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GameStop - Switch sales "Phenomenal", high attach rate, "Could eclipse Wii"

JordanN

Banned
Wii was lightning in a bottle at the absolute best time, eclipsed only by PS1 and PS2.

Outta here with that talk, GameStop.
It's not even that. The Wii existed before Apple took over the casual market.

To get those same sales again, it has to come from either the PS4/XBO market, or the people who play Free-2-Play/99 cents games only. Neither of which Switch appeals too.
 

Oregano

Member
Geez, calm down with the Wii comparison, it's been 3 weeks...

EDIT: Wait, power chargers? Why are people buying extras?

There was GAF member in a thread recently who didn't realise you could the dock AC adaptor to charge the Switch itself and bought another one.
 

Beegeous

Member
There's a pretty big gap between the 3DS and the DS btw. 3DS is 65-70 million, DS is 150 million.

Switch will have done well if it hits 3DS, there's no chance it hits DS sales in this lifetime.

Yep, I done fucked. Ninja edit in OC.
 

Vitacat

Member
High attach rate? What are people buying?

Well, in my case, 3 physical games (BOTW, 12 Switch, Bomberman R), 2 digital games (Fast RMX, Shovel Knight Treasure Chest), Pro controller, extra AC adapter, and various amiibo and Zelda related extras. Also, the Zelda BOTW Special Edition I randomly found sitting on a lonely shelf at my local Bestbuy a few days ago.

Also have 10 Switch games preordered (locked in ~$35 each using GCU+VC).
 

MrT-Tar

Member
I'm quite interested to see what people are buying as their second title (assuming at least 95% of Switch purchases are with Zelda).

I'm hoping Bomberman does quite well out of the situation.
 
I hated the concept of the switch, it has a shitty 720p screen and underpowered guts even for a tablet device. But after I've actually used it for a while, I really like it. It's a cool device, very snappy and the joycons are a great solution to tablet gaming. Sleep mode works the best among all console/handhelds(I don't have the vita), I press the power button and I'm in the game in 3 seconds. The last time I liked a device this much was the ipad2. It is lowkey magical.
 

HeelPower

Member
This is good and all ,but honestly makes zero sense analytically.

If you are an analyst ,how could you make sense of a Wii~like success for the switch ?

Logically, the Switch has many more reasons to not be a success than to be one.
 

13ruce

Banned
Geez, calm down with the Wii comparison, it's been 3 weeks...

EDIT: Wait, power chargers? Why are people buying extras?

One for dock and one for handheld it chsrges the switch pretty fast.

Otherwise you have to take the adapter from the dock everytime unless you have a usb c cable with a good adapter already.
 
It's not even that. The Wii existed before Apple took over the casual market.

To get those same sales again, it has to come from either the PS4/XBO market, or the people who play Free-2-Play/99 cents games only. Neither of which Switch appeals too.

And the Xbox One isn't getting Wii like sales. PS4 is still to be determined. The casual market is the one who makes systems sell including PS4...
 

10k

Banned
Let's all slow down and take a deep breath. Let's wait for its first Holiday and slow dog days of summer.
 

sphinx

the piano man
seriously, isn't this due to Zelda?

March and April is all about fullfilling preorders by gaming day-one enthusiasts AND people who got caught in the hype with Zelda's 98 (now 97) Metacritic.

Nintendo also devoted a complete E3 presentation to that game, the game is EXTREMELY notorious
 
High attach rate? What are people buying?

I personally have:
Physical: Zelda, Bomberman, 1 2 Switch, I am Setsuna, The Binding of Isaac
Digital: FAST RMX, World of Goo, Snipperclips, Blastermaster Zero

Only game I'm not all too pleased with is 1 2 Switch, everything else is great. 9 games just over 2 weeks in isn't bad at all.
 
I'm reluctant to be optimistic after what happened with Wii U, but this is reassuring.

If you look at it as a successor to the 3ds as well, which I believe has sold north of 60 million units, that may brighten your outlook a bit. Nintendo is putting their eggs in one basket here, they can't afford for it to fail.
 

Piggus

Member
What game are people getting in droves after Zelda?

The only retail titles are Zelda, 1,2 Switch, Just Dance, Bomberman and Skylanders.

I'm really interested in what is being bought.

Other than Zelda, I bought Fast RMX (digital), which is a fantastic game.

Also bought 1-2 Switch (retail), which is a piece of garbage and I feel like an idiot for paying $40 for it. But oh well.. It's sort of fun with groups.
 

Crayon

Member
I don't know what triggered the intensely negative reaction on here after the reveal event. It was an obvious winner.
 

spekkeh

Banned
It's not even that. The Wii existed before Apple took over the casual market.

