Splatoon 2.jpg

After a few years in which Nintendo largely relied upon the 3DS for good news, 2017 has brought a lot of positivity with the Nintendo Switch. The NPD sales results for the US market have often reflected these improved fortunes, and courtesy of a major release Nintendo achieved success in what is traditionally one of the quietest months at game retail.

Splatoon 2 was that big arrival, aiming to build upon the success of the original on Wii U. It succeeded, too, with the exclusive scoring number one in the July NPD software charts for the US; also, remember that Nintendo doesn't provide NPD with download data, so this is purely off physical retail sales.

  1. Splatoon 2
  2. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
  3. Grand Theft Auto 5
  4. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
  5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  6. Injustice 2
  7. Mario Kart 8
  8. Overwatch
  9. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
  10. NBA 2K17
  11. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
  12. Call of Duty: Modern War
  13. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
  14. Minecraft
  15. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
  16. MLB 17: The Show
  17. ARMS
  18. Battlefield 1
  19. Mass Effect: Andromeda
  20. Tekken 7

Considering the fact this is a multi-platform chart, it's worth highlighting the other Switch titles that are still shifting copies, namely The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (also available on Wii U, but most retail sales are typically for Switch), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and ARMS. Also of note, Breath of the Wild is the second bestselling game of the year in the US to date, only behind Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands.

In the hardware stakes it was Nintendo Switch on top in July, as well, helped by Splatoon 2 and restocks; that said, units were still pretty tough to find, but enough systems arrived and sold to top the NPD charts. Switch accessories are also cited as a factor in driving positive accessories sales, but toys-to-life sales (amiibo etc) are still down on last year. The New 2DS XL also arrived on 28th July, but doesn't seem to have factored into or had a significant impact in the results.

July was a terrific month for Nintendo and the Switch in the US market, then, and it'll hope to continue that momentum through the rest of the year; notably Nintendo of America is releasing a Splatoon 2 hardware bundle soon.

[source gamesindustry.biz]