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Everyone is well aware that Wii U was a disappointment for Nintendo, selling far fewer units over its lifetime than Nintendo expected. This fact has made the Switch launch that much more significant as people wondered if Nintendo had perhaps lost some of its magic. With the Switch’s launch now part of history, Nintendo is thankfully reporting some impressive results.
First, in Nintendo’s homeland of Japan, the company sold about 330,637 Switches from March 3-5. Compared to previous launch weekends, Wii sold 371.936 units and Wii U sold 308,570 systems. Meanwhile, physical copies of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were purchased 190,060 times; digital sales numbers haven’t been released.
Moving to Europe, Nintendo has confirmed that Switch is the company’s best-selling console ever during its first weekend on the market, while Breath of the Wild is now the best-selling launch title over the same period, topping even Wii Sports which was not included with Wii in Europe. Total numbers for Europe weren’t released, except for France where 105,000 units were sold, thus making it the best console release ever in the country. French gamers also bought Zelda in droves, with 96,000 copies being bought for Switch and 34,000 for Wii U.
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 02: In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, chats with Captain Nintendo, the first buyer of the Nintendo Switch system at the Nintendo NY store on March 2, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Nintendo of America) *** Local Caption *** Doug Bowser
Finally, in America, Nintendo has yet to release specific numbers, but the company did confirm that in the first two days on the market, Switch sold more units than any other Nintendo console and Breath of the Wild outsold every other standalone launch title.
All of this information is quite impressive, and is made even more notable that the system was released in March, rather than in the usual holiday slot. Of course, strong launches don’t always translate to long-term success, but there’s no denying that Switch and Breath of the Wild are starting from a very strong position.
