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[Taker666]

I'm surprised it did that well considering the pricing in UK/Europe vs the competition.

At least in the US/Japan it's a situation where the price of the Switch is the same as a PS4.

In the UK it's £199 for a PS4+Horizon+extra controller..vs a Switch at £279 with nothing else. It looks like terrible value in comparison.

 

[The perfect Dark]

Not great but at least it is not Wii U level.

It's great man. Only 25 less than the Wii.

edit: People in UK bought 165k PS3 at launch. Yeah, this country is fucked lmao.

 

[Calm Mind]

But it isn't, Wii U was.

But it's not that's the Wii U and the X360 was a success so it's pretty hard to spin it that way.

I stand corrected. Third lowest.

 

[noshten]

Only 3 Nintendo system outsold it and two of them came out during the holidays. 3DS did have a much stronger opening but it didn't really have any games to back it up and outside of the launch I bet it's first six months will end up being worse than the Switch.

 

[Rourkey]

I think that's pretty decent

 

[LordKano]

Only 3 Nintendo system outsold it and two of them came out during the holidays. 3DS did have a much stronger opening but it didn't really have any games to back it up and outside of the launch I bet it's first six months will end up being worse than the Switch.

Switch has Mario Kart next month and probably Splatoon 2 in its first six months. It has the potential to do way better.

 

[thefro]

Pretty good numbers for not releasing in the holiday season compare to there other devices. Switch fate will soon be determined this holiday season.

That's key. Seems pretty healthy numbers considering the price point and the UK being a weaker market for Nintendo.

 

[ArmGunar]

It's great man. Only 25 less than the Wii.

edit: People in UK bought 165k PS3 at launch. Yeah, this country is fucked lmao.

PS3 was embarking a lot of techs ah the time
The price was high but it was worth it

 

[KillerMan91]

Well not incredible numbers when you compare to recent Xbone or PS4 launches but more important is how hw sales behave during following weeks/months. Will numbers crash like with 3DS prior price cut or can Switch find stable base level of weekly sales.

 

[tzare]

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a big game and will likely sell more than even Zelda. The fact that it released on Wii U before has no weight on this.
They're already marketing this one even though it's not releasing until late April.

Well, i think that not being a new game is important. It will sell well for sure, but enough to push HW sales? That is what i mean.

 

[Elios83]

Nothing special and without strong games numbers are bound to collapse in the next weeks.

 

[SprachBrooks]

Holy shit at that PS4 number. Still, it's sold better than the 360 at launch, so Nintendo will be pleased.

 

[Lucifon]

Pokemon at Christmas playable portable and on a big screen (the first main Pokemon to do so) along with a bundle will result in a hell of a lot of sales.

I'd say fairly solid launch numbers. Not great but not bad. Also as mentioned in the OP in the UK the marketing showed up only a couple of days before launch so there wasn't much time for mainstream traction.

 

[notaskwid]

Not a great look, but not terrible considering the price.
Will probably colapse in the following weeks though.

 

[Salty Rice]

Those are great numbers.

You also have to think about it realising in march instead around the holiday season.

 

[Jezbollah]

I'm surprised it did that well considering the pricing in UK/Europe vs the competition.

At least in the US/Japan it's a situation where the price of the Switch is the same as a PS4.

In the UK it's £199 for a PS4+Horizon+extra controller..vs a Switch at £279 with nothing else. It looks like terrible value in comparison.

It's the usual case of a first week launch - those who really, really want the Switch will get it as soon as it's launched regardless (or certainly considering) the price. Its only after a few weeks that the trend starts to settle in and the likes of Value vs Competition plays in.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

PS4 is a beast.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Switch has Mario Kart next month and probably Splatoon 2 in its first six months. It has the potential to do way better.

This narrative is crazy. Mario Kart 8 is a port of a Wii U game. No one is buying a Switch for Mario Kart 8, they'll buy MK8 because they already have a Switch and there's not much to play on it. People who would buy a console for Mario Kart already bought a Wii U.

