There’s precious little doubt that Nintendo Switch sales have been stunted by Nintendo’s inability to produce enough consoles to keep up with demand. After the dismal failure of Nintendo’s previous-generation console, it’s understandable that the company would be a bit cautious when planning production ahead of launch. Shortly after the Switch was released last month, Nintendo obviously saw that it had a hit on its hands, and it announced that it was doubling production as a result.
It’s still unbelievably difficult to find the Nintendo Switch in stock anywhere in the United States. In fact, the only way you can get one right now is to order one on Amazon and pay a premium. The console is still selling quite well despite inventory issues, however. In fact, locally, it outsold every other one of the top 10 best-selling consoles last week — combined.
Japanese gaming industry watcher 4gamer posted last week’s Media Create sales figures for video game software and hardware in Japan. They paint a similar picture to the one we’ve seen in recent weeks, but it’s worth revisiting to point out just how big local Switch sales are despite supply issues. The Switch didn’t just beat every other video game console in the top 10, it beat all of their sales totals combined.
Here’s the top 10 in Japan for April 3rd through April 9th, with last week’s sales in parentheses.
- Switch – 41,193 (45,509)
- New 3DS LL – 19,533 (25,719)
- PS4 – 18,022 (25,006)
- PS4 Pro – 6,490 (5,051)
- Vita – 5,987 (7,780)
- 2DS – 4,629 (6,240)
- New 3DS – 1,523 (1,995)
- PS3 – 704 (1,724)
- Wii U – 358 (449)
- Xbox One – 132 (187)
No, that’s not a type — the Xbox One really only sold an estimated 132 units last week. And yes, it’s still getting outsold by the Wii U. Believe it or not, 132 isn’t even the worst week Microsoft’s console has had in the past few months.
For those interested, here are the 20 best-selling games in Japan during the same time period and for the prior week (via Nintendo Everything):
- [3DS] Monster Hunter XX – 65,672 / 1,322,152
- [NSW] Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 23,016 / 354,404
- [3DS] Mario Sports Superstars – 18,765 / 51,181
- [NSW] 1-2-Switch – 12,418 / 166,319
- [PS4] LEGO Worlds – 11,578 / NEW
- [PS4] Warriors All-Stars – 8,577 / 48,946
- [PS4] Ghost Recon Wildlands – 7,907 / 153,408
- [3DS] Pokemon Sun/Moon – 6,972 / 3,236,826
- [PS4] NieR: Automata – 6,593 / 294,694
- [WIU] Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 6,487 / 95,806
- [PS4] Blue Reflection – 6,100 / 40,691
- [PS4] Horizon Zero Dawn – 6,018 / 196,661
- [3DS] Super Mario Maker for 3DS – 5,717 / 1,015,110
- [PSV] Warriors All-Stars – 4,527 / 22,393
- [NSW] Super Bomberman R – 4,233 / 66,617
- [PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 + II.5 Remix – 4,218 / 98,725
- [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V (4,990 Yen Edition) – 4,094 / 318,014
- [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo – 4,017 / 159,150
- [WIU] Minecraft: Wii U Edition – 4,014 / 313,703
- [3DS] Kawaii Pet to Kurasou! Wan Nyan & Mini Mini Animal – 3,631 / NEW