Nintendo’s previous-generation Wii U video game console may very well have been the biggest swing and miss in Nintendo’s history. The company found tremendous success with the original Wii, but its attempt to recapture that magic fell short. The Wii U offered nothing compelling and was doomed from the start. Nintendo quickly went back to the drawing board, however, and the company how now managed to redeem itself with the hot new Nintendo Switch.
The Switch console has been flying off of store shelves ever since it was first released in early March. In fact, the only way to buy one online right now is to order one on Amazon and pay a premium. Supply shortages are expected to persist all year long, but it looks like Nintendo managed to ship enough consoles to enjoy an explosive debut month of sales.
Independent market research firm SuperData has released its Nintendo Switch sales figures for the month of March, and they’re impressive, to say the least. According to the group’s estimates, Nintendo shipped an impressive 2.4 million consoles in the Switch’s debut month. That figure is based on SuperData’s research and channel checks, and it has led the company to dramatically increase its 2017 full-year sales estimates for Nintendo’s new console.
“Nintendo is performing above expectations, which suggests that, at least for now, it is well on its way to restore investor confidence,” SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen said, according to GameSpot. As a result of the Switch’s impressive March sales, SuperData has revised its full-year 2017 sales estimate to 7.2 million units, up significantly from the firm’s earlier estimate of 5 million units.
Van Dreunen also noted that the Switch has a number of big releases slated for 2017 that will help drives sales, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe later this month and Splatoon 2, which will be released on July 21st.
