Switch And Switch Lite

Yesterday, Nintendo's six months earning release gave us our first look at sales for the Switch Lite. As of the 30th of September 2019, the system has sold 1.95 million units. Overall, combined Switch sales now total 41.67 million units worldwide.

Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa has further explained how exactly the Switch Lite is doing at the company's latest financial briefing. Firstly, the handheld system is believed to be "generating its own demand, without negatively impacting" existing sales trends. This is illustrated in the chart below:

Switch Sell Through

Furukawa stated how original model Switch sales actually surged a week after the launch of the Lite. There were, of course, a few other factors in play:

In fact, sales of Nintendo Switch (shown in gray) grew noticeably in the week following the launch of Nintendo Switch Lite. That was the same week as the release of Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition and the launch of a special Dragon Quest-edition Nintendo Switch in the Japanese market. The Japanese market was also likely affected by last minute demand before the consumption tax increase.

User registrations have also revealed the Switch Lite has a higher percentage of female users. Furukawa mentioned how there was evidence of a "good number of consumers" purchasing the Lite as their second system as well:

we are starting to see a higher percentage of female users among new Nintendo Switch Lite purchasers compared to the status before the launch of Nintendo Switch Lite, across the world. This signals further expansion of the female consumer base. Furthermore, the pool of consumers purchasing Nintendo Switch Lite during the initial launch period includes not only users purchasing it as their first system, but also a good number of consumers purchasing it as their second system from the Nintendo Switch family.

Among these consumers buying Nintendo Switch Lite as a second system, some are doing so to supplement a single Nintendo Switch console shared among the family, while others are opting to buy Nintendo Switch Lite as a compact, lightweight system to take on the go.

Switch Sales Trends

Moving forward, the plan is to continue spreading awareness of the "features and appeal" of the Lite.

Nintendo has observed how consumers establish a greater understanding of the system when holding it, so the idea is to increase in-store experiences leading into the holiday season:

For example, we have found that consumers gain deeper understanding of Nintendo Switch Lite when they actually see and hold it, so we will further increase the number of opportunities like in-store experiences. We will continue to communicate its appeal after the holiday season, so that new consumers will choose it as their first system, in addition to those who purchase it as a second system from the Nintendo Switch family.

Have you bought a Switch Lite yet? Comment below.