Nintendo's Switch-era profit hasn't just surpassed the Wii and DS generation, it's beaten the entirety of the publisher's previous 35 years in video games

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As we look forward to Switch 2, let's not forget just how successful the current console has been

Switch
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The profit Nintendo has earned from the Switch's ongoing life cycle has already surpassed that which it made from its previous 35 years combined.

That startling statistic comes from Pierre485 on Twitter, who looked at Nintendo's net profit from 2017, the start of the Switch's run, to the current 2024 fiscal year and compared it to its net profit in the 35 years from 1981 to 2016. The former netted the company 2,576 billion yen ($16.6 billion USD) while the latter raked in 2,376 billion yen ($15.3 billion USD). Even if you subtract profit from the 3DS in the current era - since technically that console family was part of the previous hardware generation - you're still looking at about $2,500 billion ($16.1 billion USD) for the Switch generation.

It's important to note that those statistics don't account for inflation, but even if you do, the Switch generation still reigns supreme - just by a smaller margin. Adjusting for inflation, Nintendo made 2,691 billion yen ($17.41 billion USD) from 1981 - 2016 and 2,696 billion yen ($17.4 billion USD) from 2017 - 2024. A much closer comparison, but still a narrow win for the Switch.

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As the Switch nears its seventh birthday, Nintendo is finally, officially acknowledging the transition into a new era, as it very quietly confirmed today that it will announce its next-gen Switch successor "within this fiscal year". There is a Nintendo Direct coming next month, but don't expect any significant updates on the Switch follow-up, as Nintendo has said the event will focus on upcoming Switch games rather than new hardware.

In the meantime, here are the best Switch games you can play today.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.