Nintendo Co. Ltd sold 18.95 million Switch video game consoles in the nine months to the end of December, the Japanese company said on Thursday, taking total sales past 100 million and beating the lifetime sales of its Wii console. Although the figure undershot the 24.1 million Switch units sold in the same period a year earlier, the milestone highlights the continuing demand for the device which is in its fifth year on the market. The games maker based in Kyoto is seeking to extend the life of the aging system, launching an OLED model in October which had sold 3.99 million units by the end of the year. Nintendo cut its full-year Switch sales forecast to 23 million units from 24 million previously. The move follows a forecast downgrade by rival Sony Group on Thursday as makers grapple with component shortages.

Once again, Nintendo has done the impossible. Going into 2018, the Nintendo Switch is on track to sell 20 million units in its first year. That means it has already outsold Nintendo's 4-year-old Wii U and is the fastest-selling U.S. console ever, taking the honors from Nintendo's Wii console a decade ago. With Switch, Nintendo is back on its game and eyeing a return to its glory days. In the last 20 years, Nintendo has fallen on its face as often as it's succeeded.