Nintendo's Highscores

If there was a prize for boldness in the video game industry, Nintendo would certainly be a serial winner. After failing miserably to replicate the success of the motion-controlled Wii with the Wii U that was launched in 2012 and discontinued just five years later, the Japanese company could have reverted to a proven formula with its next console. Instead, Nintendo doubled down on one of the Wii U’s standout features, i.e. a gamepad with a display, and turned its next console into a full-fledged hybrid between home and handheld console. And to great success!

Not only was the Switch a return to form after the Wii U disaster, but it even ended up overtaking the Wii as Nintendo's most successful home console ever in terms of sales. With more than 130 million units sold, the Switch is now only trailing the portable Nintendo DS in lifetime sales, which it could still end up catching in the not-too-distant future.

As our latest Racing Bars video nicely illustrates, Nintendo’s history is one of hits and misses. While the Game Boy and the company's first two video game consoles for the living room were blockbuster successes at the time, the Nintendo 64 and GameCube didn’t sell as well. The Nintendo DS and Wii, released in 2004 and 2006, respectively, marked Nintendo’s return to form, before the 2012 Wii U flopped completely and was quickly replaced by the popular Nintendo Switch.