NPD: Switch Sold More Units In Q3 2020 Than Any Platform Since The DS In Q3 2009 (US)

@GrandScribe it needs to be affordable.

Nintendo Switch needs more color variations (White, Blue, Silver, Red, Green, Yellow) to attract more audiences as it still only have Black color on dock, Switch body tablet and Joy Con grip.

Needs more power

If the Switch outsells the Nintendo DS, I would screech like the stupid fan I am.

Obviously they have to make a more powerful Switch for that to happen, but if Nintendo just keeps making amazing titles, working with publishers, make the Switch easier to develop for, etc., I think that the Switch could hit PS2 height of sales.

I technically bought my switch this year. So thats a thing.

I have had my Nintendo Switch since close to launch, and there is no other system I currently own, that I play as frequently as this one. I love playing SNES classics on it!

Everyone saying it needs this, or it needs that - read the article headline again, clearly it doesn't need anything else.

It could potentially go past double what Xbox One sold in its lifetime by the end of this year too.

Will its sales surpass PS4 and create a new milestone for the XSeX and PS5? Will it dethrone the PS2 in its lifetime sales?

PS2 was popular as a default system to the point low income countries still had people buying it for a gaming system and DVD player, but also because of pirated games.

Switch is still expensive in many countries, to the tune of $500 in Brazil, but if it ever had capabilities of a smartphone and could have a SIM card, then the Switch would win automatically.

@GrandScribe
Read the headline to the article specifically DS in 2009 and ask yourself if what you want actually matters in terms of hardware sales. Games push hardware not the other way around, the market that is buying Switches for games like AC has no idea what ram does or that the chips are from 2015.

@GrandScribe The battery life was good for when it launched, and the revised model brought it up significantly anyways. Also, the RAM is perfectly suited for the included CPU/GPU, and resolutions the system is capable of, while the chips in the current model are equal in power to the Tegra X2. It's a mobile device at the $300 mark, there's only so much they can do.

That said, bluetooth audio should definitely have been an option (even with the whole 7 channel limit issues). Party chat... I guess some people might care about that? Idk

Here's hoping Nintendo will use this money to make a successor to the Switch (when it's time comes of course) that has far more features. Like the 3DS did.

They should have made it 4K ready, more powerful than the PS4, with better battery life and much much cheaper!! They clearly don’t know what they’re doing!

For now I can't see the Switch reaching DS-like sales. I think it needs to catch up to the Wii first. If they really plan on the Switch to go past beyond the usual 5-6 year life-cycle then it's pretty possible as long as they keep reinvigorating the Switch line. 3 years in for the Switch and I feel there absolutely needs to be a revision ASAP.

I beefier system would be great even just slight for constant frame rates. I don't care about Bluetooth. I don't need anything that's minor (for me) and another thing that'll hammer battery life.

@sandman89

Exactly. Crazy that people to this day don't realize how every extra bell & whistle that they want added will inflate the price. Some gamers need to get with reality.

@HotGoomba___Rebrand Switch reaching Wii sales numbers i can see this happening, but reaching DS sales numbers is gonna be very difficult to archive.

Nice, but l'm still looking forward to an upgrade version of it.

@gameboy1975 Not always though. As manufacturing costs go down potentially the successor can match the cost of the previous model. We've seen that way too much with the DS and 3DS line. But yes, if they're adding major features that'll warrant significant increase in costs than yeah. That's why they need to balance that with other models for the conservative buyer.

Switch is problaby gonna end it lifecycle in 2023 with 100/105 milions consoles sold, i don't expect and hope Switch to reach DS/PS2 sales numbers, when Switch end it lifecycle in 2023.

@Giancarlothomaz I mean you're right, it likely won't happen, but it's possible.

The switch needs a good price drop now, I mean the xbox series s is £250 yet has way more graphical power and Ram with 4k and 120fps on some games, yet the switch still retails for £350?

Also in terms of the switch selling more than anyone else is Q3 id down to the current gen consoles running out of life due to next gen coming, not many people would get a ps4/xbox one knowing the ps5/series X is coming out this year

"Any" platform?

How about the latest iPhone?

@Pod how about tables? You can play games on tables.

I finally joined the switch world this year! Much later than I would've liked but at least I had an assortment of great games to buy from my day one, aka August 2020 lol.

@Lordplops
How could I forget.

That’s because of all those great new releases by Nintendo in Q3!!!

Oh wait...

