Highlights
- The Nintendo Switch becomes the second most popular brand among Japanese teens.
- By December 2025, Nintendo Switch has sold 155.37M units globally, becoming the most sold Nintendo console.
- Rising Nintendo popularity reflects a broader shift toward digital entertainment.
Nintendo Switch has emerged as the second most popular brand among Japanese teenagers, according to a Nikkei BP Consulting survey. The Switch console has eclipsed its own parent company— one of the world's most recognized entertainment conglomerates— Nintendo, which comes in at the third position.
Nikkei’s Brand Japan 2026 survey, now in its 26th year, polled 37K Japanese respondents on 1K brands spanning companies, products, and services. The survey data shows Switch ranked above franchises such as Pokémon and global entertainment giant Disney, while trailing behind YouTube.
Pokémon landed seventh in the same cohort, Disney, tenth. However, electronics brands, such as Toyota, Panasonic, and Sony, which dominate the all-ages chart, placed 149th, 27th, and 40th respectively among under-20s.
Nintendo Switch sits at 59th place in the all-ages ranking, meaning it jumps 57 positions when the sample narrows to under-20s. The Nintendo brand itself ranks 12th overall, holding far better cross-generational recognition than its flagship hardware.
The survey highlights a shift in brand affinity from companies to specific platforms and ecosystems based on age, need, and access. Nikkei's analysis also implies that younger consumers are moving away from automobiles and alcohol as aspirational categories, with digital entertainment platforms and interactive media filling that cultural space.
Nintendo Switch Becomes Bigger Than the Company Behind It
The Brand Japan 2026 findings arrive against a backdrop of sustained Nintendo hardware dominance in Japan and global markets. Nintendo Switch 2, launched in June 2025, sold 3.78M units in Japan last year, making it the fastest-selling console in the country's history and accounting for more than half of all home console sales.
The original Switch, meanwhile, has now moved over 36M units in Japan since 2017, and 155.37M units globally as of December 2025. Nintendo has also topped Japan's physical game sales chart for 21 consecutive years.
That hardware penetration also implies a direct affinity towards titles exclusive to Nintendo among the under-20s population. A previous survey, from July 2025, showed that Nintendo-exclusive titles like Super Mario Bros., Animal Crossing: New Horizons, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the like are among the most popular games.
Nikkei’s Survey Highlights Consumer Behaviour in Japanese Market
The Brand Japan 2026 survey is a snapshot of consumer behavior within the Japanese market. The top-ranking brands among youths are typically either a social platform like YouTube and LINE, or service platforms like Amazon, Daiso, or gaming-specific IPs.
YouTube and Daiso were constants in both categories, whereas Google, Uniqlo, Sony, and Panasonic came among the top ten brands for the all-age category. The survey shows how age and necessities are shaping consumer behavior, whereas older generations prefer clothing and transportation, younger generations are gravitating toward interactive and digital-first brands.
For the parent company, Nintendo Switch’s high ranking among Japanese teenagers signals a broader evolution in brand perception. In 2025, the console outperformed its competitive brands in most of the international markets.
However, whether Nintendo can sustain this popularity among youth and similarly penetrate other international markets will hinge on Nintendo’s future strategy. As of March 2026, Nintendo is cutting down its Switch 2 production by 30% due to weak sales in the U.S. market.
