The big list of 50+ Nintendo Switch facts, stats & trivia

Ever had that sneaking feeling that you don’t know all there is to know about the Nintendo Switch? Well, you no longer need to worry.

Nintendo Switch facts, stats & trivia

The definitive resource for anyone who needs interesting, useful, and/or useless facts, stats, and trivia relating to the Nintendo Switch.

Use the contents table above to jump to the section you’re most interested in. The list will be continuously updated (please get in touch if you spot a mistake!). All sources are listed at the bottom of the page.

General

1. Before the Switch console was publicly announced, Nintendo used the codename ‘NX’ for the project.
2. There are at least 56 different patents protecting various aspects of the Nintendo Switch console and its associated accessories (additional patents may be issued or pending). 
3. Nintendo has generated almost $70 billion from the Nintendo Switch and related products since its launch in March 2017.
4. Nintendo Switch game cards are coated with a non-toxic bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) to discourage gamers from putting them in their mouths.
5. Nintendo Switch Online has more than 36 million subscribers (as of Sept. 2022).
6. The Switch is the first Nintendo console to offer more than 1 TFLOP (teraflop) of performance.
7. Digital copies of Nintendo Switch games downloaded onto the console’s internal storage run slightly faster than games on physical game cards.
8. You can pair up to 10 controllers with a Nintendo Switch console (but only 8 can be used simultaneously).
9. Survey data suggests that the average Switch owner plays their console for at least 5 hours per week.
10. Nintendo Switch game cards are the smallest game card or cartridge that Nintendo has ever produced.
11. At least 106 million people played on a Nintendo Switch at some point in the 12 months up to September 31, 2022 (the true number is likely much higher as this figure doesn’t account for multiple people playing on a single account).
12. The Switch has accounted for 94% of Nintendo’s net sales revenues in the seven years since the console launched.
13. A Nintendo Switch can be seen in the 2022 Marvel Film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s lying on the table in the scene where Wanda flies out over her house.
14. There’s a message hidden on all Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers – pull down on the right thumbstick and you’ll reveal the text underneath!
15. Nintendo claims to recycle close to 100 percent of the materials from any returned Switch products or repair parts that cannot be re-used.
16. More than 250 NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, SEGA Mega Drive, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance games are playable on the Nintendo Switch (if you have an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership).

Joy-Cons

16. At least five lawsuits have been filed against Nintendo in relation to the infamous ‘Joy-Con drift’ problem. 
17. 11 different color variations of the standard Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons have been released.
18. 22 different special edition Joy-Con variations have been produced (some of which are only available as part of console bundles).
19. The right Joy-Con is 3 grams heavier than the left Joy-Con (the infrared sensor and NFC hardware are in the right Joy-Con).
20. Survey data suggests that more than 60% of Switch owners have had a Joy-Con affected by Joy-Con drift, but that number dropped to just under 7% for OLED model owners. 
21. The Switch Joy-Cons are protected by more than 20 separate patents granted to Nintendo (16 relating to the controllers themselves and 5 more relating to the charging grip). 
22. The widget inside the linear resonant actuator, which creates the Joy-Con’s HD rumble, vibrates at 1280hz (1280 times per second).
23. The 1.9 Wh lithium-ion battery in each Joy-Con means they last for up to 20 hours of playtime. That’s more than the 9-12 hours a PS5 DualSense will last.
24. The Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons are the first Nintendo controller not to feature a traditional d-pad.

Switch games

25. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Mario game of all time (53 million copies sold)
26. Mario Odyssey is the best-selling 3D Mario game of all time (25.7 million copies sold)
27. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet – the third set of mainline Pokémon games on Switch – are the fastest-selling games ever released on any Nintendo console.
28. Gris [Signature Edition] is the most expensive Switch game. Only 500 units were produced and a CIB (complete in box) version is now worth over $1,000.
29. The average file size of the top 100-rated Nintendo Switch games is 2.8GB.
30. The smallest Nintendo Switch game is Downwell (98MB – approx 0.1GB)
31. The biggest Nintendo Switch game is NBA 2k23 (53.7GB)
32. At least 20 3DS games have been ported to the Nintendo Switch.
33. Almost 90% of customers who bought a Switch in the first month after its launch in March 2017 also bought a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
34. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been nominated for at least 45 industry awards, winning 25 of them. 

Software sales

35. More than 1800 games have been released for the Nintendo Switch in the Americas so far.
36. Switch owners in the Americas have the most games available to them (approx. 20% more than Japan and 3% more than Europe).
37. More games have been released on the Nintendo Switch than for any other Nintendo console (unless you count DS & 3DS games together).
38. More games have been released on the Nintendo Switch than were released for the Gamecube and Wii combined.
39. More games have been released for the Nintendo Switch in each of the last four years (up to March 31, 2023) than were released in total for the Nintendo 64 (297).
40. The number of games released annually for Nintendo Switch has increased by an average of 155% year-on-year.
41. The Nintendo Switch’s most successful year for software sales was 2020/21, during which 235 million games were sold (physical and downloads).
42. The Nintendo Switch’s most successful year for software sales in the Americas was 2020/21, during which 66.24 million games were sold (physical and downloads).
43. Revenue related to Nintendo Switch Online was 405.2 billion yen (almost $3 billion) in the 12 months up to, March 31, 2023 – up 12.7% year-on-year.
44. Digital sales account for 56% of total Nintendo Switch game sales. 
45. 7 Nintendo Switch-exclusive games have sold more than 20 million copies each.
46. 6 Nintendo Switch-exclusive games have outsold the PS4’s best-selling exclusive of all time (God of War).
47. 22 Nintendo Switch first-party titles sold more than 1 million copies in the 12 months up to March 31, 2023.
48. First-party software sales account for almost 80% of total Nintendo Switch software sales in the 12 months up to March 31, 2023.
49. Nintendo expects to sell 180 million more Nintendo Switch games in the 12 months up to March 31, 2024 (not including games bundled with other hardware products).

Hardware sales

50. The Nintendo Switch is the third best-selling console of all time, behind the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2.
51. The Nintendo Switch’s most successful year for console sales was 2020/21, during which 28.83 million consoles were sold.
52. The Nintendo Switch’s most successful year for console sales in the Americas was 2020/21, during which 11.15 million consoles were sold.
53. More than 24 million Switch consoles have been sold in The Americas (as of March 31, 2023.
54. Nintendo expects to sell 15 million more Nintendo Switch consoles in the 12 months up to March 31, 2024).
55. More than 30% of Switch console sales in the 12 months up to March 31, 2023 were made to households that already had at least one Switch console.