Nintendo Switch overtakes 3DS with nearly 80m sales, led by Animal Crossing

Nintendo's latest financial figures are in and it's staggering reading all around, with the Nintendo Switch overtaking the Nintendo 3DS for lifetime sales, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons has rocketed to second place among the Switch's best-selling games.

To be precise, according to Nintendo's latest financial report, 79.87 million Nintendo Switches have shipped, while Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold a phenomenal 31.18 million units in less than a year since its release.

For comparison, the various Nintendo 3DS systems sold 75.94 units. After freshly overtaking the 3DS family, the Nintendo Switch — which includes the dockless Switch Lite model — is now the fifth-highest selling Nintendo platform of all time.

It's only a matter of time before the Switch kicks the Game Boy Advance (81.51 million) out of fourth place.

Funnily enough, a revised Wii U game remains the biggest-selling Switch game: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, selling 33.41 million copies, proving the quality of the racer endured across hardware generations.

Impressively, the Switch sold 11.57 million units in the last quarter alone. This outpaces the sales so far of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S consoles collectively. Sony's next-generation platform, in particular, is reported to have sold upwards of four million units since launch.

Both Sony and Microsoft's new consoles have encountered mass stock shortages and dodgy scalpers, however.

Among the Switch's best sellers, aside from Mario Kart and Animal Crossing, are Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Pokemon Sword/Shield.

Nintendo Switch's reported top-selling games

• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 33.41m
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 31.18m
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 22.85m
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 21.45m
• Pokémon Sword/Shield – 20.35m
• Super Mario Odyssey – 20.23m
• Super Mario Party – 13.82m
• Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee! – 13.00m
• Splatoon 2 – 11.90m
• New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – 9.82m
• Luigi’s Mansion 3 – 9.13m
• Ring Fit Adventure – 8.68m
• Super Mario 3D All-Stars – 8.32m
• Super Mario Maker 2 – 6.91m
• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – 4.38m
• Paper Mario: The Origami King – 3.05m
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses – 2.87m
• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – 2.842m
• Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics – 2.62m
• Pikmin 3 Deluxe – 1.94m
• Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition – 1.48m
• Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit – 1.08m
• Astral Chain – 1.08m
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 – 1.08m