The Nintendo Switch 2 is still building its game library and it’s arguable there isn’t a truly compelling update case for owners of the original games console yet. However, the second generation hybrid console is already proving a successful successor, judging by sales metrics in the UK.
According to gaming journalist Christopher Dring, citing data from NielsenIQ, the Switch 2 has already outsold the famous failure that was the Nintendo Wii U. That’s just over six months of Switch 2 sales versus five years of Wii U sales (2012-2017). Of course, thats a very low bar (the first bar, as Dring points out in a subsequent ‘tweet’), but it’s also a significant one.
The Wii U had the burden of following up an insanely successful console, just like the Switch 2. However, it was practically dead-on-arrival thanks to the muddied messaging about how the Wii’s motion-based gaming was going to translate to an odd and slightly cumbersome handheld. It never quite recovered from a poor start and third-party support dropped right off.
The Switch 2 offered a more subtle shift, choosing improvements (4K, better performance, larger screen, microSD express storage) over revolution. More of the same, just better, appears to be going over well with gamers so far despite the higher price and the absence of plentiful exclusive games beyond the Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Kirby Air Rider.
Dring also points out that the Switch 2 has also cleared some other underachievers like the Sega Dreamcast and the PS Vita. The Switch 2 has bigger first to fry. How far it can rise up the lifetime sales charts remains to be seen. 2025 was a good start.
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