The Nintendo Switch 2 was always going to outsell the Wii U, and very quickly. However, for Nintendo to have already sold it for a new console that we all want to forget about in the UK after only six months is pretty incredible.
When it comes to worldwide Nintendo sales, we have to wait for the quarterly financial results. Christopher Dring has provided a mid-quarter update via data shared by NielsenIQ, revealing that the Switch 2 has not only outsold the Nintendo console that arrived in the UK two generations ago, but also the Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation Vita.
I guess that makes the Wii U the granddaddy of the Switch 2.
The Switch 2 overtaking the Wii U is more impressive than it might seem at first glance
You can look at that console line-up and gasp at the news that the Switch 2 has managed to top their lifetime British sales. The Wii U was a huge failure for Nintendo, the PS Vita didn't hit like the PSP and brought the curtain on PlayStation's two-gen handheld adventure (for now), and the Dreamcast sold so poorly that it forced Sega to get out of the hardware game entirely.
While all three are admittedly examples of low points for each console creator, they are still the flagship consoles that have been on the market for years. None of them were pulled from store shelves after a few months. They were all The primary consoles for their respective creators at the time. So for the Switch 2 to swoop in and sell as many units in half a year is as important to the UK as what they all achieved in their entire lifetime on the market.
Dring didn't share exact sales figures, but noted that the Switch 2 has sold “well over” 600,000 consoles in the UK. As for worldwide sales, sorry, Sega fans, but the company's last console was superseded by the Switch 2 a while ago. Nintendo's latest numbers confirmed that it sold more than one million Switch 2s by the end of November. The Dreamcast ended its run with just 9.14 million.
The Switch 2 probably outsold the Wii U worldwide as well
It's also entirely possible that, although we won't know for sure until next year, the Switch 2 outsells both the Wii U and PS Vita on a global scale as well. The Wii U managed 13.56 million sales before Nintendo rushed to open the door to change the course of history, while Vita sales are estimated to be between ten and 15 million.
The gaming world now sees Nintendo as an unstoppable juggernaut. Amidst the success of the Switch, its successors, the series has sold millions of copies, and those series are being turned into billion-dollar movies. It's hard to remember that, less than a decade ago, the Wii U had Nintendo firmly in the groove. The Switch 2 outselling it by six months will help keep Nintendo further away from those dark days.
- brand
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Nintendo
- Original release date
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June 5, 2025
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$449.99
- operating system
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Ownership
- resolve
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1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked)
- HDR support
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yes
