Summary
TheNintendo Switchhas just set a record for being the longest a Nintendo console has gone without a successor, beating a record that has stood for 34 years. Nintendo’s wildly successful hybrid console was first released in 2017, and has shown incredible longevity for hardware that is relatively underpowered compared to its competitors. Although the still unnamedSwitch 2 will be revealedbefore the end of the fiscal year, the Switch family of consoles has hit a significant milestone, and will increase its lead until its successor’s debut.
According toVGC,the Nintendo Switch turned 2,687 days old on Jul 18, 2025, at which point it became the Nintendo console to remain longest without successor hardware. The previous record holder was the Famicom, which was available for 2,686 days before the debut of the Super Famicom. The Famicom and Super Famicom were redesigned as the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, respectively, for release in the west. The distinction is important, because the Famicom’s Japanese release occurred in 1983, with the Super Famicom’s in 1990, compared to the NES and SNES releasing in 1985 and 1991 respectively.
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The Nintendo Switch Has Enjoyed Unprecedented Longevity
Console Generations Don’t Typically Last 7+ Years
The Famicom and the Switch are certainly outliers in their longevity, both lasting significantly longer without a replacement than the Wii and Nintendo’s oft-forgotten Color TV-Game system, which are now situated in fourth and third place with 2,191 and 2,235 days respectively. AlthoughVGC’s calculations only pertain to home consoles,the Switch’s long life is certainly helped by its hybrid nature, marrying what was once separate home and portable hardware lines coming out of Nintendo.
Even in its twilight years, though, the Nintendo Switch is enjoying new surprises.Nintendo recently unveiled a new horror game, apparently titledEmio, shocking many because of the company’s typically family-friendly products. Although a little odd thatEmiowasn’trevealed at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, which was presumed to highlight the Switch’s remaining slate before its successor’s launch, yet another brand-new game isn’t unexpected for such a prolific console.The Switch is Nintendo’s second best-selling console ever, only behind the DS, due in large part to the system’s incredibly consistent output of first-party exclusives.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 not expected until 2025, the Switch has the opportunity to tack a couple hundred more days on its lead over the Famicom. This new milestone is well-earned by the Switch, which has completely reversed the narrative from the relative failure of the Wii U, Nintendo’s previous home console, which sold even less than the GameCube, itself considered a tremendous failure in competition with the PlayStation 2’s still record-holding sales. TheNintendo Switchhas become an iconic console, and now being Nintendo’s longest-running is just another feather in its cap.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is the successor to 2012’s Wii U console. The Nintendo Switch allows gamers to easily switch between playing on a TV to a handheld console. The first model was released in 2017, followed by the Nintendo Switch Lite, which is strictly a handheld console. In October 2021, Nintendo released an upgraded Switch console with an OLED screen.
