Nintendo Switch Has Been The Best-Selling Console In Japan For 12 Months In A Row

That 460K first party title sales is the real figure that shows Nintendo is back on top of its game

First! Hey, that is fantastic, but it is no surprise for me. This is a great gaming device.

Never mind, second.

I just hope it can continue these numbers with the xbox scarlett and ps5 coming out next year.....

@dugan Why does it matter? Nobody cares who's first or second.

@BarFooToo Yep the real money is made in game sales. And Ninty are killing it! Long live the King.

@fadedcolors exactly. Switch is outselling PS4 and Xbox in Japan at the end of their life cycle. I’m not surprised by that. It doesn’t always oursell PS4 in NA or Europe. Switch is going to look VERY unappealing to the general public if it didn’t already once the next gen is out. Don’t get me wrong I love my switch, but I do own all 3 consoles and call it like I see it. Switch sales are probably going to be hurting about a year after ps5 comes out

@jly1987 Other prediction: It may not change a lot in the new gen. Japans market is well-suited for the Switch. They don't have a lot of space at home and adults (young and old) commute for hours and are active outside their apartment a lot. If they are working they have almost no time for fitting in elaborate glued-to-your-own-TV-screen gaming. Switch is the best option for real games right now if you can't or don't want to spend a lot of time at home for finishing a 100h RPG. Similar pattern in the West for young adults who grew up with games and are working now, just not as severe.

The Switch already surpassed the total PS4 sales in Japan in December (when around the 7mio mark) - it wasn't even out for 2 years back then.

A win is a win. Trying to compare life cycles and features/offerings is fruitless. Nintendo's forte has always been better gameplay with supporting hardware that stands out or is unique. The longer it is successful the more momentum and visibility it has for casual and less than causal gamers.

Good win and well deserved.

I’m looking forward to the next gen consoles from Sony and MS. They have to do something more than just “bigger, better, faster” this time surely?

If they go that predicted route, they will have an expensive box, a few big games and that’s it. Switch will have oodles of great software, and a likely price drop making it hard to resist for more casual gamers going into the next cycle.

Certainly some impressive numbers. But what matters more is that they keep up the quality flow of games. From the looks of it 2019 seems solid, but the quality of the games is gonna have to only get better once PS5 comes out because it wont be "the new thing" anymore.

@fadedcolors That will depend heavily on what exactly Sony and Microsoft do with their devices. Lots of rumors, but to my knowledge all we know is that they are doing something. People seem really sure it'll be 2020, but I wont believe that until they announce it themselves.

Though in Japan I don't see Microsoft ever really coming back, not unless the Xbox 420 Potato Master or whatever they name it (Yes I am still salty about their nonsense naming their 3rd Xbox, Xbox 1, and yes I know the idea behind it, and we all know how that flopped) because Xbox isn't even talked about in Japan these days. Wii U still has a bigger selection in some of my local stores than Xbone, and that's because small to mid-sized stores don't even carry the games at this point, or only like the top 3. Even at the huge electronics store in the city the Xbox section was a measy 8 games, one being a boxed download code for Minecraft...

Nintendo has a very interesting trump card; the Switch has not received any significant price cut yet. Given that there will be around 50 million Switches sold by the time next gen arrives, and production costs possibly reduced, Nintendo has a lot of room to breathe. Only way they can go wrong is if they continue with the same pricing and less games or something really stupid.

b-but, i thought the Analyst said that the switch was "a big failure"
https://nintendosoup.com/financial-analyst-calls-switch-a-big-failure-for-not-hitting-targets-nintendo-ceo-tells-investors-not-to-worry/

What went wrong in 2017 surely they should have been the best in launch year as well...

@jly1987

The Switch is the ONLY appealing console as far as I'm concerned. The PS4 is just an underpowered PC at this point, it has no interesting gimmicks to make it stand out. Some good exclusives, sure, but none that have the staying power of first party Nintendo titles and the two PS4 exclusives I really liked, I played on my lady's console.

Not trying to put PS4 owners down here, just saying that the argument that the ps5 will make the Switch irrelevant is silly. It definitely won't start outselling the Switch in Japan, and it isn't going to slow down Switch sales anywhere else. Unless the PS5 rips off the Switch's gimmick (Sony loves to copy Nintendo, so it's possible), the Switch has its own niche and a ton of people own a PlayStation AND Switch.

@Lord Monster Hunter World in January is what happened.

I hope them being on top doesn't mean them becoming ignorant fools. Usually when they are on top then tend to ignore fan feedbacks and continue to make ignorant mistakes such as not allowing external game saves, continuing to push Labo, and relesing games we don't like while continue throwing us garbage like those countless Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Game crap when they both could make another F-Zero instead.