Splatoon 2? We'll see how much that pushes the needle. I suspect Zelda was the biggest system seller they have until Mario Odyssey. Again, a Wii U cross-platform title.

Switch has problems ahead. We are seeing early adopter numbers. As hype dies down, hardware issues continue to creep and the realization that there just isnt much to play really sets it, people will be confronted with this question:

Do I want to spend $300 on a barely-finished console or do I want to put that money towards buy all the amazing games releasing on PS4 (or XB1, PC, etc) right now?

 

[Calm waterfall]

One big selling point of Nintendo Handhelds in the past was the full BC to the previous gen... I don't really see why anyone would expect a machine as expensive as the Switch with not link to the previous portable machines to outperform them. Doesn't make much sense... Especially since the 3DS is still available and has a massive/cheaper library.

Do you have any evidence to back this up, or just defending mediocre sales? The Switch is less expensive than launch PS4/Xbone. It sold a third of the PS4, and half of Xbone. It´s 33k behind the 3DS. The sales are mediocre at best.

 

[Ricky 7]

I guess it's alright considering it's the UK. Nintendo really need to build up their image there.

 

[Stop It]

Launch really doesn't mean much.

Hell even PS3 sold well at launch at £429. It then ground to a halt until heavy price cuts.

Switch will pull a 3DS here, sell to the hardcore and nobody else until it reaches £200.

 

[acm2000]

Holy shit at that PS4 number. Still, it's sold better than the 360 at launch, so Nintendo will be pleased.

you couldn't buy a 360 at launch or for months after, was a huge disaster of a launch

 

[Principate]

Do you have any evidence to back this up, or just defending mediocre sales? The Switch is less expensive than launch PS4/Xbone. It sold a third of the PS4, and half of Xbone. It´s 33k behind the 3DS. The sales are mediocre at best.

It sold more than half of XB1 but pretty much yeah. only real modifiers are holday season sales vs beginning of march sales.

 

[Maximo]

I mean one thing that is being overlooked is...the Switch is the Handheld AND Console combined so sales really have to try and get both of those markets back after the WiiU and 3DS, if it sells slightly better then the WiiU but not near 3DS levels is that considered good enough for them?

 

[nubbe]

Just wait until the Pokemans come to Switch

 

[Calm waterfall]

Nintendo is pushing it as both. People need to stop this narrative of it being one or the other.

Nintendo says it´s a console, so it´s a console. It´s you who has this narrative that it is both.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

So no launch day gifs that compare to ps4 launch in Germany?

 

[HotHamBoy]

Do you have any evidence to back this up, or just defending mediocre sales? The Switch is less expensive than launch PS4/Xbone. It sold a third of the PS4, and half of Xbone. It´s 33k behind the 3DS. The sales are mediocre at best.

I do think direct BC has been an important strategy for Nintendo handhelds. Switch could definitely use BC with the Wii U. The library for the next few months is dire and a lot of those Wii U games would be new experiences for new Switch owners (in theory).

But BC was never on the table for this hybrid concept.

I think the sales are relative to the proposal. Comparing it to the launch PS4/XB1 is a fallacy, though. We need to remember that those console represented a generational leap in power. People won't compare Switch performance to the Wii U (which is still underwhelming), they'll see that it's quite a bit weaker than its two major competitors, both of which come with pack-in games for the same price and offer massive, cheap libraries.

 

[lights]

I'm in central Scotland and every supermarket has loads of them on shelf.

I'm in central London and it doesn't seem well stocked:

 

[The perfect Dark]

This is going to by the next nintendo troll threat just by looking at a lot of posts here.
It's really starting to annoy me.

 

[noshten]

This narrative is crazy. Mario Kart 8 is a port of a Wii U game. No one is buying a Switch for Mario Kart 8, they'll buy MK8 because they already have a Switch and there's not much to play on it. People who would buy a console for Mario Kart already bought a Wii U.

Splatoon 2? We'll see how much that pushes the needle. I suspect Zelda was the biggest system seller they have until Mario Odyssey. Again, a Wii U cross-platform title.

