Nintendo Switch Breaks Huge US Sales Record

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@srfilk86: They’ve been attacking ROM sites which, if you were emulating in a legal manner, you could just rip the ROM/ISO from the game you actually own.

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OldDadGamer

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Hey, remember when the WiiU wasn't selling and people said Nintendo was dead? And when they said the same thing after the game cube? That was funny.

I hope that when, inevitably, Nintendo releases a box that doesn't sell people look back on this and think for a couple seconds before they say Nintendo is dead. History shows you should never doubt the big N.

3 • 5 years ago

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@olddadgamer: Very true, but they seriously need some consistency in their consoles. NES and SNES sold well, N64 and Gamecube sold "meh" and terribly, respectively, Wii was the highest selling console of last generation, WiiU was the worst selling console to date for them excluding handhelds, and now the Switch is a success. That's a hell of a rollercoaster ride to take consumers on and it sets Nintendo up to have to prove that "they've still got it" after their failures, all of which makes people initially weary of rolling the dice on a newly launched console, and without Breath of the Wild people probably wouldn't have at launch this time. Of course, the Switch's library has filled out nicely since then (they have some of the highest rated games over the past two years) but it's much easier to hook people and sell hardware long-term when you come out with a bang instead of having to recover and reel them in later.

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Jinzo_111887

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Sadly, I feel like some of Nintendo's choices have turned people off from some of their games and possibly even the Switch hardware, so it's not doing as well as it could have been doing.

2 • 5 years ago

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@Jinzo_111887:

It’s the fastest selling console of this generation in the US. Not much better it could have done...

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@doctor_mg: Depends on exactly how much more it sold. Selling faster at $250 and $300 price points compared to consoles that sold at $400 and $500 is a bit of a "duh" statement, especially if the line-up is good, which it was, but could they have done even better? I'm inclined to think so, not that I'm saying this isn't something to celebrate for them because it's a great milestone. Nintendo just really needs to stop doing this back-and-forth with gamers from console to console and keep momentum going into new generations.

2 • 5 years ago

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@horizonwriter:

But Switch isn’t just competing with PS4 and X1 at 400$ price points. It’s also competing with the current $250 price points of both of those consoles.

2 • 5 years ago

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@doctor_mg: These numbers are in comparison to other launch periods of current gen consoles. Of course it's going to outsell the PS4 and XB1 NOW in the last 20 months at this point in their life cycle. Their sales have naturally slowed. Hardly any console maintains launch momentum throughout the entire generation.

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Edited By Doctor_MG

@horizonwriter:

I understand that, but the Switch is on the market with two other consoles that are the same price or lower. So the market is actually more competitive in that aspect vs. PS4s launch where the competition was largely against Xbox, which was 100$ more expensive.

BTW PS4 sales are actually higher this year than they were in 2014. Most consoles sales increase year over year until around year 3 (in PS4s case it was year 4)

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Edited By squidracerX

@doctor_mg: @horizonwriter:

You can always read into these console wars and stats as much as you want.

DS sold better than 3DS but I think 3DS was superior. I liked gamecube but it disappointed the market. I actually hated the Wii (worst controls ever) and it lit up the market. I like the Wii U and it disappointed again. So what does the Switch selling well mean? Not much to me ha-ha. Nintendo's happy I guess, they wont drop it and burn us like they did on the Wii U! But sales do not = the best console necessarily I think history can show.

But people want a game that says "Mario" or "Zelda". (Would Mario + Rabbids have done as well if it had no Mario characters? It was an okay game, but i bought it because Mario was in it... So I say no way! Same with Smash - its very fanservice, thats not a bad thing! -- But if it was not Nintendo characters but dinosaur people or something instead, would it sell as well? maybe? But I doubt it.)

So i dont think sales necessarily reflect quality or fun factor in a console at all. i see a guy up top saying "we were waiting for portable ps3 graphics". Ummm Vita? I liked Vita, again it disappointed at market. Add Nintendo games to a Vita and you get the Switch which sells well ha-ha. So who knows...

