The Nintendo Switch 2 sold more consoles by the end of 2025 than the Wii U sold in its entire lifetime.
The Wii U is such an interesting console to look back on, as not only does it feel like a test run for what the Nintendo Switch would eventually become, but – outside of the Virtual Boy – it's hard to think of a system Nintendo struggled with more. The actual game library was great – as evidenced by the fact pretty much every single one of its games came to Switch – but with a name like that, it had not a chance in the world of being successful. It eventually ended up as Nintendo's second worst-selling console ever with just 13.56 million sold in its four-year lifespan.
So it's not exactly a big surprise that the Nintendo Switch 2 – which was already the company's fastest-selling console of all time – has officially outsold the Wii U. In the latest financial results release from Nintendo, it was confirmed that as of December 31, 2025, the Nintendo Switch 2 had sold 17.37 million consoles in just under seven months. However, it still has a ways to go to beat the Wii U's 130.60 million sales on the software front, with the Switch 2 sitting at 37.93 million games sold. Between September and December was the console's strongest period, selling over seven million units over the holiday period.
The best selling Switch 2 games list was also updated with Mario Kart World unsurprisingly still holding the top spot. Pokemon Legends: Z-A debuted with 3.89 million copies of its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition sold while Kirby Air Riders had a solid 1.76 million copies sold (with the majority of those coming from Japan at 900,000 copies sold).
Nintendo does what '90s Nintendo could only dream of – sell out of the Virtual Boy
