Nintendo Switch and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Lead the Way in US April Sales

That's wonderful news though in my opinion the biggest question comes about June/July. Is there enough interest in ARMS to keep Switch sales strong or should Splatoon 2 have been released earlier?

So glad to see the Switch doing well. After years of suffering through dismal Wii U numbers (RIP, sweet Prince), this is a refreshing change I can live with.

Congratulations !
Now, during June and July 2017 (The twin sisters of Month's name) Switch must sold well from ARMS and Splatoon 2.

Fantastic news! So happy for the Switch!

Yeah! Way to go Nintendo!

@Grumblevolcano

I often wonder that myself. I really believe that ARMS and Splatoon needed to come a month earlier respectively, but it is what it is.

I can see where detractors are coming from with saying that those controllers look uncomfortable, and that huddling around small screens like that isn't any fun.

But convenience is king once more, it seems, and people really do seem to embrace how handy the Switch is for getting some multiplayer action going.

Personally, I appreaciate how in a promotion shot like this, (silly as it may be, @jswhitfield8 ) that all the players' facers are visible to one another. Like if playing a board game.

There's a bigger sense of togetherness about the games than might have been the case with TV-bound local multiplayer. In Japan I saw many groups of both guys and girls sitting like that with their 3DS's playing Monster Hunter, so I definitely think that Switch has something special going in the social aspect.

@Grumblevolcano @MoonKnight7

The machine is still completely sold out. Releasing more high profile first party titles early would serve no purpose.

It would be overselling it.

They've saved the buzz around those titles for when it came in handy.

Switch sales collapsed completely after launch month. Same with Mario Kart 8: 83 % of sales came on launch day, and after that sales of the game collapsed totally, accounting only for 17 % of the total.

Up, up, and up. It seems that the Switch is having positive results in terms of sales around the world. Those Mario Kart 8 numbers are pretty impressive. Going off of the number of Switches sold just in March, that's something like a quarter of them buying the game (this probably isn't true anymore as more copies of the game would have sold, as well as more Switch units).

It feels good being in a place where the current Nintendo hardware is doing well. I enjoyed my WiiU, but it was kind of a guilty pleasure, no one else really wanted to talk about it, even if they knew what it was.

@Mahe It's sold out. You can't sell more than there are available.

Very nice.

@Mahe Well yes. If you have a hot item, everyone wants it immediately, its called demand.

We wouldn't be saying it sold well if it just trickled along would we? But you refuse to say it sold well because demand outstripped supply.

@Mahe
That tends to happen when demand > supply.
Also, Mario Kart sold 460,000 copies on Day 1 and another 90,000 copies on Day 2. Im not sure how you expected sales to turn out?? Were you expecting the game to sell 460,000 copies per day??

Very impressive.

@Mahe just read the article and get over it. Nintendo Switch is doing well, deal with it

Month 3 Switch sales will he interesting. Here's how other platforms sold on Month 3:
Wii (January 2007): 460,000
3DS (May 2011): 97,000
Wii U (January 2013): 55,000
PS4 (January 2014): 280,000
Xbox One (January 2014): 140,000

@MoonKnight7 @Grumblevolcano

Nintneod had 2mil Switch ready at launch, but it doesn't look like they're flooding the market since then. A lot more than NES Mini, but a lot more than zero doesn't mean much. MK8D is really the May game, even though it released in April it was really late. Some people are still playing Zelda BotW. ARMS is June, Spla2oon is July. Summer is all about E3 anyway, and finishing up your backlog ahead of the holidays.

I'm no Nintendo apologist, but they seem to have their ducks lined up this time for once. Sure, it's not selling 10m a month, but they have Switch on a slow and steady roll-out, selling every one they make, w/ the possible exception of a few sitting on shelves in Ireland so I've read. But they still haven't announced VC yet, or a web browser and Netflix et al.

If they play their cards right they'll date Mario at E3, maybe SSB4D, and they'll continue to sell all the Switch they'll make throughout the holiday. Will sales slow down over the summer? Of course, but no amount of games was going to change that, it's the summer. This isn't a Wii U or 3DS situation. They are keeping stock low, which helps keep demand high, while they roll-out just enough games, and hopefully E3 sets up a nice line-up of fall games for September, October, November and December.

