertinent comparison to something like the Game Boy or Nintendo DS, which both sold significantly more in Japan than the GameCube managed to.
At the same time the GameCube was going up against the absolute behemoth that was the PlayStation 2, which still serves as the best selling console of all time almost a quarter of a century later.
That being said, the Switch 2 is creeping closer to PlayStation's record. Not too long until someone finds some PS2s down the back of the sofa, or something.
However, these are still hugely impressive figures for the console, particularly considering that a lot of people will have already had a Nintendo Switch and have decided to upgrade regardless.
It won't be able to keep up with the sales of the original version of the console, which managed a pretty ridiculous 15 million sales in its first year, but if it even gets to half that number then Nintendo will likely be delighted with where they are at.
Releases like Pokémon Pokopia and Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will also help considerably in giving more people the motivation to take the leap and buy the console, myself included, alongside many of the titles for the original Switch getting bespoke upgrades for the latest hardware.
Now, if only they’d give us some more options for full coloured joy-cons then we could all go home happy.