Nintendo Confident It Can Surpass Incredible Switch Sales Of First Year

The first year of the Switch has been incredibly successful for Nintendo with over 15 million units sold. The counting ended in March and paints a vibrant picture for the Japanese video game giant. However, Nintendo believes that it can do even better with the console’s second year, with expected the number of units sold to reach 20 million.

This information comes via Nintendo’s annual report, with the forecast downgraded a bit from last year’s predictions of 25 to 30 million units. Still, 20 million Switch units sold is not bad at all, especially considering that the Sony PlayStation 4 sold 17.7 million units in its second year.

If the company can reach its target, it would make for a spectacular performance that is beaten only by the phenomenal Wii. That console sold 25.94 million units in its second year.

As Ars Technica notes, many are speculating that the launch of Super Mario Odyssey back in October is a major driver in pushing those sales numbers up. The game had already sold more than 10.4 million copies, which is more than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s 8.48 million. With Odyssey being included in a special Switch bundle during the holidays, it only served to fuel hardware and software sales even more.

It is worth pointing out, however, that these predictions could change drastically for the company over the coming 12 months. For its first year, for example, Nintendo was not expecting to sell more than 10 million units and was forced to ramp up production because of the unexpectedly high demand for the Switch.

During its second year, it’s possible that the excitement around the console could die down and it could sell less than the company expects. However, no one seriously expects this and chances are good that Nintendo could sell more than the predicted 20 million for its second year.