Nintendo Switch Sold The Most Consoles In the US This Past January

I hope the Nintendo Switch will be better and better. To sold more and to be more and more support by developpers and from Nintendo itself. I really think this console deserve it.

I think the Switch can keep up a solid momentum throughout the year, especially with the existence of several evergreen styled titles like Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. But I think that unless we get some sort of major game announcement for later this year, that there won't be any major jumps in momentum since all we really know of right now that is for sure coming this year is Kirby, Labo, and a couple Wii U ports really.

Yoshi and FE theoretically should be coming to the Switch this year, but I doubt either of those titles will help give some sort of major sales boost, perhaps FE to a degree, but I doubt people will be flocking to the stores to buy the new Yoshi platformer.

Very impressive, especially considering the Switch didn't even get a big game release like MH World or Dragonball.

Major third party announcements are needed.

Otherwise the Switch is looking very thin this year.

Either that or Nintendo have other games up their sleeves that we don't know about (likely), or they'll release Metroid this year (highly unlikely).

@KryptoKrunch I think that's the real kicker here, Switch pulled this off with no major game releases that month.

@NintenNinja16 You forgot Mario Tennis. And Labo has the potential pretty big, though, as it is making mainstream news in Japan and the US. The problem is that it is not going to satisfy the core audience which Nintendo wants to keep satisfied after forgetting about them during the Wii era.

I think Nintendo has some big announcements coming, though, for this year. They are devoting most of their resources to the Switch and we don't know what many of their subsidiaries and affiliates are working on.

But Switch sales were supposed to fall off a cliff in early 2018, armirite?

@westman98

@NintenNinja16 Yoshi is confirmed for this year, says right on their site. Plus you forgot to mention Mario Tennis Aces in the games coming this year. Also, project OCTOPATH TRAVELER (published by Nintendo) has been well received in the demo and trailers, and that's coming this year too. Other things Nintendo is doing is DLC for Xenoblade and the update to Odyssey. There's also some big third party games coming, such as Dark Souls, Street Fighter, Scribblenauts, Payday, Meat Boy Forever, and Shovel Knight King of Cards. Not bad so far, remember we are only in the second month of the year. Big things can still be announced this year, especially at E3.

Wait until the next Direct.

Bombs will be dropped.

@CorvoRevo Definitely. I really can't wait for the next Nintendo Direct.

There is really nothing in it between the major consoles in the USA last month.

The huge discrepancies in sales as found in Europe and Japan doesn’t really happen that often in the US.

@CorvoRevo I really hope it's soon. Starting to feel a bit of a drought, although there's still some stuff like Skyrim and Xenoblade 2 I haven't gotten to play yet. I just really, really want to know when Wolfenstein 2 will release.

Yeah, it did this without a big game in January. Safe to say 2018 is going to be another huge year for the Switch, at least in terms of hardware sold.

@CorvoRevo

Absolutely. Remember how hush hush and secretive Nintendo was about NX?

Well, they can pull that anytime they like with anything they please.

It's not worth even debating. Switch has a very bright future ahead of it. And the Wii U has already been buried for a year.

I...really liked the Wii U...

...Ahem...

I have a co-worker that just bought 1 and another that's on the verge

I'm convinced it'll keep up this pace. Last weekend when I picked up my Switch, I wasn't the only person there to buy one.

I for one welcome our Nintendo overlords.

Good, but now can I get a copy of DragonBall Figters Z for Switch!?

I'm also a little pisssed that EA screwed us over on the Burnout Paradise Remaster.

@roboshort fire emblem was announced for this year ya know

Nintendo's in a pretty interesting position.
With the success so far of the Switch all eyes are on them. They can ride this momentum if they give their consumers what they want on top of what they didn't think that wanted. IMO they should continue focus on the games and bring the extras later. Like, Labo should have been announced at the 3rd part of the year instead of early.

Honestly, I'm satisfied with my games on Switch but it doesn't mean that eventually I won't want more. I'm VERY patient for Metroid Prime 4 because I do believe they will knock it out the park when it drops.
Imagine the online that they can do with it, esp if their Nintendo online service proves to be worthy. Man.. keep patient folks.

They all doing great. All around good news.

Monster Hunter as the #1 best selling game in the USA for Jan is amazing.

@Nincompoop

"Nintendo isn't doomed right now, but they will be someday."