But reading this I thought it was important to keep in mind that PS4 actually beat Switch 2018 Black Friday sales, (Giantbomb is my source). And when Nintendo brag about software sales, its awesome for Nintendo, but historically, (and on Switch so far as well), they sell millions of their first party games, but that usually directly eats into 3rd party sales - which drop off a cliff for any game out of the top 10 or 15 best sellers. Just look at Wikipedia at the top selling games for each Nintendo console. Its like every Nintendo owner has the same exact library of the same 10 games. Sometimes games like Just Dance or Skylanders and such break into the top selling charts, but 9 out of the top 10 sellers are always Nintendo first party games. So bragging about software sales probably just makes 3rd parties jealous. Why develop a new game/IP to a system that I will be competing against the most loyal fanbase ever who only buy Mario Kart and Smash Brothers at the expense of my game? Ill give you an older port at best.

Where as PS4 you see God of War did awesome this year, but third party Red Dead and Spiderman did better sales wise, and Capcom sold their fastest selling game ever in Monster Hunter. I know where id go if I was a 3rd party.

Nintendo probably doesn't care - thats a good problem to have ha-ha. If they sell a ton of consoles and only their games it makes them a lot more money - but does that make a good console historically? Eh... Depends if you just want another Smash Bros (I dont). But I know a lot of people do. To me; sales will never = best system. Just my 2 cents.

I know for me Nintendo consoles could never be my "main or only console". I think its a perfect supplement. Everyone should own a few systems. But I will always have a Sony/Microsoft/PC to play the main bulk of games released, and then Nintendo on the side for the Nintendo games. (I do love me some Splatoon!)

Upvote • 5 years ago

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@squidracerX:

I agree with a lot of your post. One of my favorite consoles is the Dreamcast and GameCube. Both failed to make a huge splash sales wise, but I loved the games.

The games sales situation is a bit different this time around though. Third parties support Nintendo’s portable consoles well enough because games sell, and the Switch is following that pathway. Is it as good as PS4? Hell no, but it wouldn’t be able to be without power parity anyway.

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@doctor_mg: I haven't looked at 3DS game sales -- BUT developing a 3DS game (just like a phone game) is WAY cheaper than a real console game (even though Switch is less powerful than PS4 and Xbox, its still more than 3DS). So it may be worth it for 3rd party to develop even expecting lower sales to make a 3DS game. (And DS had like 150 million units sold, so a small fraction of that pie was still large).

But literally what I said is true: I just looked at the Switch Wiki page - the top 17 games sold are ALL NINTENDO first party games. 3rd party games do not sell on Switch. Its a fact. The one "exception" I guess is "Mario + Rabbids", as thats technically Ubisoft, but we all know thats a Nintendo game. (And its true, as I said above, no Mario = no sales of that game).

On Nintendo's own page: As of Sept 30th 2018 the top 10 best sellers were:

Super Mario Odyssey - 12.17 million
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 11.71 million
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 10.28 million
Splatoon 2 - 7.47 million
1-2-Switch - 2.64 million
Mario Tennis Aces - 2.16 million
ARMS - 2.10 million
Kirby Star Allies - 2.10 million
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 1.67 million
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - 1.53 million

So we dont see much (any) 3rd party there... The up to date Wiki page paints it even worse for 3rd party;

1. Super Mario Odyssey - 12.17 million Nintendo EPD Nintend
2. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 11.71 million Nintendo EPD Nintendo
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 10.28 million Nintendo EPD Nintendo
4. Splatoon 2 - 7.47 million Nintendo EPD Nintendo
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 4.2 million Bandai Namco StudiosSora Ltd. Nintendo
6. Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! - 3 million Game Freak Nintendo
7. 1-2-Switch - 2.64 million Nintendo EPD Nintendo
8. Mario Tennis Aces - 2.16 million Camelot Software Planning Nintendo
9. Arms - 2.1 million Nintendo EPD Nintendo
10. Kirby Star Allies -2.1 million HAL Laboratory Nintendo
11. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - 2 million Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft Milan Ubisoft
12. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - 1.67 million Retro Studios Nintendo
13. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - 1.53 million Monolith Soft Nintendo
14. Super Mario Party - 1.5 million Nd Cube Nintendo
15. Nintendo Labo - 1.39 million Nintendo EPD Nintendo
16. Pokkén Tournament DX - 1.16 million Bandai Namco Studios Nintendo
17. Octopath Traveler - 1 million Square Enix Nintendo

