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Nintendo Switch had 112 million Annual Playing Users in 2022

Despite declining hardware sales, the Nintendo Switch's user base continues to climb.

Ozzie Mejia

February 6, 2023 11:58 PM

Nintendo

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While it's arguable whether the Nintendo Switch has peaked, there's no denying that the user numbers continue to climb. As part of Nintendo's Q3 2023 earnings report, the company reported 112 million annual users for all of 2022. That continues a rising trend that started back with the console's launch in 2017 and one that comes in spite of declining unit sales.

Nintendo's Financial Results Explanatory Material document goes into more details on these numbers. The increase in annual users supports the notion that the Switch consumer base continues to grow, which is leading to an overall increase in software sales. The report adds that first-party software sales are at the highest they've been since the Switch's launch.

Players have had an ample number of titles to dive into, as renewed support for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has complemented the release of new 2022 titles like Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, Splatoon 3, Nintendo Switch Sports, and others. This is in addition to the expansion of services like Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, which continued to grow in 2022 and boast millions of new subscribers.

Even as hardware sales continue to taper off, Nintendo is hopeful that the number of users will rise further in 2023. The company has high aspirations for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which remains on track for a May 2023 release. We'll continue to break down the biggest news from this evening's Q3 2023 earnings report. Be sure to watch the Nintendo topic page for any further stories.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?