Switch OLED
Image: Nintendo Life

Nintendo's new Switch OLED console is off to a "solid start" according to Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser, following an impressive launch month which saw Switch regain its position as the best-selling games console in the current US market.

In October, Nintendo sold 711,000 Switch consoles across the US, with 314,000 of those being the OLED model. The Switch family of systems had been the US' best-selling console for 33 consecutive months up until September 2021, when PS5 went top of the charts for the first time; thanks to the OLED, Nintendo now finds itself back on top.

Speaking to The Washington Post, Bowser explains that 2021's October sales aren't too far shy of the same period last year, which saw a boost thanks to the "anomaly" that was the COVID-19 pandemic:

"October this year is only 3 percent lower than what was sold last year, which I think we can all agree was a bit of an anomaly year when it comes to overall hardware sales. So we think this is a solid start for the OLED model. We also think this is a very strong indicator of the performance we can expect as we go through the holiday season."

In the same discussion, Bowser confirmed that 'many' of the Switch OLED units sold were purchased by those who already owned a Switch system, either as a second console for themselves or for their families.

Bowser has also shared further details on Metroid Dread's impressive launch. He reveals that the new title sold 854,000 copies in the US in October, explaining how the game enjoyed the strongest launch for any games in the series to date in the US.

[source washingtonpost.com]