Nintendo (NTDOY) forecasts Switch 1 to surpass DS lifetime sales within the next year

The mighty Nintendo DS is soon to be dethroned by the Nintendo Switch.

For the past two decades, the Nintendo DS has been Nintendo’s best-selling console. The Big N anticipates that will no longer be the case next quarter, where it expects the Nintendo Switch to dethrone the handheld king.

Nintendo (NTDOY) released its Q4 FY25 earnings report on May 7, 2025. In this, Nintendo offered a forecast of how many original Nintendo Switch consoles it thinks it will sell in the next fiscal year. For FY26, Nintendo anticipates selling 4.5 million Nintendo Switch units. At the moment, Nintendo has sold a total of 152.12 million Nintendo Switch consoles, so if it manages to hit this figure, the Nintendo Switch will hit 156.62 million units.

The Nintendo DS is currently sitting on 154.02 million units sold over its lifetime. If Nintendo does hit the 4.5 million estimate, it will exceed the DS by some 2.6 million. This record-breaking figure might happen as soon as Q2 FY26, assuming the 4.5 million is spread out across the quarters.

It wasn’t just original Switch estimates Nintendo was forecasting, as the Big N thinks it has the ability to sell 15 million Switch 2 units in its first year. Stay tuned to our NTDOY page for more quarterly reports and insight into the company.