Nintendo now has the top two slots.
The Switch's first ten months have put Nintendo into a Wii position.
Nintendo confirmed today that 4.8 million Switches have been sold in the United States in the first ten months, a 20% increase over the Wii that previously held the record. The numbers are based on Nintendo internal tracking.
Game sales for major Nintendo titles were also announced in proportion to Switch sales. Super Mario Odyssey has sold to 60% of Switch owners for at least 2.88m copies, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold to 55% of Switch owners (>2.64m), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 50% (>2.4m) and Splatoon 2 20% (>960,000).
I wonder if it is possible for Switch to outsell Wii lifetime sales.
Switch is exactly what I wanted as a game console, and I'm extremely happy to see it appeals to a lot of other people as well.
it's just that the console's concept of having a big touchscreen controller that's tethered to the same building the system is in made no sense. It wasn't something anyone thought of asking for and there wasn't an obvious benefit to it.People had been asking for a Wii U-like solution. It's inconvenient when the TV, sometimes the only TV, is occupied. The obvious benefit was the ability to use the console while another person uses the TV the console is connected to for anything else. The execution of this concept just didn't lend itself to being successful or particularly useful. The GamePad's range, both in wireless connectivity and general practicality, was not conducive for what anyone wanted to do with it. Wii U couldn't run Netflix and a video game at the same time. Being tethered to the same building was limiting, but walls and ceilings prevented users from taking the GamePad anywhere in said building. Nintendo wanted to bring people together in the same room even if one person was playing a game except people wanted to do more but couldn't whether by technological limitations or questionable design decisions.
Nintendo merely had to sacrifice its preference of selling to two different markets. However, one could argue there's only one market that Nintendo continued to sell two pieces of hardware to well past the point that it was appropriate to do so, and market trends would have eventually forced Nintendo's hand had it not willingly merged its hardware divisions.
I get the size issue but who's to say as the tech becomes cheaper they can't shrink it down in a later model to make a pocket sized version?I definitely think a Lite Switch is more likely than a Switch Pro. That's a discussion for a different time. I only bought Nintendo handhelds for exclusives, and since I already have a Switch, I wouldn't personally "downgrade" for the sake of portability. The nature of most hybrid devices is that they usually do one thing better than the other. Once docked, the console experience hasn't been compromised.
This is anecdotal I know, but every single person who's ever played on my own Wii U system never understood the point of the GamePad and didn't like it, for a variety of reasons. Though, as someone who doesn't like it meself, I had trouble coming up with reasons it's worthwhile. Super Mario Maker was the only one I could ever sell anyone on. But I've never sold the system to anyone.That's about right. In fact, by the middle to end of 2015, I was actively talking a friend out of purchasing a Wii U, advising him to wait for NX instead.
I always felt the Wii U's "free up the TV" concept was addressing an overly specific problem that:So? There are plenty of couples and more importantly, whole families which have been Nintendo's bread and butter audience for nearly three decades by the time Wii U came out.
A. Single people couldn't give two shits about.
B. There are numerous other ways to "solve" without needing a $100 controller.That still doesn't change the fact that the GamePad was a solution to a problem that has persisted longer than Nintendo has sold hardware. You try to hand-wave it away as "overly specific" yet people have complained about this for literally decades. All the things you listed still cost money, sometimes more than a one-time purchase controller that is included with the console making it objectively more convenient for the goal here. And I don't even know why you brought up 3DS because it has its own set of games. If a person wanted to play a home console game, they couldn't if someone was using the TV so 3DS is not solving anything related to this discussion.
I also really helps that Nintendo has been able to release a steady stream of game. Seriously, comparing the retail published games Nintendo released on the Wii U's first 10 months to the Switch is literally night and day.
Wii U
1st - New Super Mario Bros U, Nintendo Land
2nd - Nothing
3rd - Nothing
4th - Nothing
5th - Lego City Undercover
6th - Nothing
7th - Nothing
8th - Game and Wario
9th - Nothing
10th - Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101
Switch
1st - Breath of the Wild, 1-2 Switch
2nd - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
3rd - Nothing
4th - Arms
5th - Splatoon 2
6th - Mario/Rabbids
7th - Pokken Deluxe
8th - Fire Emblem Warriors, Mario Odyssey
9th - Nothing
10th - Xenoblade 2
I mean just wow. There's literally an 8 month gap between NSMB U and Pikmin 3 and between that gap the only 2 games were Lego City Undercover and a Wario Ware spinoff. That system was just not ready to release in the state it was at all. The Switch on the other hand has been pumping out something almost every month, with many being pretty major as well. With the Switch looking to have the full support of Nintendo's entire development teams, this kind of continued support should be the new normal.
Like with the Wii U that release schedule is pathetic to begin with but in those first nine months the best game is a 2D Mario platformer. Who the hell is going to buy a system for that? Even if the Switch had a similar drought it's launch title was Breath of the Wild. THAT'S a killer app. The Wii U's first ten months are like as bad as you could do while the Switch is the opposite. If Nintendo had NSMB style titles released with the frequency of the Switch's schedule that would probably work quite well. If they had a bare schedule but launched with Breath of the Wild then it would probably work. They did BOTH! I never for a second believed they were capable of delivering this flawlessly. They finally got their act together!
Wii UYou forgot Nintendo's best games for the Wii U during that time, SiNG Party, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Wii Sports Club. It's pretty clear you're biased against the Wii U and trying to make it look bad.
1st - New Super Mario Bros U, Nintendo Land
2nd - Nothing
3rd - Nothing
4th - Nothing
5th - Lego City Undercover
6th - Nothing
7th - Nothing
8th - Game and Wario
9th - Nothing
10th - Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101
It's funny to think of how the failure of the Wii U is one of the keys to success with Switch. Just look at all the completed Wii U games the Switch is able to pilfer thanks to no one playing them the first time.
It's funny to think of how the failure of the Wii U is one of the keys to success with Switch. Just look at all the completed Wii U games the Switch is able to pilfer thanks to no one playing them the first time.