No Doom, no Skyrim, No Wolfenstien, No Skylanders, No Spyro, No Lego, no LA Noire, no Starlink (this even had exclusive StarFox content, was a huge disappointment to Ubisoft, and they said it was really hard to port), no Diablo (and that was bundled wit ha Switch!)
But back in Sept even sports games like FIFA only sold a fraction of the unitscompared to Nintendo first party games... (On this old sales list see FIFA at #11 being slaughtered by #9 Pokken Tournament at 2/3the sales 1mil to 1.5mil. And I had Pokken Tournement on Wii U, it sucked!!!). http://www.vgchartz.com/platform/83/nintendo-switch/

So we see 3rd party games dont sell.
Is it because the 3rd party games are mostly ports? No, I dont think so, because some of the 3rd party support was new IP like Starlink. And many of Nintendo's own top 17 games like Mario Kart, Pokken, and Donkey Kong were just ports from Wii U.
Does Nintendo market their own games too much?
Is it just to much Nintendo "fanboy-ism" that people only buy Nintendo characters, (nothing wrong with that - but factually I think that is supported by the Mario + Rabbids game selling so well).
Could it be just a different audience for a Switch, that most Doom/Skyrim people already bought a PS4 or Xbox? - -I know i personally will only buy Nintendo exclusives on the Switch. But that would lend to 3rd party not releasing games on Nintendo then...
Is it a quality thing? No - Doom and Diablo are better quality than 1-2 Switch and Mario Party; thats for sure.

So yeah - if I was a third party developer, why would i risk putting a game on Switch until it has sold at least like 60 million copies? I wouldn't unless Nintendo paid me like Starlink.

Interesting thing i saw while researching this -- if you take out handheld numbers -- for home consoles only, I always hear how much Nintendo sells, in fact I thought Wii was #1 seller of all time. But its not! Sony has 4 of the top 5 consoles with the PS4 only 2 million sales away from joining the top 5 (which it will). The Wii has about 100 million sold, but PS2 sold 155 million! And PS4 should outsell the Wii by the end of its life with only about 12 million to go. (Switch will probably join them up there though, pushing ps3 out). I just thought that was interesting.

Upvote • 5 years ago

Xristophoros

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Edited By Xristophoros

@squidracerX: yes, most of the 3rd party games on the switch are 5+ years old... why would they sell well when everyone has already played them? it is pretty niche to re-purchase the same game for the third time... those are also the worst ports you can get your hands on performance wise, so that is another reason they didn't sell well.

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@Xristophoros: Well there are a few issues with what you say (some of which i agree with - but let me play devil's advocate here).

First - many Switch owners will say "I dont care that Dark Souls is old, now its portable! That's what I wanted all along! And so who cares how it runs, its better portable!". Ive had that exact conversation with people, and if its what THEY want, its hard to argue with that. But I do think that the Switch owner who wants Dark Souls is in the minority. I would also argue that that type of Switch owner probably already owns another system, (and that is problem #1 - Mario is Nintendo, thats where you buy it. Why you buy a Switch. But do people buy Dead Cells and Battle Chasers on other platforms instead because they are multi-platform where Mario is an exclusive?
I wonder if Mega Man 11 sold better on Switch or PS4? Now before you say exclusivity is the factor - keep in mind that Mario Odyssey has sold 12 million units on 20 million Switches, Uncharted 4 (just as good a game) has only sold 8.7 million on 80 million consoles. So exclusivity does not = huge sales. (But it does on Nintendo platforms is where I am going with this). AND Id point out that the PS4 has a higher attach rate (games owned per console). So that just means what I said above -- Nintendo consoles are used to buy Nintendo specific games - where as people on PS4 buy a much more diverse selection of games. Uncharted, Horizon, and God of War are the best sellers, but with much smaller numbers - meaning that some buy those first party games; but others buy 3rd party Monster Hunter World, Fifa, Witcher, Crash Bandicoot, or Red Dead instead. Nintendo seems to sell Nintendo's games. (Nothing wrong with that! But not attractive for 3rd party.)

