Holy Smokes! Great job! The SNES is a classic console that has some of the greatest ever games released on it. I feel confident that as the Switch passes this milestone it is steeped in the same tradition. Here's to the next rung on the ladder on the way to the Wii...and beyond!

Next step is the NES! Switch should be at 51.5-52 million shipped right now, and 2020 should be the peak year or at least be very similar to 2019.

I expect Switch to surpass NES in September 2020.

Great achievement. You know, people seem to forget how much smaller the audience was back then. 50 million was huge in that time. 90% market domination for the NES was around the same. So much has changed since then. Anyway, the Switch is quickly becoming a SNES 2.0 for me. My fav console.

“If I can change and you can change, everybody can change.”

-Reggie Balboa

This is so true, the market growth a lot now. But is fair to say that's mostly thanks to the PlayStation. That little thing selling 100 million was REALLY absurd. It extended the popolarity of videogames in America, and literally created a new one in Europe and many other markets...

And not even three years old yet.

Watch your backs PS1/Wii.

It sold that much cause Sony could distribute the console to areas where no other console manufacturer went before. Sega and Nintendo were way smaller at the time, as the electronics giant Sony had already had the proper channels everywhere. It took a more globalized world for the others to catch up in various markets. But that market was wholly revived and sustained by Nintendo, so it was mostly thanks to Nintendo.

I'd say video games were as popular in Europe in the 80s and 90s. The difference is the market was not as monopolistic (except handhelds) prior to the mid-90s. If you counted up all of the sales of the smaller consoles, Vic 20, C64, Amiga, Magnavox, SMS, and others, I'd not be surprised if European sales exceeded those of the US. Especially since the US market crashed in the 80s, but not in Europe.