To get those same sales again, it has to come from either the PS4/XBO market, or the people who play Free-2-Play/99 cents games only. Neither of which Switch appeals too.
Anecdotally I know a number of people in the second category who have been busy f5ing shops these last weeks. Nintendo has the ability to sway large groups of lapsed gamers, from the NES times but now also the Wii times. Pokemon go definitely helped too. The thing about the Switch is also that it is a console and handheld in one.

I don't know what triggered the intensely negative reaction on here after the reveal event. It was an obvious winner.

IMO that's exactly what triggered the intensely negative reaction.
 

Nosgotham

Junior Member
What does "highest attach rate of software and accessories" mean? That people are buying a Switch as well as a game at a higher rate than they bought a PS4, for example, and a game? I mean... wouldn't that be obvious when playing Zelda is the only thing the Switch does..? What am I missing? Not hating on N's success. Just seems like a "well duh" kinda comment.

Less game options equals higher software purchases? I think you're confused.

I bought Zelda, binding of Isaac, fast rmx, human resource machine, blaster master, metal slug 3, spectre of Torment.


Definitely higher than usual for me. The portable aspect really appeals to me so I've been buying smaller games for on the go.
 
I'm not big on Nintendo games fan but with a two new babies I thought a switch would make it easier to game. So I went on the hunt and found a marked up one cheaper than most online. The hardware is nice and although Zelda is great so far, me and my wife have had a ton of fun and laughs with SnipperClips. It shows off the alternate use for the joycons nice. So far I'm pretty happy with the console even though i paid more for it. If I had paid regular price I would have been ecstatic!

Only negative so far is the lack of good games and it seems the OS is bare as hell. They definitely rushed this out to market.
 
I don't know what triggered the intensely negative reaction on here after the reveal event. It was an obvious winner.
It's best not to take the overall opinions of video game boards.

I thought it was a good presentation, but there was a lot a lot of hyperbole calling it a trash and horrible presentation.

They spent a ton of time on stuff we already knew and didn't announce a whole lot of games.

I wonder if this'll ourself Xbox One?

You knew about 1,2 Switch, ARMS, Xenoblade 2, Super Mario Odyssey, the price of the system, the release date, Project Octopath Traveler, SMT, Fire Emblem Warriors, Splatoon 2, Travis Touchdown, Zeldas official launch date?
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
Been posting on GAF since the N64 years and in that time there have been three Nintendo consoles I was certain would be highly successful. Even earned me this tag in part. Those consoles were the Wii, the DS, and the Switch.

It's going to be a fun ride.
 

CLEEK

Member
I reckon most people don't have usb-c cables and/or rather want an official power supply.

Switch is my first USB-C device, so I had to buy cables for it.

I reckon most people would assume its proprietary connector, so don't know they can buy $2 cables from eBay.
 

antonz

Member
Gamestop has some excitement because lets be honest. After the first Week it was already pretty obvious Wii U was going nowhere. It launched well then immediately died. Switch so far is showing life beyond the first week so there is hope
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
This is good and all ,but honestly makes zero sense analytically.

If you are an analyst ,how could you make sense of a Wii~like success for the switch ?

Logically, the Switch has many more reasons to not be a success than to be one.

It has an extremely strong launch game probably the strongest in a decade. People buy consoles to play games. How long Zelda manages to carry it, remains to be seen but keep in mind this a game that was solely brought to E3 and still managed to turn said E3 into a success.
 

JustenP88

I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
Love the Switch. I think it offers a nice value proposition and I'm hoping there's a continuous, captive audience for it. It's certainly transformed the way I like to consume games and I think, given its versatility, it could be a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
 

HeelPower

Member
I don't know what triggered the intensely negative reaction on here after the reveal event. It was an obvious winner.

How is it an obvious winner ?

The peripherals are overpriced,the machine itself is overpriced relative to competitors, its currently has very limited functionality, even its most remarkable game is not exclusive,march isn't a holiday season, the west doesn't care for handhelds much at this point.

The Switch's successful launch makes no sense.

Nonetheless, good for the industry.
 

JeTmAn81

Member
Not buying it, both literally and metaphorically (though I'll probably buy a Switch eventually). I'm sure there's a huge attach rate for Zelda but I still can't see the Switch as a mass appeal device. I think it will do slightly north of Gamecube numbers by the end.
 
I wonder if they'll be able to sustain those sales, the Wii U also sold very well at launch no? Nintendo didn't overproduce the Switch like they did the Wii U, so I'm curious to see how the next round of units sell. I like mine, with a few more features and the current first party lineup I think the system can do at least 10 million in a year.

