Nintendo Switch Surpasses PS4 Lifetime Sales In Japan

The Nintendo Switch has now surpassed the lifetime sales of Sony's PlayStation 4 in Japan. New numbers from Famitsu (via GI.biz) show that the Switch has now sold 8.13 million consoles in Japan, which is slightly ahead of the 8.07 million PS4s sold in Japan.

It's a particularly impressive achievement for the Switch in Japan, as it's only been on sale for two years compared to the PS4 which has been sold in Japan for five years already.

On a global basis, however, Sony's PS4 is miles ahead of the Switch. Sony has sold 96.8 million PS4 consoles worldwide, which compares to 34.74 million Switch systems sold globally. Still that latter figure means Switch has already outsold previous Nintendo hardware such as the GameCube and N64.

Portable systems tend to perform better in Japan than other parts of the world, which may explain in part why the Switch has done so well there. The potential for multiple systems to be bought for a single household provides an advantage for handhelds. Nintendo has previously said it wants every person to own a Switch, rather than one per family.

Multiple new models of the Nintendo Switch are reportedly in production, though neither will be announced at E3. Additionally, Nintendo is working with Chinese internet giant Tencent to release the Switch in the country. This could potentially be massive for Nintendo, as the number of people who play video games in China is huge.

In other news, Nintendo yesterday announced many more details about the much-anticipated Switch game Super Mario Maker 2. It also has debuted a new "Game Voucher" program that allows Switch Online subscribers to purchase two select $60 games for $100.