Following arguably Nintendo’s best year of the decade so far, the company announced on Thursday morning that the Switch has become the fastest-selling game console in US history. Released on March 3rd, 2017, the Switch has sold more than 4.8 million units in 10 months, according to Nintendo’s internal sales figures. That marks the most sales for a console in that timeframe ever, including the Wii, which sold 4 million units in its first 10 months.
“Fans across the country have experienced the joy of playing their favorite games at home or on the go,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and COO. “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.”
The success of the Switch has been fueled by the impressive launch year lineup, which featured The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. And those were just the first-party highlights. Nintendo says that over 300 games from third-party developers launched on the Switch in year one as well, with EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar, Bethesda and more on board for the hybrid console. Lack of third-party support doomed the Wii U, but publishers have come rushing back to get their games on the Switch.
The big question now is whether or not Nintendo can maintain the momentum in the new year. In the press release, Nintendo points out that Nintendo-published games like Kirby Star Allies, Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 and Yoshi are all set to arrive in 2018. But even more importantly, major third-party titles are in the works as well, such as Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Mega Man 11, Dragon Quest Builders and Super Meat Boy.
