Happy 4th Birthday, Nintendo Switch!

4 years ago, the Nintendo Switch console officially made its debut in the videogaming landscape!

Launching alongside the award-winning Legend of Zelda: Breath of Wild on 3 March 2017, the Switch overturned a lot of expectations with its unique hybrid design – which allows players to either play on their televisions or enjoy console-quality adventures portably. The system would go on to sell gangbusters and reverse the fortunes of Nintendo, which had been suffering from the enormous failure of their lackluster Wii U console at the time.

While 2020 was plagued by a global pandemic that halted a lot of developments in the gaming world, Nintendo would see great success thanks to the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons – which became a wildly popular refuge for families and individuals forced to stay at home for their own safety. The life-sim game has sold more than 31.18 million copies to date, making it the second-bestselling title on the system within less than a year.

Of course, that’s not all that Nintendo brought back to Nintendo Switch. Paper Mario fans finally received a new entry in the form of Paper Mario: The Origami King, and more Wii U classics got a second life in the form of Pikmin 3 Deluxe and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. Xenoblade Chronicles fans also received Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition – a gorgeous visual remaster of the original cult-classic RPG for Nintendo Switch.

This past year also saw Nintendo kick off Super Mario’s 35th anniversary with various events and game releases to celebrate the occasion. Chief among these was the Switch release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which remasters Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy in one package.

Within just 4 years, Nintendo has already shipped over 79.87 million consoles in the Nintendo Switch family and over 532.34 million of software. With an official sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Golf: Super Rush now in the works, the future is looking pretty promising for Nintendo fans!

Happy 4th birthday, Nintendo Switch!