With every hardware launch, sales are always a sign of how well the market is taking up the device. This is especially important for consoles as the installed base is a key indicator of third party developer support. After a less than stellar Wii U story, Nintendo is banking on a success with their new Switch. According to various reports, the new console is performing well at launch.
According to the marketing research firms, the Nintendo Switch has sold over 1.5 million units in the first week of launch. The breakdown is about 500,000 consoles in the US, 360,000 in Japan, 110,000 in France and 85,000 in the UK. About 89% of purchasers have also bought The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which is about 1.34 million game sales. The numbers are likely still rising as well as the Switch has been available for a bit over a week at this point.
Exceeding the Wii U sales, this is good news for Nintendo. The real key to success though is long terms sales that sustain and grows the user base. The Wii U, for instance, had an initial success as great as the Wii for the first quarter but sales plummetted soon after. To see if the Switch will expand beyond the loyal fanbase, we will likely have to wait till the end of the year to label its success or failure.