@retro_player_22

I think the big 3 all have gotten arrogant at one point or another. Xbox did it last gen and Sony is being pretty arrogant this gen, and Nintendo has always done what Nintendo wants. I personally like an underdog better anyway, you have more to prove when you aren't on top. Look at how cool Microsoft has been lately, buying up quality studios, allowing cross play, and chumming it up with Nintendo.

@Spudtendo the switch is going to be very shortly relegated to what Nintendo has been in recent memory. Handheld games and ports. It can barely run PS4 and Xbox one stuff without being heavily modified. It’s going to be the same song and dance people will buy it if they want the Nintendo exclusives that’s it. It’s selling great in Japan because Japan is big into handheld and mobile gaming. As far as Nintendo’s first party games being better, really not sure what you’re referring to. The Sony PS4 first party catalogue might be the best in the last 20 years. If it’s not you could certainly argue it. Like I said I love my switch but I play it when I can’ play a console. Numbers don’t lie. The switch sales are going to be led by Japanese players. Western players will move on like that always have

@electrolite77 what is impressive about a two year old console outsellling stuff that’s been out for 6 years and even longer for the 3ds?

Nintendo better not let the success of the switch get to their heads, they should be striving to improve every aspect of it.
A lot of flaws are on the switch that shouldn't exist.

A well-deserved win IMO. Wonderful games can work wonders with hardware sales.

This can only be temporary. Sooner or later, everyone will already have one!

@jly1987 "what is impressive about a two year old console outsellling stuff that’s been out for 6 years and even longer for the 3ds?"
That the two year old console is going to outsell that 6 year old console in Japan in a few months.

@jly1987
76%+ of current Switch sales are from outside of Japan. That sales ratio is only going to grow in favor of non-Japanese countries.

You are probably going to be shocked when Switch sales dont magically fall off a cliff when the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett arrive.

@westman98 no I won’t be shocked at all because people are going to get tired of playing 4 year old games that are inferior to the original just because it’s portable. Nintendo console sales have gone down every generation except for the wii. They struck a niche this time and it paid off. It highly unlike for that to continue. People are going to get tired of the same old song and dance. How many times are you going to make the same games over and over

@westman98 and you can’t say I’m just a hater but again I have all 3 consoles. I play the PS4. The Xbox collects dust and I play switch on the go. But under no circumstances would I ever elect to purchase the switch version of a game over the PS4 or Xbox one version. It makes no sense.

Nintendo gets a pass on too much. I understand that on a Nintendo enthusiast site but let’s be real here. People were calling BOTW a perfect 10. One of the best open world games ever. If BOTW didn’t have the Zelda name and was an exclusive on PS4 or Xbox one the game would have gotten at best best 8 and maybe 9’s. Probably would have a meta critic around 84. Splatoon 2 is good but Nintendo’s archaic method of online hampers playing with friends. Arms was a lot of fun. Smash brothers is amazing and all the rest of the major 1st party releases have been ok. I won’t compare the PS4 first party releases because it’s got 6 years on the market, it’s not fair for me to compare that to a console with two, but the person who said that Nintendo’s 1st party releases are better than Sony’s is out of their mind

@jly1987
It's pretty clear that you are not arguing in good faith and believe that your personal opinions dictate reality rather than visible market trends.

Again, you will probably be shocked when Switch sales don't magically fall off a cliff when the PS5/Xbox Scarlett arrive.

@jly1987 The Game Boy (including the Game Boy Color) sold about 45% of its total units sold after 1997, despite it being unable to have any chance of having native ports of N64 or PlayStation games and neither did DS sales slow once the XB360 and PS3 went onto the market.

@jly1987 Well, there already seem to be plenty of people out there for whom the portability makes the Switch version of a game the superior one. Not 60FPS / 4k. There are people out there for whom it "makes no sense" (using your words) to glue themselves to their TV screen for hundreds of hours, not being able to continue during commuting, just for a slight graphical improvement. And these people seem to have plenty of money, otherwise we wouldn't see that many highly priced game ports that don't seem to get discounted (be happy that you are a PS4 fan here.. ).

If the point that people only buy because of Nintendo exclusives was true the Wii U would have sold way better.

The true danger for Nintendo will be that somebody might copy their hybrid concept at a lower price with better specs and a more attractive library. Not the next gen's big loud box.

By the way, the 3DS sold 75mio units as of the end of last year, and can still be recommended due to its excellent library (even not looking at backwards-compatibility to the vast DS library, and Virtual Console).

@jly1987

They are better than Sony's. Let's take a second to compare how many Nintendo and Sony first party games are higher than 90 on Metacritic. I don't have much else to say to you because it's clear that you're a biased Sony fan, hell I didn't see one mention of PC gaming in your replies so it's obvious that you, like a lot of other Sony diehards, like to pretend that it doesn't exist. You wouldn't be able to argue about specs otherwise. If I wanted a powerful console (don't need one, see PC gaming), I'd go with the Xbox One X, not the underpowered PS4 Pro.

