Putting Switch’s 32 million shipments in context

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  • Fig. 1: The Switch isn’t quite matching the Wii’s record-setting sales pace, but it is outpacing most other consoles at this point in their cycles.
  • Fig. 2: Despite healthy year-over-year growth, Nintendo no longer thinks the Switch will hit its previously projected 20 million shipments for the 12 months ending in March 2019.
  • Fig. 3: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has a way to go before it can match Mario Kart Wii‘s sales… but it still has time.
  • Fig.4: Ultimate seems set to be the best-selling Smash Bros. game by a good margin, given these sales out of the gate.
  • Fig. 5: Super Mario Odyssey is already the best-selling 3D Mario game ever, and it’s been out for barely a year.
  • Fig. 6: Zelda games never actually sold tremendously well by Nintendo’s lofty standards… until Breath of the Wild.

With two full holiday seasons of public sales data now under its belt, the Nintendo Switch continues to help right a company balance sheet that was nearly decimated by the Wii U. Last night, Nintendo reported 9.41 million Switch shipments in the holiday 2018 quarter, contributing to 32.27 million consoles shipped worldwide since the system’s March 2017 launch.

Those numbers sure sound big, but they can be hard to judge in the abstract. So, as we have done in the past, we decided to provide some quick comparisons that put the Switch’s continued success into the proper context. Use these numbers to calibrate your impression of how well Nintendo’s new system is really doing and to adjust your projections of how it may do going forward (as Nintendo has).

(Lifetime sales measure slightly different calendar periods due to staggered release dates through the year, but all include two holiday seasons. Monthly periods rounded up for partial launch months).

[Update: The original version of this story gave an incorrect number for the Xbox 360, due to mistaken sourcing. Apologies]

Also, while we’re at it, we thought we’d look at how some of the Switch’s best-selling first-party exclusives are doing compared to previous entries in those franchises. When looking at these numbers, remember that they compare a few months or years of Switch sales to lifetime sales on previous consoles.

(Numbers sourced from Nintendo’s website unless otherwise noted)

Mario Kart franchise sales

  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch): 15.02 million
  • Mario Kart 8 (Wii U): 8.42 million
  • Mario Kart 7 (3DS): 18.11 million
  • Mario Kart Wii (Wii): 37.14 million
  • Mario Kart DS (DS): 23.6 million
  • Mario Kart Double Dash (GameCube): 6.96 million
  • Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA): 5.91 million
  • Mario Kart 64 (N64): 9.87 million
  • Super Mario Kart (SNES): 8.76 million

Additional source: (1)

Super Smash Bros. franchise sales

  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch): 12.08 million
  • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U): 5.35 million
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii): 13.29 million
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee (GameCube): 7.09 million
  • Super Smash Bros. (N64): “Over 5 million”

Additional source: (1)

Super Mario franchise sales (3D titles)

  • Super Mario Odyssey (Switch): 13.76 million
  • Super Mario 3D World (Wii U): 5.8 million
  • Super Mario 3D Land (3DS): 12.41 million
  • Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii): 7.41 million
  • Super Mario Galaxy (Wii): 12.78 million
  • Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube): 5.5 million
  • Super Mario 64 (N64): 11.9 million

Additional sources: (1) (2)

The Legend of Zelda franchise sales (3D titles)

  • Breath of the Wild (Switch): 11.68 million
  • Skyward Sword (Wii): 3.04 million
  • Twilight Princess (Wii/GameCube): 8.85 million
  • Wind Waker (GameCube): 4.6 million
  • Ocarina of Time (N64): 7.6 million

Additional sources: (1) (2)

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1449083