Nintendo Switch Makes History by Breaking Old NES Record

Highlights

• The Switch is now Nintendo’s longest-lasting home console ever.
• The device went 2,687 days without a successor as of July 11, breaking the 34-year-old record held by the NES.
• The Game Boy is still the overall longest-lasting Nintendo console of all time, as it went 4,352 days or nearly 12 years without a successor.

The Switch is now officially Nintendo’s longest-lasting home console of all time. The hit hybrid device has thus broken a 34-year-old record held by the Famicom, known as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the West.

Originally released on March 3, 2017, Nintendo’s latest console is pushing eight nowadays. The device can hardly be described as anything but a massive success, as underlined by the fact that early 2024 data puts the Switch within reach of becoming the best-selling console ever made.

Nintendo Switch Went 2,687 Days (And Counting) Without a Successor

The system has once again made history on July 11, 2024, which marked 2,687 days since its release. As noted by VGC, this makes the Switch the longest-lasting Nintendo home console of all time. The record was previously held by the NES, which launched in 1983 and was replaced by the SNES in November 1990, after 2,686 days. This milestone serves as yet another testament to the Switch’s immense staying power, which helped it remain relevant across two of its rivals’ console generations.

Time Between Nintendo Home Console Releases

Its impressive run is still not over, with the device currently being likely to improve this newly set record by a substantial degree. Although Nintendo did say that it plans to reveal the Switch 2 during its ongoing fiscal year, which runs until March 31, 2025, it has yet to commit to a specific release window for the much-anticipated console.

Game Boy Remains Nintendo’s Longest-Lasting Console of All Time

If the Switch 2 were to launch around the same time of the year its predecessor did, the Switch itself would go over 2,900 days without a successor. And while that would make it by far the longest-lasting Nintendo home console ever, the device’s longevity still doesn’t compare to that of the original Game Boy, which went 4,352 days, or 11 years and 11 months, without a successor.

Some industry watchers believe the console’s uncontested run could very well approach the 2,900-day mark because the Switch 2 may not debut before March 2025. That’s largely because releasing the much-anticipated device at the end of its fiscal year would allow Nintendo to significantly boost its earnings right before its next full-year financial report, which is a popular practice among publicly traded companies. Some recent reports have suggested that the exact timing of the Switch 2 release will depend on Nintendo’s ability to ramp up its production, as the company is supposedly looking to avoid shortages and scalping at all costs.