Published Oct 26, 2026, 9:00 PM EDT

It’s not just for kids

Image: Nintendo

It seems outlandish to think about now that it’s sold 156 million units , but there was a lot of skepticism about the Nintendo Switch in October 2016.

The Wii U had been a massive flop, selling just 13.5 million units in its lifecycle, making it the second-worst-selling Nintendo console since the Virtual Boy . Thanks to a July 2016 Eurogamer report, observers already knew the project codenamed “Nintendo NX” was a portable system that used a docking station to connect to a TV set. To skeptics, the NX sounded underpowered compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360 — and had too much in common with the unpopular Wii U. What’s more, handheld consoles had fallen pretty dramatically out of fashion amid the rise of smartphones and free-to-play mobile games throughout the 2010s.

While some aspects of that first look haven’t aged particularly well, much of the company’s vision for the Switch remains consistent even today.…