Nintendo Switch becomes the fastest selling videogame console in US History

[Yoshi178]

We're entering semantics, but I wouldn't call that evidence of a "larger franchise." By that math, the Splatoon series has sold 7.6 million copies. The Metroid franchise has sold well over 14 million copies. It's therefore larger in terms of no. of installments and no. of sales, not to mention more EU material. You could cite the figures as Splatoon being a more accessible franchise, but that's about it.

like i said, the Metroid series has been around longer.

when looking at INDIVIDUAL sales, Splatoon is definitely more popular than Metroid as the only Metroid game that's ever come close to matching sales with Splatoon was Metroid Prime. that's it.

Metroid is definitely much more Niche than Splatoon is.

 

[PapaGreg096]

Why do you guys talk to Yoshi, you know he/she isn't going to change their opinion so you might as well just ignore them.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Nintendo has been the least popular home console since Super NES.

Wii says Hi!

Yep the super popular wii. The system that everybody bought, but nobody played. My grandma has a wii for some reason.

But if the Wii was so popular, then surely people would have been after the Wii U as well.

Oh wait...they weren't.

The Wii sold off a well marketed gimmick that appealed to people who didn't play games. This created an anomaly in system sales. However none of this translated into game sales. (except wii sports which came with most wii systems) And it certainly didn't carry a wave of success to the following system the Wii U.

Which is funny, because isn't that exactly how the Switch is turning out so far? Think about it. It's a well marketed gimmick system, (portability) that has some great 1st party titles and a luke-warm at best 3rd party supporting thus far. I wouldn't be surprised to see most people who have a Switch end up barely playing the system save for maybe once a year when a good 1st party title is released. Then it will gather dust the rest of the time.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Which is funny, because isn't that exactly how the Switch is turning out so far? Think about it. It's a well marketed gimmick system, (portability) that has some great 1st party titles and a luke-warm at best 3rd party supporting thus far. I wouldn't be surprised to see most people who have a Switch end up barely playing the system save for maybe once a year when a good 1st party title is released. Then it will gather dust the rest of the time.

Even funnier is that both the Wii and Switch "launched" a Zelda game when it was for the previous system as well...

 

[CriticalGaming]

Which is funny, because isn't that exactly how the Switch is turning out so far? Think about it. It's a well marketed gimmick system, (portability) that has some great 1st party titles and a luke-warm at best 3rd party supporting thus far. I wouldn't be surprised to see most people who have a Switch end up barely playing the system save for maybe once a year when a good 1st party title is released. Then it will gather dust the rest of the time.

Even funnier is that both the Wii and Switch "launched" a Zelda game when it was for the previous system as well...

Zelda certainly seems to be a big factor when it comes to nintendo consoles. I wonder what would have happened to the Wii U if Breath of the Wild came out a year earlier.

 

[Silvanus]

Yep the super popular wii. The system that everybody bought, but nobody played.

What are you basing that on? That's a pretty bizarre and unlikely claim, so I'd expect some stats. Several Wii games are in the highest selling games of all time-- were people also inexplicably purchasing numerous games for their consoles that they don't play, too?

But if the Wii was so popular, then surely people would have been after the Wii U as well.

Oh wait...they weren't.

That doesn't follow.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Yep the super popular wii. The system that everybody bought, but nobody played.

What are you basing that on? That's a pretty bizarre and unlikely claim, so I'd expect some stats. Several Wii games are in the highest selling games of all time-- were people also inexplicably purchasing numerous games for their consoles that they don't play, too?

But if the Wii was so popular, then surely people would have been after the Wii U as well.

Oh wait...they weren't.

That doesn't follow.

Here is a list of the best selling games on the Wii:

Game Title Copies Sold
Mario Kart Wii 34.26 Million
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 27.88 Million
Wii Fit 22.67 Million
Wii Fit Plus 20.86 Million
Wii Play 28.02 Million
Wii Sports 81.99 Million
Wii Sports Resort 31.89 Million

Note a few things here. These numbers count games included in bundles sold with hardware. Wii fit, and Wii sports were both pack in titles, thus the extremely high numbers. Then you look at a STEEP downslide in other games. The Wii sold 101 million units. Yet it only had an attach rate of 5.5. That's insanely low. That means in the consoles LIFETIME, people who owned the console only owned 5.5 games for the system. And when you factor that over 80% of wii's came with a game. That means people only added 4 games to their collection during the system's ENTIRE lifecycle.

http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/11/xbox-360-owners-buy-more-games-than-wii-ps3-fans

A business insider article shows that the xbox 360 had an attached rate in the 6+ range. Which means that not only did the Xbox 360 sell less units overall (aprox 85 million lifetime) but sold more games to more users. Especially when you consider that the 360 didn't sell a lot of pack in games.

