With 64.3 million copies sold to date, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still in the pole position when it comes to lifetime sales of games for the Nintendo Switch, surpassing Mario Kart Wii's sales numbers of 37.4 million units. As the lifecycle of the hybrid console winds down, with an announcement of a release date for the Switch 2 expected in the next couple of months, no other title is comparable in terms of long-tail performance.
Animal Crossing, which shifted roughly 32.6 million units between its release in March 2020 and March 2021, added only 3.1 million units between September 2023 and September 2024, which was still enough for it to remain the second-best-selling Switch game ahead of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The Zelda series, usually considered a major system seller next to the Mario franchise, was among the lowest in terms of units sold in the trailing twelve months ending in September. The rest of the top 8 consists of another Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey, and two Pokémon titles, another franchise closely tied to Nintendo's ongoing success.
Even with Switch titles continuing to sell, the platform itself underperformed in the past months, which lead Nintendo to cut sales expectations for the Switch from 13.5 million to 12.5 million for the fiscal year ending March 2024. Nevertheless, the company's market cap currently stands at roughly $63 billion, making it the world's most valuable pure video game company.
