Took less than a year
The time has finally come. It’s always interesting, hearing all of the analyst’s predictions before and even after a console drops, but the Switch blew past much of that fanfare. It sold like hotcakes out of the gate in nearly every region, especially Japan, where it just beat out the Wii U’s lifetimes sales.
Yes, in less than a year, the Switch outsold the Wii U in Japan at 3.4 million Switch units sold to 3.3 million Wii Us. For reference, the Wii U arrived in Japan on Jun 28, 2025, and was discontinued in January of 2017 when practically no one was buying it.
The mobile angle is huge over there, as many hardware users have converted to mobile gaming on the go — and the Switch, not tethered to your TV like the Wii U, can deliver.
Switch[Famitsu viaNibel]