Also, BotW does open world better than any other open world game I've ever played. It's a 10, easy. Sorry.

"Switch is going to look VERY unappealing to the general public if it didn’t already once the next gen is out."

Nahh, the apparent gap between Sony consoles and nintendo handhelds will continue to narrow. Compare a gameboy color to a PS1. Now compare a Nintendo Switch to a PS4. It doesn't help that projections are that the PS5 will have less than a 2x increase in graphics horsepower over the Xbox One X and less than 2x increase in memory as well.

@dugan maybe next time!

@electrolite77 if it was outside of Japan I’d be impressed. Japan has largely switched over to mobile and handheld gaming from console gaming. The switch is selling great, I agree but it’s not nearly as impressive as the headlines make it sound. It should be outselling it’s competitors right now. It SHOULD be outselling PS4 in Japan.

@ncb1397 if people cared about raw numbers outside of PC gamers nobody would be buying a switch right now. People use the numbers to argue one ign comments. All I said was that the switch outselling PS4 in Japan isn’t the impressive stat people make it out to be. Do that in the West for 12 months straight and let’s talk.

@Mrtoad the Nintendo switch is a console. Not a dedicated handheld

@westman98 I will be shocked if the switch is outselling ps5 between years 2 and 3 of the ps5 lifecycle. That would actually be a huge achievement. It’s not likely. People can same I’m looking at it from my own opinions. No I’m looking at it from the switch is not dominating PS4 in western territories when the console is around 100 million units sold and seemingly at the end of its lifecycle. The Japanese public are into mobile and handheld gaming. If the switch ISNT outselling the PS4 there it’s a huge problem. It’s ok to say hey Nintendo, good job while also realizing that the stat we’re talking about is overly optimistic

@Spudtendo if you think Botw does open world better than even half of the games on the market you have a very sad idea of an open world game. BOTW isn’t even the best Zelda. Never mind one of the best open world games. Quite a few open world games better than BOTW have come out this generation alone. Never mind if we go all the way back to the inception of the genre. I didn’t mention pc gaming because we aren’t talking about pc gaming. We’re talking about console gaming. Again which I own all three consoles. I’m currently playing smash and final fantasy 9 on my switch. I love my switch. I simply said that people are acting as if outselling PS4 in Japan is way more impressive than it really is, and that the switch is going to be hamstrung by its technical limitations very soon. Once the novelty of playing inferior ports on the go wears off, it’s going to be on 1st party Nintendo titles and quality indies to keep the momentum. Can they do it? I don’t know. I hope so because I don’t want
My switch to become a paperweight like my Wii U became a doorstop. You can call me a Sony diehard all you want. I’ve owned evrery home console from Nintendo, Sega, Sony and Microsoft EXCEPT for the PS3. The GameCube is one of my favorite consoles of all time. I’ve got more playtime on a switch exclusive (octopath) than I do on any other game this generation. I’m by no means a Sony diehard, I just don’t give Nintendo a free pass on everything like everyone else seems to

@jly1987 The portability of games on the Switch is not "mere novelty". For many people out there being able to play AAA games on the go is a necessity, and the most important selling point of a game version. I know a nerdy research department where several assistant / full professors own a Switch. Academics are one demographic that has to travel a lot.

I feel that I am repeating myself here, so I just accept now that you won't contemplate with an open mind the importance the portability factor has over slightly better graphics, and that this may be driving the sales. You may still feel the sting of disappointment of the Wii U library (though 3DS imho still has the best library of all consoles), and I will agree with you that Nintendo may not be able to keep momentum if certain 3rd party support (both new games and speculated ports) does not come. But the Switch, unlike the Wii U does have several unique selling points that make it much more attractive than the current pure stationary and pure handheld consoles for many people, especially in Japan.

@jly1987 Graphis are not everything, buddy. Although I do know a lot of westerns consider it to be like that. I have a gaming PC and a Switch and if a game comes out on both platforms, I prefer buying it on Switch. Why? Because I value the portability. Isn't it wonderful that you can take your favorite games on the go? And that surely matters more for me than staying glued to my PC because I can't play a game when I need to change location. And about PS4 games...I'm in the minority but those kind of games that are "graphic eye candy" don't appeal to me anymore. They used to, long time ago. Now I mostly go with games that are fun and also let me be flexible. I used to play a lot on PC, I used to be part of the "PC Master race, consoles suck" club, but the Switch changed my perspective on gaming. The console adapts to my needs and I don't need to adapt to the console instead. That's the magic of the Switch. A PC will run any game better than a PS4 and Xbox can, but I don't give a damn about that anymore. I can game anywhere I want now. But I do respect other people's ways of gaming, if they aren't haters about it.