I hated the concept of the switch, it has a shitty 720p screen and underpowered guts even for a tablet device.

Uh, I actually think it's the most powerful 6" tablet out there. The only other tablet with an X1 in it is the Pixel C, and the switch has more RAM and that lower res screen and no android overhead means that it gets more out of its hardware than the Pixel C ever will.
 

JordanN

Banned
Anecdotally I know a number of people in the second category who have been busy f5ing shops these last weeks. Nintendo has the ability to sway large groups of lapsed gamers, from the NES times but now also the Wii times. Pokemon go definitely helped too. The thing about the Switch is also that it is a console and handheld in one.

But who is that meant for?

If you're looking for a console, two of them already exists on shelves with more games. For a handheld, mobile has been quickly eating into it as both PS Vita and 3DS fall short of matching Gameboy Advance sales.

Combing the two only represents a case of "jack of all trades, master of none". It's not powerful enough to compete with PS4/XBO but it's also too expensive and big to carry around next to a phone.
 

antonz

Member
It has an extremely strong launch game probably the strongest in a decade. People buy consoles to play games. How long Zelda manages to carry it, remains to be scene but keep in mind this a game that was solely brought to E3 and still managed to turn said E3 into a success.

Due to restricted shipments Zelda should be capable of holding the fort for a few more weeks easily when Mario kart drops and then the Switch will have 2 rather large titles to anchor on while they wait for Arms and Splatoon and the inevitable E3 announcements and fall releases.
 

jdstorm

Banned
This is good and all ,but honestly makes zero sense analytically.

If you are an analyst ,how could you make sense of a Wii~like success for the switch ?

Logically, the Switch has many more reasons to not be a success than to be one.

Most analysts seemed to place the switch as a "Nintendo home console" and used the declining data from N64, Gamecube and WiiU to paint the Wii as an outlier and the Switch as irrelivant.

This is in contrast to the reality where 3 of the last 4 devices released by Nintendo in the past 15 or so years have sold >50 Million units. If you go back to the GBA its 4/6 in around 20 years.

Turns out the Switch's potential numbers are more closely following that trend then console doom and gloom naysayers.
 

Kill3r7

Member
The Switch is currently sold out everywhere. It is doing incredibly well in the sense that currently demand outstrips supply. However, just because a baseball player is batting .400 through the first week of the season does not mean they will bat .400 for the year.
 

TLZ

Banned
Again this is too early. Will need a couple years to find out. Everyone jumping in like it's a phenomenon. Wait until we have enough of them in the market as well and silly hype dies down, plus scalpers pissing off, plus Nintendo hardcore out of the way. Only then we'll know if this thing sells to the casual masses.
 
seriously, isn't this due to Zelda?

March and April is all about fullfilling preorders by gaming day-one enthusiasts AND people who got caught in the hype with Zelda's 98 (now 97) Metacritic.

Nintendo also devoted a complete E3 presentation to that game, the game is EXTREMELY notorious

Zelda is certainly a major part.

It's why I'm so curious to see how Mario Kart 8 Deluxe fares. I'm guessing it's going to be a much bigger deal than the average GAF user thinks.
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
How is it an obvious winner ?

The peripherals are overpriced,the machine itself is overpriced relative to competitors, its currently has very limited functionality, even its most remarkable game is not exclusive,march isn't a holiday season, the west doesn't care for handhelds much at this point.

The Switch's successful launch makes no sense.

It has a wii like motion controls is a reasonably powerful handheld has quality Nintendo software and comes with built in local multiplayer as well as sought after launch game.

It's not that astonishing launch wise.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Success was a given the moment when gaf said it would bomb. Gaf is like the Pachter of videogame predictions.

Fantastic console. Possibly my favourite so far. And I have a PS4 Pro and a Titan X Pascal. But Switch is the one that gets how I really want to play - living room, bed, split controller, table top, local multiplayer.
 

HeelPower

Member
Most analysts seemed to place the switch as a "Nintendo home console" and used the declining data from N64, Gamecube and WiiU to paint the Wii as an outlier and the Switch as irrelivant.

This is in contrast to the reality where 3 of the last 4 devices released by Nintendo in the past 15 or so years have sold >50 Million units. If you go back to the GBA its 4/6 in around 20 years.

Turns out the Switch's potential numbers are more closely following that trend then console doom and gloom naysayers.

It has an extremely strong launch game probably the strongest in a decade. People buy consoles to play games. How long Zelda manages to carry it, remains to be scene but keep in mind this a game that was solely brought to E3 and still managed to turn said E3 into a success.

At this point, the only thing I can think of is that the machine's visual design was great and the ads worked well.

I cannot think of any other reason as to the Switch being Wii~levels of success.
 
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