Nintendo praises Switch momentum as lifetime sales eclipse 55 million units

The Nintendo Switch has sold 55.77 million units in just over three years, according to the latest figures from Nintendo. 

Those numbers account for worldwide sales of the Switch and handheld-only Switch Lite as of March 31, 2020, which comes roughly three years after the console launched on March 3, 2017. 

It's a total that means the Switch has consolidated its position as the third best-selling Nintendo home console of all time, having outstripping its nearest rivals including the SNES (49.10 million units), Nintendo 64 (32.93 million units) and GameCube (21.74 million units) by some margin. 

Only the Nintendo Wii (101.63 million units) and NES (61.91 million units) home consoles have amassed more sales than the Switch, which looks set to overtake the latter sooner rather than later. 

In its latest financial report, Nintendo explained the console had "performed very well without losing momentum," and expects it to sell another 19 million units during the upcoming fiscal year.