I do agree with you, "why would I be excited by all these 5 year old games?". Its why i was mad at PS4's first year. Personally I'd much rather a new IP. (Or a new Diablo for $60). But then here's where we are missing something -- MARIO KART HAS SOLD 12 million units! And its a port! ("But it has a new mode and like 4 new characters" - its full price, its a port people!). And Mario Kart 8 is 5 years old. So old ports can sell on Switch. But only if they are Nintendo ports...

Also remember - you said the 3rd party games are all 5 years old. While that is true in many cases; its not true in all. (Sports games, Starlink, Super Bomber Man, Star Dew Valley, Hollow Knight, Rime, Little Dragon Cafe, Dead Cells, etc..) AND on PS4 when they got a bunch of last generation ports and remakes at the beginning, they did sell well. Everything from Grand Theft Auto to Bioshock collections and Batman collections to Shadow of the Colossus remakes and Crash remakes sell pretty well. -- But yeah, even new decent 3rd party IP vs Breath of the Wild is a tough sell at launch.

Lastly, its a double edged sword. If no one wants to buy my 5 year old port which is pretty quick and cheap to get to the Switch, (I have another company do the port work), and it doesn't sell well - why would I even invest my actual studio to do a new game? (When I see the few new 3rd party IP not selling either). Every single developer has said that it is extremely hard to develop for the Switch - because the hardware is not as good and they have to do "tricks" to port it down, and even something as simple as the dummy's didn't put enough internal memory in the thing. You can upgrade the memory, but no 3rd party publisher wants to assume you did this or else their game wont work...

I really think it comes down to Nintendo owners are really a specific market now - and they literally want the same 15 games over and over with a few surprises they will trust if they know they are from Nintendo. Its basically a fact to say every Switch owner has Breathe of the Wild, Odyssey, and Mario Kart. And why wouldn't they. But that means they probably haven't bought as much 3rd party... If 3rd party sees the games they struggle to make on this thing dont sell any better than they do on PS4 or Xbox which they are making anyway - and its costly and risky to port games over, why invest in new IP?
Nintendo definitely has a style. And outside of a few titles, when a new IP does do well on a Nintendo platform (Splatoon, Nintendogs, etc), I dont think its a coincidence its usually a first party title.
Is it just that people trust Nintendo, or is it the Nintendo hype and advertisement train? I dunno - but some of these high selling games are not great games, (ARMS, Kirby all star allies, 1-2 Switch, Mario Party, Super Mario Sunshine), so its not just "Nintendo makes the best games". I think people bought Kirby because Kirby was on the cover.

There is something Nintendo needs to do/could do to get people to buy 3rd party games. if they wanted. Or not. I know if I sold 10 million copies of all my own games - who cares who else comes to the party? But that will always be a weakness (but also an exclusive strength) of Nintendo. Its impossible to argue that they dont have the strongest first party line-up each generation! (Makes the console worth buying - maybe not so much for Wii U owners still).

Upvote • 5 years ago

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@doctor_mg: Yeah, God of War, Spider-Man and Red Dead 2 all coming out in the same year will cause that, especially compared to the weak intial launch lineup. If you think the PS4 and XB1 are still competing on that level now, especially the PS4 which already has over 80 million in gamers' hands already, you would be mistaken. I'm not saying that the Switch's numbers aren't impressive. To the contrary, I just agree that it could have been even more of a juggernaut.

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Edited By Doctor_MG

@horizonwriter:

Okay, I suppose I was a bit too contentious. I apologize. Personally, the Switch’s success comes as a surprise to me. I quoted 35 million max not 2 years ago. So it impressed me. But, there are improvements yet to be made. That’s true too.

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sdzald

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@doctor_mg:

One thing to keep in mind. The switch is a niche market, Sony and MS do not compete directly, based on the lack of competition for the Switch are the numbers really that good?

Upvote • 5 years ago

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