On March 3, 2017 (Japan time), Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch, the company’s first home console that could be played on the go.

The Nintendo Switch was released with the award winning and highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The system was the cumulation of everything Nintendo had done for many generations, providing a home console experience on a handheld console.

Before the Nintendo Switch’s launch, the company was suffering in bad times – due to the Wii U’s flop and poor sales of the Nintendo 3DS, it was in the red for a few years. Thankfully, they learned their lessons with the Wii U by padding the Nintendo Switch release schedule with amazing games like Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and many more, ensuring interest in the system remains high and generates excitement among consumers.

There are a few factors that contributed to the success of the Nintendo Switch. First, a steady stream of high quality software featuring world class IP such as Super Mario and Pokemon, releasing innovative software that goes beyond games such as Nintendo Labo and Ring Fit Adventure, and finally, wooing indies and making the platform easy to develop for third party developers.

In 3 years, Nintendo has shipped over 52 million consoles in the Nintendo Switch family, and over 310 million pieces of software. As we celebrate the Nintendo Switch’s 3rd anniversary today, I can’t help but think of the many unannounced titles we’ll all be enjoying later this year and the many years to come.

Happy 3rd birthday, Nintendo Switch!