The Nintendo Switch has certainly surpassed the expectations of many. With it, Nintendo has staged quite a comeback after the Wii U’s underwhelming sales performance for the company. According to Nintendo’s sales figures, the Switch moved 4.8 million units over ten months in the United States alone. That means the Nintendo Switch has sold better in its first ten months than any other console did in its first ten months in the U.S. This record was previously held by Nintendo’s original Wii console, which sold around 4 million units in its first ten months.
So far, the Switch has been doing pretty well as far as 3rd party support, with over 300 games released by 3rd party developers already. Its success also comes from its strong 1st party lineup. Over 60% of Switch owners have a copy of Super Mario Odyssey, and over 55% have a copy of the flawed but much heralded Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I am a huge Zelda fan (not a hater) by the way, but it is unfortunately rather flawed. Back to the install base, more than 50% of Switch owners also own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Splatoon 2 is much lower, with over 20% of Switch owners having a copy, which may be in part due to it being more of a rushed port with some new levels than an entirely new game. It also didn’t really address some of the biggest player complaints about the original.
Just as Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey have gone out of their way to break conventions, so too has the Nintendo Switch. Rather than being tethered to the TV like all past home-consoles, it can take games on the go as well. Sure, it may be underpowered compared to its competitors from Microsoft and Sony, but that’s not all that bad of a thing. Having the most HD graphics that you can possibly get can look quite amazing, but at the same time is simply not required for games to be fun. Nintendo has long understood this and made great games at a lower price point. Nonetheless, they were definitely not doing so well for a while there. It seems the Nintendo Switch has turned that around and righted the ship. Nintendo of America President and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, commented on the success of the Switch:
“Fans across the country have experienced the joy of playing their favorite games at home or on the go. Now that many more people have received Nintendo Switch systems for the holidays, we look forward to bringing them fun new surprises in 2018 and beyond.”