Switch has problems ahead. We are seeing early adopter numbers. As hype dies down, hardware issues continue to creep and the realization that there just isnt much to play really sets it, people will be confronted with this question:

Do I want to spend $300 on a barely-finished console or do I want to put that money towards buy all the amazing games releasing on PS4 (or XB1, PC, etc) right now?

Barely any people have a Wii U. If Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon were on the 3DS you'd have a point.

Splatoon sold over 1 million copies in Europe, it's still the biggest new exclusive IP this generation with over 4.5 million copies sold. Certainly the price for the debut helped but Wii U also limited how much Splatoon/MK8 could sell.

Whether someone who owns a Wii U buys a Switch depends on his experience on the Wii U - but there was such a small number of Wii U's sold in the UK that it basically doesn't matter that MK8 was released. I mean certainly hardcore Nintendo fans who owned the Wii U might not be especially enthusiastic but for people who only have MK7 or don't have Nintendo console/handheld it's pretty much one of the biggest games you can release.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the thing sold out, right? So it's just a matter of how mu h Nintendo actually decided to ship, right?

 

[KillerMan91]

Holy shit at that PS4 number. Still, it's sold better than the 360 at launch, so Nintendo will be pleased.

People really should remember the context when comparing anything to X360. During launch of X360 in 2005 Xbox brand wasn't anywhere near as known or successful as it was during late life of X360 (or today). X360 really didn't have that amazing first two years. Its final LTD was all about the growth of the brand during the life of the console so beating launch numbers of X360 shouldn't be that big of a feat.

 

[Principate]

I mean one thing that is being overlooked is...the Switch is the Handheld AND Console combined so sales really have to try and get both of those markets back after the WiiU and 3DS, if it sells slightly better then the WiiU but not near 3DS levels is that considered good enough for them?

It's not really I mean that's blatantly obvious considering Nintendo's messaging on the thing (it's a console successor not a handheld etc). They'll release a portable "switch mini" as the handheld successor when the prices come down or a start 3Ds successor if the switch bomb. This device on it's own isn't suppose to entirely replace both hardware lines though it is supposed to ideally replace both software lines.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I mean one thing that is being overlooked is...the Switch is the Handheld AND Console combined so sales really have to try and get both of those markets back after the WiiU and 3DS, if it sells slightly better then the WiiU but not near 3DS levels is that considered good enough for them?

Uh, no. I'm sure they and their investors wanted 3DS numbers or better.

I mean, pulling from both handheld and console markets should mean a larger potential consumer base. UNLESS the compromises to make it a hybrid turn off both camps.

 

[SCB3]

This narrative is crazy. Mario Kart 8 is a port of a Wii U game. No one is buying a Switch for Mario Kart 8, they'll buy MK8 because they already have a Switch and there's not much to play on it. People who would buy a console for Mario Kart already bought a Wii U.

Splatoon 2? We'll see how much that pushes the needle. I suspect Zelda was the biggest system seller they have until Mario Odyssey. Again, a Wii U cross-platform title.

Switch has problems ahead. We are seeing early adopter numbers. As hype dies down, hardware issues continue to creep and the realization that there just isnt much to play really sets it, people will be confronted with this question:

Do I want to spend $300 on a barely-finished console or do I want to put that money towards buy all the amazing games releasing on PS4 (or XB1, PC, etc) right now?

where does it say Mario is cross platform?

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

Nintendo says it´s a console, so it´s a console. It´s you who has this narrative that it is both.

Dude. It's called the Switch because you can switch how you use it. That is Nintendo's narrative. That's it. It is BOTH a handheld and a home console.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

The 360 thrived on having the better 3rd party games and support after its launch

 

[Zedark]

where does it say Mario is cross platform?

He is talking about Zelda.

 

[LordOcidax]

Great. Cant wait to see France numbers.

 

[isaacnukem]

Off to a good start. Just keep them quality titles coming.