It will outperform Xbox series X and PS5 easily

@koekiemonster
Nintendo launched Paper Mario Origami King and Mario 3D All-Stars last quarter, both of which were huge successes for their respective franchises.

Switch is selling like the NDS at its peak, and ya'll are still acting like it needs a price cut or some massive Pro upgrade to sustain momentum and avoid falling off some fabled sales cliff?

XSX|S and PS5 just launched to record sales, yet Switch continues to fly off shelves.

@westman98 There’s no denying that the software for q3 and q4 have been underwhelming though. I fully expected something big to have been kept under wraps to steal some limelight from the rival console launches, but it seems there’s nothing ready. You can blame COVID etc but still, a company with the resources of Nintendo shouldn’t ever run into the peak buying window without at least 2 major releases IMHO.

@GrandScribe disagree with this, the fact it is handheld at a decent enough spec is what has driven sales. infact there is no reason for Nintendo to move to Switch 2 anytime soon as sales are increasing later in the consoles life. Whoever came up with the idea has done incredibly well, it wasn't long ago I was watching Youtube videos announcing the death of Nintendo as a hardware manufacturer and saying they should just release games on PS4!

I'm quite sure the Switch will continue to be a beast. I'm really looking forward to NVidia's tech and Nintendo's creativity.

The next quarter (October - December) is going to be the most interesting. While I still think Switch will be the best selling system for it (the handling of preorders for both Series X/S and PS5 were absolutely awful), Switch hasn't really had any competition for most of its life.

@UltimateOtaku91 you don't price drop a product when it is flying off the shelves! Who in there right mind would be silly enough to do that?

I wonder what sales will be like from this week until end of March 2021, with the two new systems on the market. Will they affect Switch Sales in all regions.

@Lordplops Table is winning the console wars. My household has several!

@kobashi100 you do when a new set of next generation consoles come out and you want to come out on top over this holiday season, plus being the same price as a ps5 which is next gen and £100 more than the series S is just not value for money.

I think all this frame rate talk is just poor optimisation from developers rather than a hardware issue.

@westman98 For the players it was kinda meh. Old ports are fun, absolutely. But those shouldn't be teh main attraction.

Paper Mario was a step up, but not as good as the N64 and Gamecube games.

So records based on releases it's absolutely not..

Why do people keep saying there should be a price cut? There will naturally be one when the switch pro or whatever Nintendo are cooking up, comes out next year.

@koekiemonster
It doesn't matter how good you think Paper Mario is or whether Mario 3D All-Stars is a port collection or not - those two games were big successes that helped drive Switch sales to near-record breaking numbers during the quarter.

Other smaller titles, Animal Crossing, Ring Fit, and the myriad of evergreen titles from years prior also helped greatly.

@UltimateOtaku91

Very different things. The XBSX and PS5 aren’t portable, don’t play Nintendo games and also aren’t readily available.

@Anti-Matter Animal Crossing dock is white. One of the reasons I got it.

@westman98

There’s a funny cognitive dissonance thing going on here. Well two actually.

1) Posters who seem to actually think Nintendo haven’t released anything at all this year (if you count Hone Circuit they’ve released 10).

2) Posters who seem to think that if they don’t like what was released it doesn’t count or contribute to the Switch’s success.

@thiswaynow

To a lot of eyes, Mario 3D All Stars is a huge release (source - see sales).

@UltimateOtaku91
Even if the Switch is more expensive than XSS and the same price and PS5 (it isn't), it still won't receive a price cut because it is flying off of shelves and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

@electrolite77
"Nintendo needs to more games to sell more hardware"

Nintendo releases games that sells a lot of hardware

"No, no, not those games!"

@UltimateOtaku91 utter madness! It's irrelevant what the price of the competition is when you have a machine in huge demand. You seem to think that with switch at the current price it's gonna struggle in Q4. Spoiler alert but Q4 will see switch have monster sales. Yes a price drop will happen eventually but to say they should do it now is truly astonishing. I have Never heard of a business model that supports the theory of dropping the price of a product when it's selling crazy numbers.

@GrandScribe,

We see a lot of stupid comments on here, but your opening one on here takes the gold medal, typical internet posting minority views at their finest, I want a more powerful Switch with a longer battery life, so everybody else wanted one too, and the sales would have been even better.

Just goes to show how out of touch with what the majority of buyers actually want, but say it as a fact.

@UltimateOtaku91,

Yes the console is selling like hot cakes at full price, so it needs a price drop, I would not recommend you get a job making financial decisions for anybody.

