Nintendo's console sales since the SNES have been visualized in a new infographic. Although the company has had a slower year in comparison to the past couple of years, there were a handful of popular first-party titles that did release in 2020. There was Paper Mario: The Origami King, Pikmin 3: Deluxe, and, of course, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo's latest juggernaut. Aside from first-party games, there have been numerous indie titles on the platform this year, including Hades, Among Us, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
More recently, it was revealed earlier this morning that the cult classic Banjo-Kazooie was briefly on the Wii U Virtual Console release calendar. However, Nintendo quickly rectified the error by removing the game from the listings online and said the game was added by mistake. Such an addition to the Wii U Virtual Console would be massive, and the beloved character-duo was even added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate this past year.
As shared by Visual Capitalist, Nintendo's console sales history has been illuminated in a new infographic. The graphic spans from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) to the current era of the Nintendo Switch. Because the Switch is roughly in the midpoint of its life span, the console's sales numbers are highly likely to increase within the next few years or so. Some noteworthy figures include Wii U's disastrous number of 13.6 million units sold and the Nintendo DS' and Wii's sales of 154 million and 101.6 million units sold, respectively. Check out the infographic below.
It was already well-known that the Wii U was Nintendo's worst-selling console, but now video game enthusiasts can better visualize just how poorly the console sold. On the contrary, they can also gain a better understanding of how monstrous the sales figures were for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii. They are absolutely colossal, even when compared to nostalgic favorites such as the GameCube, which sold 21.7 million units, and the Nintendo 64, which sold 32.9 million units. Additionally, the Nintendo Switch is selling remarkably well and has already outsold the GameCube, Nintendo 64, and the original Game Boy.
As of September 30, the Switch has sold 68.3 million units, and it's well on-track to outsell its handheld predecessor, the Nintendo 3DS, which sold 75.9 million units. It's clear that the Switch is a true powerhouse in terms of sales, even if it has had a comparably slow year. There's likely many titles Nintendo currently has up its sleeve, and fans already know that the highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is in development. Even though the Switch is only halfway through its course, it's already proven itself as one of Nintendo's best-selling products.
Source: Visual Capitalist