In Nintendo’s latest earning report, it announced a whole slew of different sales figures for its most popular games, as well as hardware sales numbers for both the Switch and Switch Lite. Profits for the company took a major leap upward in the last few months, owed largely to strong first-party software sales. All of Nintendo’s major properties have been represented in some form on the Switch, creating a stable library of titles to fall back on even when hardware sales might slump. The Switch is undoubtedly one of the stronger contenders out right now, as it has thoroughly managed to capture many regional markets, something other console makers struggle with, like Microsoft.
Console units accounted for a total of 4.8 million sales in the preceding three months. The recent debut of the Switch Lite no doubt helped, as consumers all over the globe snapped up the more portable variant. Japanese consumers bought 160,000 units of the Switch Lite. In addition, sales of the original Nintendo Switch increased by 12,000 units to 64,000 sold within its first week on the market. And with Ninty managing to ship 15 million consoles in North America alone, you just know that the Switch is here to stay.
Nintendo sold 1.95 million units of the new smaller, cheaper Switch console for the third quarter ending September 30th. The device made up roughly 46 percent of all third quarter Switch sales.
In terms of games, though, sales are as strong as ever. The mainline property for the big N continues to be Mario and its related titles, with many of the best-selling games this past quarter being led by the plumber of legend. Super Mario Odyssey managed to push more than 15 million units by September 2019. And this was just the beginning, as the total number of software units sold is rapidly approaching 250 million in all. Super Mario Maker 2 also held strong this quarter, pushing just shy of four million copies.
Top 10 best-selling Nintendo Switch games worldwide as of September 30th, 2019:
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 19.1 million
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 15.7 million
- Super Mario Odyssey – 15.38 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 14.54 million
- Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu/Eevee
- Splatoon 2 – 9.28 million
- Super Mario Party – 7.59 million
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – 4.59 million
- Super Mario Maker 2 – 3.93 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – 3.13 million
The upcoming launch of Pokemon Sword and Shield will likely usurp some of these top spots, as the property holds undeniable sway over younger and older audiences alike. And being that it’s the first core title of the franchise to appear on a console, expect it come out of the gate storming.