@johnvboy the switch is selling like hot cakes lately as its only competition we're ps4 and xbox one which we're at the end of their generation and dying off so the switch was the "new" console on the scene, then there was this pandemic which has helped sky rocket the switch sales but what happens when this "vaccine" arrives and normality returns plus the release of the new next gen consoles? Don't get me wrong I love my switch but people around me are all talking about the next gen consoles and seeing if they can get one for Christmas etc the switch doesn't have much in terms of games coming out before Christmas so to me it needs a price drop or maybe a reallu good bundle if it wants to continue with these impressive sales. I'm pretty sure the 3ds had a price cut aswell and its units sky rocketed after that?
Maybe the next 5-6 months will prove me wrong I don't mind if they do or don't as I already have a switch, or maybe they will price drop when/if they bring out a pro version

@UltimateOtaku91.,

We will have to see, but I think it's a bit premature to call for a price cut when we do not even know what Nintendo have planned for a Switch revision as yet, the new console could replace the current one, as I very much doubt Nintendo want three different variations on sale at once, and the lite is always going to feature.

Plus the Ps4 and Xbox One and their new variations have nothing to do with this, the market the Switch is aiming at is way outside of this, funny how we always want to lump them together as consoles, then the Switch sells well and it's suddenly a handheld in a different marketplace.

@electrolite77 It's the old "we've got nothing to play..." comment section sob story where they speak for everyone, cry about Wii U ports when I guarantee the vast majority of Switch owners don't even know what a Wii U is or what games came out on it, and as you said because they don't like a game, it doesn't count as an actual release.

@WiltonRoots,

The comments on here from the internet posting minorities never fail to raise a smile.

@electrolite77,

Ah but they have not released Zelda 2, Mario galaxy 3, Metroid 4, and F-Zero future circuit, so basically a load of games they personally wanted, but everybody will feel the same, they are just buying the console and games released this year because there is nothing else to buy.

@johnvboy Usually it's people who spend more time playing games than normal people work in a week.

In my household, we got one in the end of 2017 and one last year. I'm pretty sure there are more families who have more than one Switch, like mine

And I'm really happy with it. I don't believe it's gonna get near the DS's numbers, but why is it necessary? The system is a huge success, its library is great, there's something for everyone's taste. What I'd really like to see, but I know it's not gonna happen, since we're talking about Nintendo here, is to have older AAA games' prices reduced. It's just fair. And I'm not talking about a 25% discount two times a year

@WiltonRoots,

So true, I played a lot of Animal crossing during lockdown, now back in the more normal world with my job and other commitments not so much, but of course some will never realize this as they think everybody is the same as them, and buys things for the same reasons too.

I still haven’t purchased a Switch yet, although I do plan on getting one some day. Hopefully when it drops in price or a newer better model is released. Nintendo can therefore bank on 1 extra sale to add to that 68m+ at some point in the future. I’m sure they’re waiting in anticipation for it.

I'm glad it's so successful as the Switch is probably my favourite system ever. The hybrid nature of the system just fits my lifestyle so well

It's just that Switch and PC is the ultimate combo. Anything else is useless to me.

It needs a price cut as it’s selling extremely well.

S

@UltimateOtaku91 PS4 and X1S were same price or cheaper than Switch from launch. Pro and 1X were just released as well. That didn't stop the Switch to sell the same as the PS4 launch aligned AND the PS4 to have it's second best selling year (only sightly behind the release of Slim+Pro year).

Switch targets a different market for the most part and the overlapping market isn't a problem, because earlier adopters had a PS4 when the Switch launched and have a Switch now that the PS5 launched, while people who waited 3 years to buy a PS4, waited 3 years for the Switch and aren't getting PS5 on launch. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part people aren't chosing between Switch and next gen, like they're doing with SX and PS5.

Like the Switch success didn't stop the PS4, next gen aren't stopping Switch's either. Switch sales is peaking now and will most likely slow down in 2021/2022, but that would happen even if next gen weren't coming.

@johnvboy I understand the switch is doing it own thing compared to the competitors and that's good as there's no point having 3 consoles that can do and play the same things, I just thought a price cut would keep the high sales rolling and shift some stick before they announce the switch pro (maybe).
Let's say they keep the £300 price tag and sell 5 million units in the next 6 months that's a total of £1.5 billion or a price cut to £220 and they sell 7 million units comes to a total of £1.54 billion but an extra 2 million consoles meaning more software sold which means more money.

