In 2017, Nintendo released the original Nintendo Switch, which quickly became the company’s best selling videogame console, bringing them back into mainstream relevance after the slump of the Wii U.

According to analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, the Switch did more than just save Nintendo, but it possibly saved the entire Japanese console industry. Speaking to The Game Business, Toto said he believed the Japanese console market would have been “completely eliminated” if not for the success of the Switch, which still holds an “iron grip” on the country along with the Switch 2.

“Nintendo has had an iron grip on the Japanese console market since 2017 when the Switch 1 came out. I would phrase it a little differently. 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.”

Indeed, available sales data backs up Toto’s claim, with weekly Japanese sales figures often showing the Switch 2 selling double or triple the amount of units compared to the Playstation 5 and XBox Series combined. That said, the Switch 2 is still only a few years old, and it remains to be seen whether Nintendo can keep up the momentum.

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