 

[HotHamBoy]

where does it say Mario is cross platform?

Zelda is cross platform, bad grammar.

Barely any people have a Wii U. If Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon were on the 3DS you'd have a point.

Splatoon sold over 1 million copies in Europe, it's still the biggest new exclusive IP this generation with over 4.5 million copies sold. Certainly the price for the debut helped but Wii U also limited how much Splatoon/MK8 could sell.

Whether someone who owns a Wii U buys a Switch depends on his experience on the Wii U - but there was such a small number of Wii U's sold in the UK that it basically doesn't matter that MK8 was released. I mean certainly hardcore Nintendo fans who owned the Wii U might not be especially enthusiastic but for people who only have MK7 or don't have Nintendo console/handheld it's pretty much one of the biggest games you can release.

The take away should be "MK8 and Splatoon (and Mario X) failed to make the Wii U a success, why should that change for Switch?"

 

[Principate]

Uh, no. I'm sure they and their investors wanted 3DS number or better.

I mean, pulling from both handheld and console markets should mean a larger potential consumer base. UNLESS the compromises to make it a hybrid turn off both camps.

That was never going to happen even in best case scenario. There was overlap between the 3DS and the wii u and everything pointed to hardware contraction. Maintaining 3DS userbase was their best bet and going from there

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

It's not really I mean that's blatantly obvious considering Nintendo's messaging on the thing (it's a console successor not a handheld etc). They'll release a portable "switch mini" as the handheld successor when the prices come down or a start 3Ds successor if the switch bomb. This device on it's own isn't suppose to entirely replace both hardware lines though it is supposed to ideally replace both software lines.

I see a super cheap home console only switch before I see a handheld only one. They could get a really good price point with that. I see that being the 2DS of the Switch.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

No you couldn't. Source: 5 hours of my life searching.

Clearly 5 hours wasted. I saw them available from the Nintendo UK online store on the weekend. Black one. Took 30 seconds to check.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Do you have any evidence to back this up, or just defending mediocre sales? The Switch is less expensive than launch PS4/Xbone. It sold a third of the PS4, and half of Xbone. It´s 33k behind the 3DS. The sales are mediocre at best.

Common sense.... Switch is the first Nintendo system since the GameCube that is only relying on its own native software library on launch. While all other systems had full BC to the previous console/Handheld gen. DS and 3DS launch lineups were lackluster and the full BC to a bug library of cheap games was a bullet point for people to still pick them up at launch and/or upgrade from a last gen system since they could sell the system without loosing access to play their library.

And no those sales aren't mediocre at all. PS4/Xbone had amazing launch.. They had all the Hype, were holiday releases with full 3rd party support from Day 1. Switch getting anywhere close to those numbers in its weakest main market was never a possibility, when not even the Wii could do it.

PS4/Xbone launches were also that big because the previous PS360 gen was one of the longest and many gamers had been willing to upgrade for a while.... If they didn't already jump into PC Gaming.

 

[JonnyDBrit]

Unfortunately UK number are all we've got to go on since other countries are less forthcoming with their sales figures.

Japan'll be Wednesday so that'll be something at least. We won't get a sense of US numbers for a while though unless Nintendo comes out with a publicity statement.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I see a super cheap home console only switch before I see a handheld only one. They could get a really good price point with that. I see that being the 2DS of the Switch.

They already have games like VUZE that are portable-mode only due to touchscreen reliance. I wouldn't be suprised if a Mario Maker Switch depends on the touch screen in creation mode.

Generally, new SKUs should offer more content, not less.

 

[Bitch Pudding]

Don't read too much into Switch's 80.000 day 1 sales.


Seems like st least most e- and retailers ran out of stock. Furthermore, the interesting part starts as soon all early adopters got their unit.

 

[noshten]

The take away should be "MK8 and Splatoon (and Mario X) failed to make the Wii U a success, why should that change for Switch?"

Because the Switch as a device is better at what it does than either the 3DS or Wii U and has a stronger first six months in terms of games than both of those devices combined.