When the Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, it looked like it would be a runaway success. Flanked by new entries in the Mario, Zelda, and Splatoon franchises, the Switch was already an improvement over the Wii U by the end of the year. All Nintendo had to do was continue to court third-party developers while maintaining a steady stream of first-party content in the years to come. Unfortunately, game releases slowed to a crawl in 2018.
You might think that would affect Switch sales this holiday season. Sure, Nintendo fans are looking forward to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in December, but would the Switch, still priced at $300, really be able to compete with $200 PS4 and Xbox One bundles? Well, according to the latest data, the answer is a resounding yes.
In a press release on Wednesday, Nintendo revealed that it broke two records from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday:
- The Switch became the fastest-selling Nintendo console in US history over that five-day period.
- The Switch had its best-selling week in the United States since launching in March 2017.
Citing Adobe Analytics, Nintendo claims that the Switch not only broke a few records, but was also “the overall top-selling video game product online for the Black Friday-Cyber Monday time period.” In other words, the Switch sold better than the PS4 and Xbox One, both of which were available at lower price points.
Overall, Nintendo’s internal sales figures show that consumers spent more than $250 million on Nintendo products from November 22nd through November 26th. This includes video game systems (Switch, 3DS), retro consoles (NES Classic Edition, SNES Classic Edition), games, and accessories. Total hardware sales increased 45% over the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday compared to the same period in 2017.
Nintendo also shared the lifetime sales figures for all of its main home and portable consoles following Black Friday:
- Lifetime sales of Nintendo Switch have reached more than 8.2 million units.
- The total installed base for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems has hit 22 million.
- The SNES Classic Edition system surpassed lifetime sales of 2.5 million.
- The NES Classic Edition system surpassed lifetime sales of 2 million.
Whether or not Nintendo’s lack of content will eventually cause Switch sales to fall off a cliff remains to be seen, but it’s clear that the Switch is still among the most wanted gadgets available this holiday season.