4 weeks until E3. I'm not worrying, or getting overly excited, until after that. Had a nice successful launch, coast until E3. Then light it up.

"That's arguably a stretch as a real statistic due to there only being two other major 'current gen' rivals"

That was my though before I read that far.
Switch, 3DS family, PS4, X1. That's four. (Well 4 families, a few more if you add in all the different models) Nintendo has half of those, half is what you would expect.

We bought our copy of Zelda BotW on Wii U in April.

@MartyFlanMJFan Did you read the article? Switch sales collapsed totally after March, and Mario Kart 8 sales collapsed totally after launch day.

@westman98 No, I'm just responding to Switch fans who were expecting that very thing. They had a hard time accepting that MK8 Switch sales would slow down after the launch day, and fast.

@BLP_Software You know what sold in slow trickle? Mario Kart Wii. It had a strong launch, but it's the slow trickle that brought MK Wii to 37 million sold worldwide.

@Mahe
I don't think any reasonable person with any inkling of knowledge in sales expected Mario Kart 8 (or literally any popular game or movie) to sell as much on Day 1 as on Day 2 or beyond during a non-holiday month.

I'm sorry, but not even the juggernaut that was MK Wii was selling 400,000+ copies per day during its launch period.

@Mahe The thing about a slow trickle is that you have to start somewhere and the game has to actually be out for however many years. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been out for less than a month, had an amazing launch day and is chugging along quite happily. I doubt it'll match Mario Kart Wii, anything the Wii set may not be replicated again since the whole gaming scene has changed, but that doesn't mean that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is doing badly, especially since it is topping most charts.

@Mahe Games and consoles always slow down shortly after launch. There are never massive sales as those are attributed to releases, events, or seasonal factors.

Humans have limited disposable income, after spending on what they need. Games are a want, and just one of many wants in the modern world. As such, video game sales are never high all the time, with very rare exceptions.

Just remember that just like you can be happy about something, people are allowed to be happy about this. Be free to discuss why they are or are not happy about it, but don't be the kind of person normally on the internet who tells them they shouldn't be happy.

@Mahe Everyone sees the Switch breaking records but you see it collapsing!!

@Mahe Go troll somewhere else please!

@Mahe that happens with most games. Horizon Zero dawn for instance is now selling less weekly than breath of the wild on a platform with a higher install base.

@Mahe Isn't the case for most games nowadays? They sell a ton on the opening weekend/week and then tail off as a new game comes out? It's impressive when a game still sells tens of thousands of copies weeks and months after its release. Or am I wrong on that? Are games like For Honour and Horizon Zero Dawn still selling a lot?

@Mahe actually a lot of people in this very forum thought it fail because it was already on the wiiu.

Interesting sales, meeting demand and all that. I think the strong sales for MK8 suggest that a) Existing Switch owners want content and b) MK8 is also a strong draw for people looking for a Switch.

I'm hoping for a big stock drop AND announcement at E3 to set off a fresh burst.

@Grumblevolcano Personally I think Kart/Arms/Splatoon should have been separated/punctuated by something other than a primarily online/multiplayer pick up & play....that's 3 games with the same target audience back to back in terms of major first party releases (yeah, I know Disgea is in between, but that's super ultra niche. Just south of 150k preorders is considered tremendous success, surpassing PS4's total sales.....)

Too much of the same, and too much that will move the same player base from one game to the next game all at once.

Arms and Splatoon are about a month apart though, so the timing's probably right. If Arms tanks, Splatoon marketing hype can fluff it off. If Arms is a surprise hit....splatoon might be the one to take the fall and not extend as fast in the West, but already has a solid base in Japan.

