The Switch Is About To Top Japanese Wii U Sales Record
Nintendo's hybrid console is poised to overtake the Japanese Wii U sales number in the coming weeks.
It's a matter of public record that the Nintendo Wii U wasn't a very productive sales venture — the system just didn't resonate with players in the same way that past company consoles have. The Switch, on the other hand, is a totally different story: it's recently become the fastest-selling Nintendo console of all time, and the company is expecting to have sold 14 million units worldwide by March of next year. In fact, the system has been so successful that the Switch is about to overtake the all-time Wii U sales number in Japan — the hybrid handheld has so-far sold just under 2,990,000 units in Japan, meaning it's only around 330,000 sales away from zooming past the Wii U's overall sales across its entire five-year lifespan.
This is big news not only because of the high numbers, but because the Switch will effectively manage to top all of the Wii U's Japanese success in less than a year. Using averages, the Wii U in Japan managed to sell around 55,000 units per month for the five years it was available, whereas the Switch has been selling almost 75,000 units per week in Japan alone over the past 10 months it's been on the market.
Beyond just Japan, the Wii U managed to sell 13.56 million units across its lifespan throughout the entire world; seeing as how the Switch is anticipated to move 14 million worldwide systems by March, the Switch is perfectly poised to beat the Wii U's global sales record in just one fifth the total time.
Needless to say, Nintendo will be happy with the system's success. Players should be, too, as both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey are top contenders for Game of the Year, meaning not one but two of 2017's biggest games are Nintendo Switch exclusives. Nintendo is already working on the next Zelda game, too, meaning there's more than enough reason for players worldwide to embrace the hybrid system.
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replyKevin Tucker posted a new article, The Switch Is About To Top Japanese Wii U Sales Record
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Makes sense, being truly portable makes a huge difference.
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Yes, and when you consider that the Switch is now their Portable System and their Home Console system put into one... those numbers actually SHOULD be high. Moving forward as the 3DS slowly dies off... the Switch numbers should equal at least the Wii U + 3DS numbers in previous years because they are basically only making one system now.
However you look at it, they are definitely kicking ass with this system, and it's getting tons of support. The library is really starting fill up with some great titles (and tons of smaller ones).-
I find myself wondering what the Wii U’s trajectory would have been if
a) they had just named it the Wii 2 or something
b) if BOTW hadn’t been delayed multiple times
I still think it would have sold less than the Wii but consumer confusion coupled with lack of a strong library just didn’t work.
Granted part of what makes the Switch work is its portable nature. The Wii 2 would still have had lackluster third part support, as opposed to the Switch which is underpowered compared to PS4/XBO but people are begging (and getting) AAA games ported over because portable is just awesome as it turns out.-
The Wii U needed to launch a year earlier than it did, with a less bloated OS and a better name (even "Wii Too" would have worked as people understand what a pun is).
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think we see DS titles get ported over at some point? I'd love to play that link between worlds game.
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Problem is that they all use a second screen in some capacity. I think an ALBW sequel is more likely than the original game being ported over.
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