@Nincompoop It's actually more like this:

NES = good (hardly any competition)
SNES good (Genesis was a threat for a while)
N64 = bad (was late to the party and didn't even had disc)
GameCube = bad (no online)
Wii = good (was the only one that does something new)
Wii U = bad (was a repeat of the Xbox 360 and PS3 but with none of the appeal and support)
Switch = great (PS Vita done right)

@Nincompoop
Excuse me, sir.
The Failure of next Switch machine will NOT Happen.

@Nincompoop
That’s exactly my opinion of Nintendo TV consoles this century. “Good” followed by “not so good”... or the other way around.

It’s like success in this particular part of the industry goes to their heads and they get too confident or following a failure they wake up and see things more clearly.

I suppose they can carry on doing this as long as the successes more than makes up for the “not so good” times.

The big difference is that in the past these “not so good” times were usually financially taken care of, or covered up by the huge success of their dedicated handhelds.

Can't complain about that. The switch is doing great, now on to the Nintendo Direct. What are the odds it will be March 3rd?

It is good for Nintendo to be sure. But these good sales are going to wear off if Nintendo doesn't start dropping big name titles again. I got nothing against ports and indie titles, I buy a lot of them, but we will need more than that in the coming months to continue these trends.

@Giygas_95 I think a small drought is fine since so many amazing games come on the switch last year. I"m still trying to catch up on the games I got last year

@Nincompoop @retro_player_22 Don’t forget about:

Game Boy- really, really good
Game Boy Color- really, really good
Game Boy Advance- really good
DS- REALLY freaking good
3DS- pretty good

Handhelds are as valid a part of the “Nintendo doomed/not doomed” conversation as their home consoles, and Nintendo has had nothing but massive success with them, for the most part. I think it’s fair to say that the same trend is at least partly responsible for Switch’s success, since it’s technically just a handheld.

@Freek,

As of now the Switch has 455 games listed on it's e-Shop service,the more mainstream audience will see this as great support,whereas the hardcore market will always moan it's not triple AAA support.

As I have said before you have to think outside of the typical hardcore nich (forum posting) gaming market before you judge it's success.

As to be honest we have not got the slightest clue when it comes to why a certain piece of tech is a hit with people.

@westman98,

Have you noticed how all if the usual negative posters rarely post on articles showing that they were wrong,and when they do post they usually sat the consoles success is just a blip that will be ending soon.

Announce a Fresh new style of a 2D Mario game and it will continue to sell like hot cakes.

You only have to look at the sales comparison of New Super Mario Bros Wii and Super Mario Galaxy

Galaxy was a millions times better in every way yet the 2D game sold ridiculously better.

The Switch is losing tons of momentum. Don't get me wrong, I love the Switch, but to compare against two consoles that's been out for over 4 years is pretty sad. Of course, it should be selling better than those systems at this stage, but not by much. The release of MHW closed the gap, and with RDR 2 coming out, will only serve as the final nail in the coffin, unless Nintendo announces something major by E3. A Mario Tennis, a plain looking Kirby and Yoshi game isn't gonna cut it. I highly doubt MP4, and Pokemon will be out this year, so possibly looking at a drought, unless we hear something about some 3rd party, and not just old ports, either.

@MongolRaider,

And you realise all of this because ???????????????

@MongolRaider

Nintendo Switch outsells the all competing systems.

"The Switch is losing tons of momentum...The release of MHW closed the gap."

lol I love these hot takes...

Well, it would be a bit sad to be outsold by 5 year old consoles...

No MH: World, no Dragon Ball Fighters and switch still does great. Can't wait to see how the doom and gloomers twist this one.

Congratulations to Capcom on MH:World. Sold fantastically on not just PS4 but Xbox one also.

"Well hurr durr of course Switch should outsell the other consoles...it's new while the other systems are old hurr durr"

Video game hardware sales don't peak in Year 1. The PS4 had its best year ever in 2017, 4 years after launch. Age isn't a relevant aspect of hardware sales until the successor console has been announced or is obviously imminent.

@westman98 Seeing how the Switch is almost on par with the PS4's best year even at year 1 speaks a lot I suppose. Switch Year 1 is almost as good as PS4 year 4. To stay positive, I'm sure it'll go higher from there.

@westman98,

Again it's just opinions,we don't know the stock situation,Nintendo had a very strong finish to the year in both Japan and the U.S so supply will still be a little tight,more in Japan admittedly but the console has been tough to keep up with demand ever since launch.

No of course Nintendo will need to keep software coming and no doubt we will see something before or at E3.

