The Nintendo Switch has hit another major milestone, as Nintendo has confirmed that its latest system has outsold the Game Boy Advance. The Switch is now the fourth best-selling Nintendo system of all time, but it has a steep hill ahead to reach the third-place spot.

The Switch was released in 2017, and expectations were high. Nintendo was coming off of the disastrous Wii U generation guns blazing, as the Switch launched with critical and commercial hit The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 2017 was packed with system sellers like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey, which further established a strong audience and following out of the gate. Having majorly increased production to shrug off a global Switch console shortage, 2020 proved to be Nintendo's most profitable year in its history. Games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons continue to sell in the millions, and interest in the Switch doesn't appear to be slowing down in 2021.

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The company has now released its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2021 on the official Nintendo website. According to the report, the Switch has sold 84.59 million units to date, which means that it has officially outsold the Game Boy Advance, which sold 81.51 million units throughout its lifespan. The Switch also recently outsold the 3DS, which means that Nintendo's newest system is outpacing its handheld predecessors at a rapid pace.

Nintendo Switch console in handheld mode.

The next Nintendo console sales milestone that the Switch is much higher, and it's entirely possible that the system may not achieve it within its lifespan. In order to become the third best-selling Nintendo console of all time, the Switch will need to outsell the Nintendo Wii, which sold 101.63 million units, a figure the Switch is still twenty million shy of four years after launch. It would then need to sell another twenty million to outsell the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, and another thirty million after that to beat the Nintendo DS and become the bestselling Nintendo console of all time.

Those lofty goals may not be impossible, though, as Nintendo reportedly plans to produce another 30 million Switch units in 2021 (though this has yet to be confirmed). If true, then Nintendo is planning on beating the Wii's milestone this year. The Switch has seen incredible success during the pandemic, but lockdowns are easing and potentially ending in locations around the world. It's possible interest in video games could take a dip further into the year, and even Nintendo forecasts lower consoles in 2022 after peaking in 2021. Nintendo is going to need a strong lineup of games to keep people interested in the Switch, so it will be exciting to see what the company has in store for E3 2021.

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Source: Nintendo