17 September 2026
by rawmeatcowboy1
There’s no doubt about it, the Switch is Nintendo’s biggest hit ever. The system has moved a whopping 156+ million units since launch, and it continues to find customers and move tons of software. Nintendo truly turned things around after the misfire of the Wii U, and one analyst thinks Japan’s game industry may have been forever changed for the worse without Nintendo’s Switch success.
In a chat with The Game Business, Dr Serkan Toto, CEO of analytics firm Kantan Games Inc., spoke about just how much the Switch’s prosperity and reach has meant to Japan. According to Toto, Japan’s console market may have up and disappeared without the Switch blowing expectations away.
“I would say that if Nintendo produced another flop like the Wii U, and if the Switch wasn’t the super hit it turned out to be, the Japanese console market would have been completely eliminated. I think that even more people would have turned to smartphones, and maybe even PC. Nintendo not only completely dominates the console segment here in Japan with 70% market share for all gaming content, but they also saved it.”
Nintendo’s Switch success is continuing on with the Switch 2, which seems to be at least on-part with Switch in terms of reception, but most data shows it surpassing Nintendo’s last-gen juggernaut. We’ll keep tabs on the situation going forward, but all indications point to yet another incredible triumph for Nintendo in terms of sales and customer base.