Fantastic news, It really does show how well the switch is doing. Nintendo really need a solid E3 this year though to keep up the momentum throughout the year. I am really looking forward to fifa 18 on the switch ( long as it has ultimate team )

@Mahe Switch sales didn't collapse after March. Switch AVAILABILITY collapsed after March. They had 2.7M somehow available in March based on what they started producing in 2016 to stockpile for launch. They sold through them. Since then they've been selling out faster than they can make them. Sales are lower because less are sold, because they can't make another 2.7M per month, it took months to stockpile that.

Nintendo estimates another 10M sold in FY 2017-18, which is a little under a million a month, though they're probably stockpiling some inventory to sell several of those million Nov/Dec. But that's what they expect to sell (meaning what they expect to produce), and doesn't account for demand that remains unsold.

These April sales seem to be the consequence of the unexpectedly higher demand for the Switch in March. Remember that Nintendo was forced to ship 740,000 more Switches than projected in March to (somewhat) meet demand.

Also...
Mario Kart 8 first 2 day sales: 415,000
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe firsf 2 day sales: 550,000

The "nobody will buy ports/remasters" crowd should be eating some good crow right now.

@Mahe
Sales is always going up and down. It will NEVER stay on the Top or Bottom forever. So what if the sales going down sometimes ?
It doesn't mean Switch will gonna Failed.

@Mahe Switch is number one, MK8 is number one, Zelda is number 3, they are selling everything they can get in to shops. If Nintendo are shouting about it, they're doing well

Great news but I have a question. Was ever the Wii U on top for two consecutive months?

Nintendo needs to produce more units quickly...

I think they are dropping the ball on production.

@westman98 To be fair I think the crowd that complains about remakes/remasters isn't saying they don't sell, just that they don't want them. Usually with a perception that it draws attention away from making new games they haven't played yet.

There were some being vocal about Switch launching dead on arrival because all it has was ports and remakes and they can maybe shut up now? Honestly, verdict is still out. The problem with sales bumping up against supply is it's hard to guess how far demand goes past the supply. Nintendo could be short just 5000 units for the US, for example.

I've been saying from the start that the Switch could only do well. Nintendo handhelds typically do, and it's a hybrid with a lot of physical appeal. But the games are what gets a system to sell. And the list of good times keeps on coming. Can anyone really say they're surprised at this point? I'm frikkin not.

Considering the fact that they're selling out as fast as they can put them out, it's doing as well as it can.

Mario Kart will have long legs of course.

@Mahe You're diving into the deflation of interest a little too soon. The first two months of the NS were obviously going to do well for it's own reasons, as was the case for the Wii U.

The true test will begin with how the May-June results will compare to March-April. Most of May's sales will also be Mario Kart derived, since there are no major Nintendo releases in May. June will see some renewed interest with E3, and ARMS is a wildcard (that probably won't make waves because it lacks star power). July will see more renewed interest with migrating the Splatoon base over. Then finally, the next big test will be further comparisons during the August-September lull in Nintendo's release schedule. November-December will be another couple big months, then we will see how that holds out from January-March of next year, after the hype has passed and the first big hurdles cleared.

And of course, we my never know the lost cost effectiveness from Nintendo flying in shipments to desperately try to avoid the "red light, green light" momentum that will last at least throughout the year.

@jswhitfield8 hahaa, good catch.

@Jessica286 Nope, although it came in second behind the 3DS for a while... Which isn't saying much, because the PS4/XB1 hadn't been released yet.

All good news.

@Danrenfroe2016 I don't think you have a very good grasp on the logistics of manufacturing. If they adjusted their manufacturing for demand in March, it's gonna take a few months for it to stabilize. So like June or July.

@Danrenfroe2016 They pretty much can't produce units fast enough at the moment, maybe by next year they'll be more comfortable with a steady production rate.

@NEStalgia Well, they probably needed to get the online/multiplayer titles out before the paid subscription transition in 3rd quarter... The transition from free to $60/year is going to be more jarring for those coming later rather than earlier from the Wii U. Others might be more used to the subscription model, but judging the level of service harshly compared to competitors is an inevitability.

@westman98 I wonder who exactly said such things? Nintendo ports/remasters almost always sell well.

