Nintendo Switch sales smashed it over Christmas Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Nintendo Switch sales smashed it over Christmas But will still miss its own ambitious targets. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 31 Jan 2019 58 comments Nintendo bossed the Christmas sales season with an impressive set of hardware and software sales - but this still wasn't enough for the company to meet its own ambitious targets. Switch hardware sales were up almost 20 per cent year-on-year, game sales were up 100 per cent year-on-year, and all of Nintendo's new releases were hits. Super Mario Party has now sold 5.3m copies, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee notched up a combined 10m copies, while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold a whopping 12.08m just in its first month. Despite all of that, Nintendo has still had to lower its overambitious 20m Switch hardware sales target for the financial year. After shifting nearly 15m Switch consoles this financial year through to the end of December, Nintendo now predicts it will sell 17m by March 2019's end. Nintendo's 20m goal always seemed unlikely - and if it hadn't set itself this target we'd probably just be reporting on what a great sales season Switch has had. Now 17m - just 2m further console sales in three months - seems a conservative estimate. Nintendo cut its 3DS sales forecast too. The ageing handheld limped to another 2m units sold over the Christmas quarter - down 60 per cent on last year. But it was far from a gloomy performance overall. 20 Switch games are now million sellers, with many of Nintendo's previously-released exclusives selling millions more over the Christmas season. Eight of those top 20 games are non-Nintendo titles - demonstrating the console's broader base of software support. Super Mario Odyssey is now the best-selling 3D Mario game ever, while Smash Bros. Ultimate is the fastest-selling Nintendo game ever. The best selling Switch game of all, though, is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - it's now sold 23.44m copies, which means almost half of the entire Switch-owning population has a copy. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 5 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store