@Yasaal,

No it's just a fad...........Nintendo doomed since forever.

@westman98,

It's also more expensive than the vanilla versions of those other consoles which you could buy for around $199.

@westman98 Yes I did read the article. It states that it is a tight race, and there is only a 3 percent gap between the best selling console and 3rd best selling console. Did you read the article?

@johnvboy
The PS4 reverted back to its pre-Black Friday prices after December 2017 ($299 PS4 Slim + $399 PS4 Pro)
The XBO went from $189 to $249. However, there's also the $499 Xbox One X to balance things out.

@MongolRaider
Revenue =/= Unit sales

Nobody is "losing momentum." XBO had it best January sales ever...and the Switch sold more than that.

@CorvoRevo "Wait until the next Direct.
Bombs will be dropped."

I hope it's not F bombs dropped by disappointed consumers especially after the last poor Direct and then the kiddy announcement of Labo. We need new games, especially 3rd party announcements. Where the hell are they?

@RainbowGazelle,

You can look at that two ways to be honest.

An older established console with an already decent installed base,multiple discounts and an already huge library of games will always have the potential to increase in sales.

Whereas a new console still selling at it's initial price point with a smaller list of games will have a tougher time imo.

@westman98,

Again it's a different market so comparing the Switch directly to those consoles misses the point.

Which is why there is little point to this article in the first place,all we needed to know is the switch is doing pretty well....simple.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Get a PC or PS4 already!

@Octane if people are still buying Nintendo hardware on the hope that there will be loads of 3rd party software then God help them.

There will be some sprinkles of 3rd party releases but that's all. Nobody should be acting all surprised about this.

@MongolRaider
I understand what you are saying but I don’t think the Switch is losing momentum. The older consoles have a solid library and even more important their base models are being sold at a far better price. Although Switch won the 2017 holidays NPD it was still a small percentage win.

I agree that without Pokemon etc, Switch sales won’t rocket but even without Pokemon I don’t see any significant shift in the USA sales this year with a good Nintendo Direct.

Europe is Sony land generally speaking and Japan is Switch country more or less.

Nintendo predicted 20m sales in 2018 (the Switch’s second fiscal year).
As things stand right now that ain’t happening.
Without Pokemon that ain’t happening. That’s why I am sure Pokemon is coming this holiday.

@kobashi100 Exactly. I'd like to see them on Switch, if that leads to higher sales and more support, but I've bought it primarily as a first party device. If you're moaning nearly every single day about third party support, you should've bought another console a long time ago lol.

I just finished Xenoblade, and FEwarriors DLC won't last for long, so I'm a bit scared of the drought.
PS4 may keep my time but I want to play new stuff on the switch!

@westman98 May last year actually.

@electrolite77,

People making things up on here......never.

Great news for Nintendo. I'm glad that they're competing in a post-Wii U world. Many people thought Switch was DOA, and they've been proven wrong.

@MongolRaider,

Again a post based purely on your own opinions and point of view...how the heck can you know if Nintendo are losing fans because they keep things secret?.

Perhaps the people that have bought a Switch do not want a Ps4 or an Xbox One with those types of games,as if they did they might have bought one of those consoles in the first place.

The fac that it doubles as a handheld (a personal device) should see sales continue to impress. When a household buys one they will soon realize that one is simply not enough. Brilliant on Nintendo's part

@Bizzyb,

Good point and I am sure the Wii U was a tentative step in this direction,problem with it was the handheld part was always tied to the console.

The Switch has so much potential to reach a much wider audience.

@electrolite77 Well, for me, I do own other systems, and buy games for those systems, but would like Nintendo to get a decent amount of support from third-party too, and no, not Mario+Rabbids, Nintendos got that handled with Mario titles. Anyway, Nintendo can't live off Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong etc. alone forever, (see WiiU as an example, see GameCube as example, see N64 as an example, also see Wii as an example.) And I say Wii, because despite it selling 100m units, It only catered to the casual crowd that mainly bought Wii fit and Wii sports, and was dead the last 3 years. The Wii single handily caused the Wii U to fail. It's easy to just say buy third-party on other consoles. It's that kind of thinking that will bring Nintendo down in the long run. You're thinking more short-term, while I'm thinking more long-term, like you would an investment. The Switch might be doing great now, like the Wii did originally, but what about 2 to 3 years from now, if/when it suffers a game drought? Remember, the Roman empire didn't fall in a day.