@jly1987 they also make these four year old games for ps4 and xbox one. the switch has the advantage of portability you can play these four year old games anywhere.

@jly1987

But with the spec bump that the PS5 is rumored to be getting(10 tflops, 20 GB of RAM), you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between an Xbox One X version of a game and a PS5 version. So, how does a playstation home console gain notable appeal over the Switch compared to the current crop of home consoles that have similar power levels.

On the other hand, the next spec refresh for nintendo's console likely puts a decent version of any PS4/Xbox One game on a handheld system(i.e. every game out currently or to be released in the near future).

@jly1987
BTW the Switch is selling on-par with the PS4 when launch-aligned (2013-2015 PS4 sales vs 2017-2018 Switch sales), even despite its non-holiday launch, so this "2 years vs 6 years" reasoning is moot.

In fact, this entire Switch vs PS4 comparison is moot as those two platforms hardly compete directly at all. One is a hybrid system that is primarily driven by the success of Nintendo's first party hits, while the other is a dedicated power-focused consoles that us driven by the success of 3rd party multiplatform hits.

The only way the Switch and PS4/PS5 hurt each other is if the Switch's success hurts the success of 3rd party games on PS4 or if the PS4's success hurts the success of 1st party Switch games...which has not and will not happen.

@jly1987 if you can't comprehend the brilliance of what BOTW does to encourage and reward exploration in an open world game that other games can't seem to figure out, then you have a very sad idea of what makes a good open world game.

Seriously though, your opinions are subjective and people will have different feelings about BOTW, but there is a reason why their open world gameplay designs are adored by so many gamers. There are many great videos and articles out there that explain the depths of this subject and I highly recommend anyone who's interested to check them out.

Back on topic, the Switch is my favorite gaming system ever and I hope it continues to sell well in Japan because Japanese games are the best. Booyah.

@shining_nexus

Thank you, the fact that he thinks the Ubisoft open world design so many AAA games use is better than BotW's is laughable at best. Those games tend to funnel you from world map marker to world map marker to do a handful of side activities that have almost no variation from one another, all to just say that you fully completed the game. You ignore the world around you to get to the next marker as quickly as you can, there's nothing to do in the world outside of those markers and what the game tells you to do. Those types of games feel like you're touring the world on a bus instead of actually exploring it, which is what BotW does so well.

I didn't bother replying to him, just blocked him and moved on. He acts like portability isn't a big deal, which it absolutely is and it's what the Switch has over those other consoles. He probably doesn't leave his house much, but as someone who lives in Los Angeles and spends a lot of time in transit and not much time at home, the Switch is a godsend with a killer library. My favorite system since the SNES and DS.

@Spudtendo: Don't be unfair, there are many people out there who don't have to commute (a lucky position), or who don't have to travel for work. The portability is probably also no big factor for most people in education up to university, where you often still have time to game at home throughout whole weekdays.

@ashaka

My whole point is that just because he doesn't find the portability that useful doesn't mean he needs to show bias and downplay it as a selling point. I really have a hard time believing he has a Switch, and even if he does, he focuses too much on specs when it's obvious why the Switch is underpowered compared to those already underpowered consoles: the portability. A portable as powerful as a PS4 would probably have a dead battery within thirty minutes of play, it's an unfair comparison. Again, he doesn't want to talk about PC because he knows that's a more apt comparison, where the PS4 doesn't look so great. Consoles and PC are in the same category, don't kid yourself into believing they aren't. Both have to be played stationary at home (unless you get a gaming laptop), both can be played with controllers and both can be hooked up to a television. The difference is that PC is more powerful, has more options, much better deals on software, can do all sorts of other things besides play games, and has mods/etc.

Also, fully agree with @shining_nexus in their opinion that Japanese games are the best.

@Spudtendo OK, I agree about the bias.

@datamonkey @Rob3008 No, it doesn't really matter who posts first, but come on, we are gamers. We can make all things into a game. Thanks for the encouragement, Rob3008. Now, I am going back to my boss fight in my RPG.

The Switch is doomed, it has no games, why is everyone buying it? #GetAPS4ProMiniDXWhatever

We always get so many updates on the sales in Japan and that's great, but aren't the majority of sales in north America? That would be much more interesting to hear about.

@saturn_hero

Not really, NA has pretty bad taste in videogames if Call of Duty shootaman and Fortnite being the most popular games are anything to go by.

@Spudtendo
Definitely agree about North America's taste in video games, but I'm nearly positive North America sells more Switch hardware and software then Japan just for the fact that there is so many more people in NA. It's amazing how much Japan sells though in such a smaller country.

@dugan Maybe an actual video game would be a better thing to play!

@dugan Yuck. Don't bring that annoying YouTube comment trend of being first over here. No one cares and people will loathe you for it.

@flapjack-ashley Sorry, I don't do you tube, so I did not know it was an annoying trend. I will stop.