Obviously that is all speculative but it helped with the 3ds it helped keep the 3ds alive longer and shifted more units, and if not now then maybe late next year

Keep selling, baby! The more that sell, the more likely the business case will make sense for niche titles. And third party support that develops specifically for the system.

Also, it’s going to need Mother 3

@John_Deacon a Nintendo Selects line for Switch would be awesome. I don’t think that’s going to happen with games looking cheap compared to xbsx and ps5, but maybe some price reductions for your Kirby and Yoshi games that probably have leveled off and aren’t evergreen sellers.

I got my 1 nintendo system the switch in may had a hard time finding it tho i got one at target. Then i got the animal crossing switch for my birthday and gave my old one to my brother.

Anyone remember the doomsayers here when the Switch was announced? 🤣

@Fandabidozi very well. Tbf, they're trolls, don't put stock into many things they say. When my wife saw the first ad for Switch she said "wow, that's cool". Based on my semi-gamer wife's reaction, I could tell Nintendo had a hit on its hands.

@1UP_MARIO,

It's only been selling well because of the pandemic, well according to some on here, the fact the console has been selling well since launch escapes them.

@IronMan30,

Best comment.

Core gaming types have little to no idea when it comes to buying motives, they assume everyone buy things for the same reasons they do.

@Fandabidozi Oh yeah. "Nobody is going to spend that much on a Switch!!!?!??!" was a favourite of mine, like videogames is a cheap hobby. They're the same people that spend £500 on a PS5 then some games. If I do another bingo card I definitely need to add "it's too expensive!" to it. Bunch of tight sods. So tight they squeak when they walk. So tight that when they fart only dogs can hear it. So tight they take their kids to the pet shop and say it's the zoo.

XSX|S and PS5 just launched to record sales, yet Switch continues to fly off shelves.

@westman98 In fairness, we lack specific data on the Xbox launch; we've only the qualified statement about surpassing the single-day sales of prior generations. As for Sony... let's wait a few hours, no?

This is great and all, but I think all 3 companies will get an unfortunate reality check when the world goes to a (more) normal state and video game hermits become a niche rather than the majority again. I'ts great the consoles are selling so well but I'm a little afraid of what happens when invenstors retract their funds and demand impossible expectations based on 2020 numbers rather than casting them off as an anomaly and recognizing it was a temporary phenomenon for the category, not the actual sales indicator to match.

There's also the cloud streaming menace. Once Amazon starts bundling game streaming for free with Prime and the like, a lot of that casual market will shift over to playing services on their phones and tablets. That's going to ruffle the numbers for Switch as well. Just as DS and Wii was unchallenged for a casual audience until phones arrived and the masses shifted their interest to the cheaper to play device they already had, streaming stands to do the same, siphoning the Switch player base to devices they already have and services they already subscribe to. Nintendo doesn't handle competition and disruption well, so we might see an ugly lull following the surge until they find a new market again.

@UltimateOtaku91 I think Nintendo likely planned for that with the hardware revision. It's not quite the same as a whole new platform, but a hardware refresh that's visibly different with some feature or gimmick that renews the hardware will help it look "new" on the shelf next to the other hardware. Plus it's clear they've been stockpiling all their games in the vault to release, "just in case" while momentum alone carried them. If they don't need them for Switch, they'll hold them and dust them off for the next platform for a strong launch year.

@Chimera_Police Switch games look cheap only next to Sony, but even that is temporary. Sony discounts their first party games, deeply, and fairly rapidly. Nintendo doesn't. XBox all but confirmed they're sticking with the old prices and does the subscription pricing that bundles all third party, so they're easily the cheapest of the 3.

Not direct competition in that regard though, neither makes (many) games that hit the same audience as Nintendo games.

Man! Wonder what the record for sales for an exclusive title in a year is? Animal Crossing has 26million in 8 months already? I know GTA, Call of Duty, Madden.... all sell a lot across multiple platforms, but do they sell 26million in 8 months (even across multiple consoles?)?

@rdrunner1178 I would safeny bet animal crossing has the largest sales figures for a game within 12 months of release.
Only Gta would run it close

@rdrunner1178 some might. Think Call of Duty titles sell 20-30mm generally, though I’m not sure how many copies sell in their first eight months. It’s not an easy comparison with Call of Duty hyped for holiday spending and - to be fair, I would expect AC to sell a ton in the next two months with the holidays, assuming they’re able to print them. Either way - pretty dang impressive attach rate for the big N.