@Octane That's a terrible statement. People spend €330 on a machine, a machine that costs more than the competition but they should look elsewhere for 3rd party support? We shouldn't have to. It's fair to ask where the new games are, especially regarding 3rd parties. Even with the success of the Switch so far, they still won't commit fully. It says a lot.

So as expected, PS4 Japanese reign is due to MH hype. When that settles and Nintendo release some heavy hitters they will be back on top on Japan as well.

Still Switch has been holding incredibly well in Japan despite not having MH.

This is all great news for Nintendo.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE people buy the switch and nintendo hardware in general because they put more value into the first party games.

Unless you have been living under a rock for god knows how long why would anyone suddenly think Nintendo hardware would be flush with 3rd party support.

Also if you specifically chose the switch over PS4 or Xbox one then you must value Nintendo games higher then third party software.

If this is not the case then sorry dude, more fool you as you have clearly made the wrong decision.

look when the competition started out the prices were 400-500 dollars, and now you are going to judge a system that is not even a year old that is only 300 dollars? Pus Nintendo knows what is at stake. they have a master plan. they don't want to alienate their fan base. people, you have got to be patient. their next direct will be spectacular. and don't hate on the mini direct. they still came out with some good games. they are just getting started people.

@NintenNinja16 switch already has a solid line up this year and its not even e3

@MongolRaider lol you must live under a rock lol

@BezBot @roboshort I didn't forget Mario Tennis Aces or Octopath Traveller, I personally don't really see them as major sellers but I suppose I was wrong about that thinking about them a little bit more, they could definitely break 1 million units sold on each so I guess I should have included those with Kirby and Labo.

@Slim1999 The year definitely is far from bad or even mediocre so far from the games that have been announced for release this year, but the year in my eyes still lacks a major title, basically a game from one of Nintendo's top IPs like Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon. Perhaps the Switch doesn't necessarily need a game from one of these franchises this year (Yes, Mario Tennis is a thing, I'm talking more 2D and 3D Mario when I refer to Mario), but I still hope there is some sort of mega release of some sort for this year in the vein of Odyssey or Breath of the Wild.

@retro_player_22 The Switch is more like the Wii U done right.

@MongolRaider "The Switch is losing tons of momentum. Don't get me wrong, I love the Switch, but to compare against two consoles that's been out for over 4 years is pretty sad."

Which consoles you want it to compare against? The PS5 or Xbox 2?

Nintendo is like : Hold on...we are going to need a bigger vault for all this MONEY... go insane, go insane, make it rain, make it rain.

And this is before Pokemon.....

I think we have to all switch to Playstation to support the underdog. Forget "It prints money", we're going to need "It presses gold bullion"

@SLIGEACH_EIRE To be fair, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 were €400 at launch (Xbox One was €500 actually!).

And yes, whilst it's fair to ask, you have to take into account that the Switch is essentially a beefed up handheld device. Yes, you can play it on your TV, but it's a portable console first and foremost. Even before it came out, it was certain it wouldn't be able to run every game in the first place. This is something anyone could tell you.

On top of that, you bought the system based on the games that were released at the time, and the games that were scheduled to come to the Switch. If you bought the system based on your own predictions of games of what games it would get, that's your fault honestly. They never guaranteed Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed would come to the Switch.

And whilst it's absolutely fine to ask yourself why some third parties aren't coming to the Switch, there's no use in moaning about it every single day. Complaining about it won't make third party games appear out of thin air. I think everyone knows how you think of the system by now...

That's cool in all but at this point all we have to look forward to are Nintendo titles this year. Oh yeah and indies if you are into that kinda of thing. Maybe I need to accept that original titles new titles are not going to make it to switch. All turd parties are going to give us are ports when the cash runs out on other consoles.

@Octane Nailed it. A lot of third parties are going to be very reluctant to help a rival software company do better, especially one that sells hundreds of millions of pieces of software year in year out across two systems.

To all those people who cry about the portable compromises, or lack of third party software, it was pretty obvious from the get go what the Switch was going to receive. Xbox/PS4 level games would cause the Switch to turn to lava in your lap, a portable machine with that level of oomph would give you 30 mins game time off the battery tops unless you splash out some serious money. If you expected more then I don't know what to say.

The idea that because you pay €299 for a games console, you should then be entitled to more third party support is laughable.

