Super Smash Bros. Ultimatefor the Nintendo Switch has smashed its way into the record books, earning the title as the best-selling fighting game of all time.
The title was previously held byStreet Fighter II, which sold 15.5 million units after releasing seven unique versions since its original launch in 1991.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, however, did not spend much time in chasing down the record,
Super Smash Bros. Ultimateholds the distinction as thefastest-sellingNintendo game of all time, with 12.08 million units sold in just three weeks after its release on December 7 last year. According to Nintendo’s half-year financial report, that number stood at15.71 millioncopies by September 30, which means that it took less than a year to surpassStreet Fighter II.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimatehas overtakenSuper Mario Odyssey, with 15.38 million copies sold, andThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with 14.54 million copies sold, to become the second best-selling game for the Nintendo Switch. The fighting game, however, is way behindMario Kart 8 Deluxe, which has sold 19.01 million copies as the best-selling title on the console.
The performance of its latest entry also cements the status ofSuper Smash Bros.as themost popular fighting game seriesever, with sales of 53.03 million copies across two decades. In comparison, total sales forTekken,Dragon Ball,Street Fighter, andMortal Kombatare all between 45 million to 47 million.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimateis the penultimate evolution of Nintendo’s brawler, as it offers a roster that includes every character in the series’ history, with a variety of options for single-player and multiplayer modes. The fighting game has proven to be so popular that Jeff Kaplan, the director ofOverwatch, has evenofferedany character from the hero shooter’s lineup to join the fighting game.
HelpingSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s path to the record books was the popularity of the platform where it was released. The Nintendo Switch recently achieved the milestone of15 millionunits sold in North America alone, which is enough to surpass the global lifetime sales of 13.56 million units for the Nintendo Wii U.
As of September 30, Nintendo Switch sales were at 41.67 million units.