@COVIDberry
I can also assure you that PS5 will have the biggest PlayStation launch ever in America.

The point is that two new big consoles launching 2 days apart haven't done anything to dampen Switch sales.

Love how people think they know better then Nintendo but are just couch potato commentator. Notice they don't work for Nintendo R&D Teams.

I purchased my Switch about a year(!) ago. No regrets! 😁

I love my Switch, I really do. However until Nintendo gets their system to be competitive specs wise, it's always going to be skipped on most of the triple A games from publishers. I'm so tired of seeing all the new triple A games announced, and 95% of the time they don't get released on a Nintendo platform. I would love to play a modern Assassin's Creed, Red Dead Redemption 2, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Battlefield, CoD, the list goes on and on and on. We can't even get GTA 5 on the system. The vast majority of the games I play on the Switch are either Nintendo developed games, or indie games. Sure there are a lot more 3rd party developed games making their way to the system. But most modern triple A developed games, always skip the Nintendo platforms.

@sandman89 they could've easily ate the cost of putting in a better more powerful and energy efficient but not cutting edge chips and a decent battery. Developers managed some real marvels like bringing the Witcher 3 to the Switch but we've missed some games because of the Switch's limitations. I fear that the gulf between the Switch 2 and the PS5 and Xbox X series is gonna widen so much that a lot of games don't ever make it to the Switch 2 once that happens and that won't be good for anyone.

@link3710 By the fact Nintendo updated to more energy efficient chips with the v2 Nintendo found the original's battery life lacking.

@Dragonstar
There's always going to be comprise when talking about a portable console for $200-300. Even if Switch misses most current AAA games it does get most of the best 7th gen AAA games which are a much better fit for the system. Be it Borderlands 1, 2 and PreSequel, Bioshock 1, 2 and Infinite, Metro 2033 and Last Light, Assassins Creed 3, 4 and Rogue, Saint's Row 3 and 4, Sniper Elite v2 and 3, Resident Evil 5, 6, Revelations and Revelations 2, etc. Almost all look top notch and have gyro aiming.

And that's not to say Switch doesnt get a fair share of current gen games. Be it DOOM, DOOM Eternal, Mortal Kombat XI, Sniper Elite 4, XCOM 2, The Witcher 3, Civilization VI, Immortals Fenyx Rising, etc.

Not to mention the exclusives from 3rd parties like Monster Hunter Rise, Monster Hunter Stories 2, Shin Megami Tensei V, Bravely Default 2, No More Heroes 3, Bayonetta 3, Astral Chain, Mario Rabbids, etc.

Mobile tech is advancing, and Nvidia's DLSS is a game changer. Next generation is going to see the gap between portable and home consoles shrink even smaller. We've seen better 3rd party support for Switch than any other Nintendo platform since the SNES. Take the W, and next gen we'll see even fewer games missing out as the power gap closes and Nintendo gains even more trust from 3rd parties as a viable platform.

Switch sales will fall off a cliff after...
> Breath of the Wild hype dies down
> Mario Odyssey hype dies down
> Xbox One X is released
> big PS4 and XBO Black Friday price cuts take into effect
> all hardcore Nintendo fans have bought one
> Smash Bros Ultimate hype dies down
> that permanent Xbox One X price cut takes into effect
> Switch Lite launch hype dies down
> Pokemon Sword/Shield hype dies down
> Google Stadia launches
> PS5 and XSX are officially announced
> Animal Crossing hype dies down
> pandemic lockdowns come to an end
> XSS is officially announced
> XCloud leaves beta and launches
> PS5 and XSX|S are released?

@GrandScribe Yes the original model was definitely on the low end, but given that's fixed in the model that's in stores now, I don't think that's an issue affecting sales at present.

@westman98 funny how people keep moving them goalposts everytime they get proven wrong.

@Dragonstar which has been the way since the GameCube which was a huge flop. Nintendo are never gonna jump back into the same space as Sony and MS. The theory that Nintendo will suffer without AAA games is ridiculous. Nintendo can be hugely successful without that software. The evidence is there for everybody to see. The video game market is clearly big enough for Nintendo to do there own thing.

Some analyst will say “because it’s not selling the TOTAL number of the DS’s every single month then it’s a failure.”

@GrandScribe it’s easy saying that in hindsight but they did not know how well it would sell.

@sandman89 that is a fair point especially given how bad the Wii U sold. The Switch has done so well they don't need to be cautious with the Switch 2's hardware. They could use the Switch's success to leverage a more favorable contract for components.