@johnvboy So I guess all of your post is the gospel truth, and not based purely on your own opinion and point of view? Good to know, oh great Messiah! No point in debating with you since you're always right, and I will be wrong all the time.

Yeah, if you want the best 3rd party lineup, buy a PS4 or something to complement (not replace) your Switch. The way I see it, if you complain THIS MUCH about 3rd party support, gaming time and money shouldn't be a problem. You can get a PS4 for like $150-200 nowadays anyway.

Same reason why you wouldn't only buy an Xbox One if you're looking for a rich 1st party lineup, you shouldn't only have Nintendo if you're hungry for all the big 3rd party titles.

I still can't believe I'm reading posts on this site which mirror the sarcastic garbage nonsense I normally post, but they're actually 100% deadly serious. People that cry that the year is over in Jan/Feb. Wow... First world problems.

@KryptoKrunch yep!

Third party support is coming, guys. It takes time for games to be announced for the Switch, but they're going to come. This year we'll start to see more. WiiU only didn't get third party support because of how badly it sold. It takes time for games to be made, but they'll come.

@johnvboy I agree. And on a personal, anecdotal point, very few people outside my gamer friends I talk to have even heard of the Switch. I take it out for a sesh in bars in Brooklyn and people will typically ask, “what’s that?” These are fairly “hip” folks who are up on their media and social stuff so it’s clear marketing needs to ramp up in the mainstream arena. In other words, still a ton of potential growth here.

To echo a few comments here, I’m happy as my wishlist is long, so a little breath to catch up is personally welcome.

@electrolite77

I don't expect Switch to get third-party support in the same scope as XB1 and PS4, that's why I bought MHW on PS4, but would be nice to get something like, RE:7 Gold edition, RE:2 remake, new Monster Hunter etc., and maybe a couple good exclusives. Some people that weren't aware of the Switch, but seen the first ad during the Superbowl, might have assumed Switch would get major third-support support, since they showed footage of Skyrim and NBA 2k18. I would've bought the Switch, anyway, but for some, that may have been their sole reason. I know Switch will never get games like MHW or Red Dead Redemption 2, but it would be nice to get some less straining titles, because I really enjoyed playing Doom for the 2nd time on the go, and it was nice to play on tv too. Either way, that extra support will go a long way to help sell more Switches.

@electrolite77 That's the thing. The guy complained for months about the price of the thing and the lack of third parties, then buys it...then complains about the price of the thing and the lack of third parties.

hmmmm......

February 2017: The Switch is dead on arrival. RIP Nintendo.
February 2018: The Switch is "losing momentum" if it doesn't heavily outsell the PS4/XBO every single month.

Mind you, I don't really care who "wins" the "console wars" as long as everyone is doing well, but the goalpost-moving over the last 12 months has been both entertaining and sad. All consoles will have their ups and downs, but it should be very obvious that the Switch isn't going to "fall off a cliff" like some proclaim.

April NPD will be interesting due to the unknown that is Labo. Reception from the non-hardcore gamer seems quite positive, and early preorders are quite good from what I have observed, though things could easily change. I don't think Labo will be the next Wii Fit (and likewise I expect many to proclaim Labo as a failure when it doesn't sell 20+ million copies like Wii Fit), but it should drive Switch adoption among younger consumers, their families, and arts/crafts programs in schools.

Just having Nintendo titles and a good selection of decent indies is good enough for me! Then again, i won't be buying a switch for years yet...

@MongolRaider

MHW is a niche title and the best thing coming out for the pc + twins crowd is yet another cod game. yawn.

nothing is coming out that is important right now. first part of the year is dreary with nothing. i have enough on my sd card for the year even if nothing were launched. pretty good for 1 year in. i can't get a ps4/xb cause i have a good pc that can do better than those turds.

@MongolRaider,

Never said my post was correct,I was just pointing out that nobody can be sure why a certain piece of tech sells and another does not.

Just because you and to be honest me included see mainline Nintendo releases and triple AAA third party games as important,does not mean that the masses or more mainstream audience places the same value to them,we have already seen big increases in sales of indie titles compared to other platforms on the Switch,also a lot of indie developers are falling over themselves to get their games released on Nintendo's latest machine,I do not feel they would be doing this if there was no potential market for these titles.

But as with anything only time will tell on how the Switch maintains it's sales over the coming years,now of course I do not believe for a second Nintendo and third party publishers have not got lots of surprises in store for us,but I do firmly think that the huge amount of indie titles available and incoming will help the console stay on track.