The Switch comes with a docking station, two Joy-Con controllers, and a Joy-Con Grip to make a more traditional controller. (Nintendo Photo)

The Nintendo Switch has been a big hit, way beyond what the company expected.

Nintendo said this morning sales of the hybrid console hit 10 million units, approximately nine months after it was released. For those keeping track, Nintendo originally forecasted sales of 10 million units for the entire first year.

In October, the gaming giant raised its sales forecast to 14 million Switch consoles shipped by the end of its fiscal year in March. Combined with sales for the first few weeks after the device’s release, technically in the prior fiscal year, and the forecast would mean 16.7 million units moved in the first year and change.

Contrast that with Nintendo’s last major console, the Wii U, which sold a total of 13.56 million units in its five-year lifespan.

As Ars Technica notes, the Switch’s early success has put in a rare place in video game history. It has already outpaced the first 10 months of sales of popular consoles like the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Xbox One and more. The only consoles to outsell the Switch in their first 10 months, according to Ars Technica are PlayStations 2 and 4 and the Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo Switch’s success has been buoyed by a strong roster of games, particularly The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It is one of the most highly rated games in history, and at one point was actually outselling the Switch itself. The highly anticipated, and well-reviewed, Super Mario Odyssey joined the Switch catalog in October.

The Switch, Nintendo’s seventh console, was a crucial launch for the company following disappointing Wii U sales compared to competing devices like the Xbox One and Playstation 4. But the game quality and unique nature of the console has made it a success so far.

The portable console can be hooked up to a TV via a docking station for big-screen gaming. It will have two detachable “Joy-Con” controllers on either side. When gamers are on the move, the controllers can either be attached to the screen for a fully handheld experience or detached while the screen rests on a kickstand. When it’s time to play at home, controllers can be removed for multi-player gaming while the system is on the TV dock.

Nintendo appears to think that Switch’s momentum will continue to build, as the company is reportedly looking to produce 25 to 30 million units next fiscal year, beginning in April.

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