Nintendo Switch Sales Off To A Strong Start, Outpacing Even The Mighty Wii

There has been a lot of uncertainty leading up to the retail launch of Nintendo's hybrid Switch console, a game system built for both living room gaming and mobile game play. Would the market be receptive to such a dual purpose device, especially since it doesn't have the hardware chops of the Xbox One S or PlayStation 4 Pro? Apparently the answer is a resounding "yes," at least if going by opening weekend sales.

In a series of Twitter posts, New York Times reporter Nick Wingfield shared some inside information obtained during an interview with Reggie Fils-Aime, president and CEO of Nintendo of America. The big reveal is that combined sales of the Switch on Friday and Saturday were the highest ever for a Nintendo console during the first two days of availability, besting even the Wii, the previous record holder.
That is an impressive stat and should the momentum continue, Nintendo will be validated in its decision to take a different course than either Microsoft or Sony, both of which are engaged in a spec war of sorts. Nintendo seems to want no part of that, and while the Wii U did not live up to expectations, the Switch appears to be reinvigorating interest in Nintendo among gamers.


Of course, what is a console without the games? To that end, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has skipped ahead of Super Mario for the Nintendo 64 as the best selling standalone launch title in Nintendo's history (not including bundled games such as Wii Sports). That is not too surprising, given the universal high praise the title has been garnering around the web.

What makes all this even more interesting is that there have been some hiccups associated with the Switch. There are widespread complaints of connection problems with the Switch's Joy-Con controllers, for one. And for two, those experiencing dead or stuck pixels are being told by Nintendo to ignore the problem, as such anomalies are inherent to LCD technology.

Nevertheless, the Switch is off to a fast start. We'll have to wait and see if it continues to sell well throughout the year. Looking slightly ahead, Nintendo expects to ship 2 million Switch consoles to stores globally next month.