@PlywoodStick The articles about Nintendo flying in shipments seem to have produced all kinds of beliefs that were never in the original texts. They flew in shipments for the March LAUNCH, not after. Had nothing to do with red-light green-light, it's plain old ocean freight and whenever they arrive since then. That was just to make the launch smoother when they bolstered shipments behind heavy preorders. I imagine they'll do the same at Christmas time fi demand is high, but they also don't have months of pre-produced stockpiles waiting this time.

Good point about getting the online games out before the fee, though I still think it hurts arms and is too much of the "same" audience for all the major releases after Zelda until Holiday. It makes sense, factoring in online fee, but still imbalances the lineup very very heavily (and has a second impact of creating an imbalance of lack of online games afterward when they deluge all the single player games at once.) Online needs to be spread out. One game cannibalizes the audience of the next. When Overwatch came out, the Splatoon player base thinned dramatically.

$60? I doubt that by far. Even Sony got pushback for jacking the price up like that, and that's all to pay for all the idiotic "free" games they deliver. Nintendo made clear they're not really doing the free games thing, and that should keep costs down considerably. I expect $30, maybe $20. $60 would be an exaggeration for even the worst Nintendoomer

@Jessica286
The Wii U has never been among the top 2 best selling consoles ever. In 2012/2013, it sold worse than the Xbox 360, PS3 and 3DS. In 2014 and beyond, it sold worse than the Xbox One, PS4, and 3DS.

Yay!

But... but... it's gimmicky. There's no interest. Nobody likes portability. I'VE never seen someone playing one in public. There are noooo gamezzz! These numbers MUST be wrong. /s

@Mahe

I went to my local Best Buy over the weekend and the Switch area was totally empty in terms of systems for sale. There were also no Mariokarts games available for sale. Last time I checked Amazon, there were no Switch systems available for sale as well.

Nintendo was able to build up a huge stock for sale in March for the launch, with manufacturing pumping out systems since December. However, they sold all the stock they accumulated pre launch and it will take a few months to ramp up manufacturing to produce more per month. You simply cannot expect Nintendo to put out launch level stock month after month.

I'm still struggling to find a combination I'm comfortable with. This article is helpful but has left me more confused.

I might try out a couple of combos that people here have mentioned in the comments.

@Mahe Looking at numbers out of context is always a bad idea because people will call your bluff. Sales will always be highest at launch because that's when the most stock is available & the most interest has been generated... unless Nintendo stopped selling the Switch to build up the stock again or managed to ramp production up to ludicrous speed, it'll never sell as many per month as per the launch.

Basic maths. I have four apples, you take three apples. Tomorrow you take the final apple... WHY THE HECK HAVE SALES DECLINED BY THREE QUARTERS ON DAY TWO?

Yes, Switch sales have gone down... but that's because it's doing amazingly well.

@westman98 in that case, poor WiiU and YaY to Switch.

@DanteSolablood Where does it say sales have plummeted? MK8 sold 480,000 physical and 550,000 combining physical and digital across 2 days! Nowhere in the article does it have a sales to date figure. (Honest question )

@PlywoodStick well then good news.

@GrailUK Hey Grail! I don't believe sales have plummeted at all, my post was in reply to Mahe who states they have "collapsed". You can only believe sales have either collapsed or plummeted if you ignore how real life works.

I used to work for the Office for National Statistics that handles all the official data & figures in the UK... seeing people abuse numbers annoys me a little.

@DanteSolablood AH. Thanks for that. I thought I was having a blonde moment lol.

I expect to see more "Sales went down so the Switch is doomed" comments in future sales articles.

@Pod I have a Switch and have relatively big (but not monstrous) hands. Every time I use a Joycon (like they are above) it blows my mind by how actually comfortable it is. It's sort of surreal.

Nintendo Switch games are selling real well

@Mahe
Switch sales have only collapsed because they don't have any more systems to sell. Nintendo had been producing them for several months in advance of the launch, so they had two million ready on day one, and seven hundred thaousand were being distributed throughout the month.

But now they can only sell them as fast as they can make them.

It isn't a lack of demand, but a lack of supply.