Nintendo expects Switch to beat the DS and become its new best-selling system

Nintendo's latest FY26 forecast shows that the Switch 1 family of consoles is expected to dethrone the longstanding Nintendo DS as the best-selling system.

Nintendo expects Switch to beat the DS and become its new best-selling system
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TL;DR: Nintendo forecasts the Switch to surpass the Nintendo DS as its best-selling console by March 2026, with projected shipments reaching 156.62 million units. The company will continue supporting the original Switch while anticipating the Switch 2 to become the fastest-selling console in history with 15 million units shipped in FY2026.

Nintendo expects the Switch to become its new best-selling system of all time by March 2026.

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The Nintendo DS' reign is about to end. That's according to Nintendo, whose latest hardware sales forecast shows the Switch 1 could outpace the legendary dual-screen handheld by early next year.

According to Nintendo's latest FY25 report, the Switch 1 family of consoles (launch model, Lite, OLED) has shipped a combined 152.12 million units globally. Nintendo actually expects to ship another 4.5 million Switch 1 consoles throughout the new Fiscal Year 2026 period (which began on April 1, 2025 and ends March 31, 2026). That would put the Switch's total shipments at 156.62 million compared to the Nintendo DS' longstanding 154.02 million.

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This means the Switch will not only conquer all of Nintendo's previous hardware, but it will lead its closest competitor the DS by a sizable 2.6 million shipments. Also, if Nintendo meets this shipment target, then its total hardware shipments will increase to 867.65 million globally.

Nintendo also updated Switch 1 sell-through figures, which refers to sales to consumers (sell-in, on the other hand, refers to shipments to retailers). Current Switch 1 hardware sell-in is nearly at 150 million units.

Company president Shuntaro Furukawa confirms that Nintendo has no plans to stop supporting the original Switch 1:

"Going forward, we will continue to bring out new titles for the over 100 million people worldwide who are playing Nintendo Switch."

As for the Switch 2, Nintendo expects to ship 15 million systems throughout Fiscal Year 2026. This is seen as a conservative estimate by analysts who expect Nintendo to deliver more shipments based on global demand indicators.

Even still, if Nintendo is able to achieve this target, the Switch 2 will become the fastest-selling video games console in tech market history.