The Nintendo Switch 2 was always going to outsell the Wii U, and pretty quickly. But that Nintendo's latest console has already outsold the one it wishes we'd all just forget about in the UK after just six months is pretty incredible.
When it comes to worldwide Nintendo sales, we have to wait for quarterly financial results. Christopher Dring has provided a mid-quarter update via data shared by NielsenIQ, revealing that the Switch 2 has not only outsold the Nintendo console that came two generations before it in the UK, but also the Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation Vita.
I guess that makes the Wii U the Switch 2's grandfather.
The Switch 2 overrunning the Wii U is quickly more impressive than it seems
You might be looking at the console line-up and shrugging at the news that the Switch 2 has managed to surpass its lifetime UK sales. The Wii U was a huge failure for Nintendo, the PS Vita didn't hit like the PSP and brought down the curtain on the PlayStation's two-gen handheld adventures (for now), and the Dreamcast sold so poorly that it forced Sega to get out of the hardware game entirely.
While all three are admittedly examples of low points for each console maker, they are still great consoles that have been around for years. None of them were pulled from store shelves after a few months. They were all the primary consoles for their respective creators at the time. So for the Switch 2 to come in and sell more units in half a year than they all achieved in their entire lifetime in a market as significant as the UK is something.
Dring did not share the exact sales figures, but noted that the Switch 2 has sold “well over” 600,000 consoles in the UK. As for worldwide sales, sorry, Sega fans, but the company's last console was left behind by the Switch 2 a while ago. Nintendo's latest numbers confirmed that it had sold more than ten million Switch 2s by the end of November. The Dreamcast ended its run at just 9.14 million.
The Switch 2 has also probably outsold the Wii U worldwide
It's also entirely likely that, although we won't know for sure until next year, the Switch 2 has outsold both the Wii U and PS Vita globally as well. The Wii U managed to sell 13.56 million before Nintendo rushed the Switch out the door to change the course of history, while the Vita's sales are estimated to be between ten and 15 million.
The gaming world now sees Nintendo as an unstoppable juggernaut. Between the success of the Switch, its successors, series that sell tens of millions of copies, and the same series being turned into billion-dollar films. It's hard to remember that less than a decade ago, the Wii U put Nintendo firmly in the gutter. The Switch 2 outselling it in six months will help further distance Nintendo from its darker days.
- Stamp
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Nintendo
- Original release date
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June 5, 2025
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$449.99
- Operating system
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Proprietary
- Resolution
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1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked)
- HDR support
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Yes