That's only an average of course, and based on quick numbers. But let's say that there was a 2 game difference between the two consoles. That means Xbox 360 sold 20% more games, and generated 20% more revenue than the Wii, despite selling 20 million fewer lifetime units.

In the end I guess it doesn't matter what people do with the console after purchase right? I mean if i sell you a car, I don't give a fuck how much you end up driving it, because you already bought the car from me. However if I sold you a car, and you ended up not liking the car, how likely are you to buy another car from me?

Has the Switch been a success? Financially, yes. That's pretty clear.

But when you look back on previous systems, do you remember the system, or do you remember the games? Games are what make a system stand the test of time, not the system itself. The Wii's era was a failure when it comes to games. The Switch is off to a good start, but let's not all cheer from the heavens until we've seen that Nintendo can sustain the wave.

 

[Silvanus]

Here is a list of the best selling games on the Wii:

Game Title Copies Sold
Mario Kart Wii 34.26 Million
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 27.88 Million
Wii Fit 22.67 Million
Wii Fit Plus 20.86 Million
Wii Play 28.02 Million
Wii Sports 81.99 Million
Wii Sports Resort 31.89 Million

Note a few things here. These numbers count games included in bundles sold with hardware. Wii fit, and Wii sports were both pack in titles, thus the extremely high numbers. Then you look at a STEEP downslide in other games. The Wii sold 101 million units. Yet it only had an attach rate of 5.5. That's insanely low. That means in the consoles LIFETIME, people who owned the console only owned 5.5 games for the system. And when you factor that over 80% of wii's came with a game. That means people only added 4 games to their collection during the system's ENTIRE lifecycle.

http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/11/xbox-360-owners-buy-more-games-than-wii-ps3-fans

A business insider article shows that the xbox 360 had an attached rate in the 6+ range. Which means that not only did the Xbox 360 sell less units overall (aprox 85 million lifetime) but sold more games to more users. Especially when you consider that the 360 didn't sell a lot of pack in games.

Firstly: You keep talking about the "entire lifecycle", but that article clearly states the data comes from only the first 23 months.

Secondly, your own source shows higher software sales for the Wii than the PS3 in the first 23 months of its life. The PS3 has a 5.3 rate.

And, yes, many of these games came in bundles. Bundles also existed for PS3 and XBox.

This article doesn't prove a single one of the things you said.

In the end I guess it doesn't matter what people do with the console after purchase right? I mean if i sell you a car, I don't give a fuck how much you end up driving it, because you already bought the car from me. However if I sold you a car, and you ended up not liking the car, how likely are you to buy another car from me?

Has the Switch been a success? Financially, yes. That's pretty clear.

But when you look back on previous systems, do you remember the system, or do you remember the games? Games are what make a system stand the test of time, not the system itself. The Wii's era was a failure when it comes to games. The Switch is off to a good start, but let's not all cheer from the heavens until we've seen that Nintendo can sustain the wave.

You're arguing that the Wii will have disappointed customers, and put them off buying future Nintendo consoles... a line or so before mentioning that the next-but-one Nintendo console is selling extremely well (and that's aside from the 3DS and its other iterations also selling extremely well), so clearly it didn't put people off buying Nintendo. These arguments don't really hold up to much scrutiny.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Here is a list of the best selling games on the Wii:

Game Title Copies Sold
Mario Kart Wii 34.26 Million
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 27.88 Million
Wii Fit 22.67 Million
Wii Fit Plus 20.86 Million
Wii Play 28.02 Million
Wii Sports 81.99 Million
Wii Sports Resort 31.89 Million

Note a few things here. These numbers count games included in bundles sold with hardware. Wii fit, and Wii sports were both pack in titles, thus the extremely high numbers. Then you look at a STEEP downslide in other games. The Wii sold 101 million units. Yet it only had an attach rate of 5.5. That's insanely low. That means in the consoles LIFETIME, people who owned the console only owned 5.5 games for the system. And when you factor that over 80% of wii's came with a game. That means people only added 4 games to their collection during the system's ENTIRE lifecycle.

http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/11/xbox-360-owners-buy-more-games-than-wii-ps3-fans

A business insider article shows that the xbox 360 had an attached rate in the 6+ range. Which means that not only did the Xbox 360 sell less units overall (aprox 85 million lifetime) but sold more games to more users. Especially when you consider that the 360 didn't sell a lot of pack in games.

Your own source shows higher software sales for the Wii than the PS3 in the first 23 months of its life.

And, yes, many of these games came in bundles. Bundles also existed for PS3 and XBox.

In the end I guess it doesn't matter what people do with the console after purchase right? I mean if i sell you a car, I don't give a fuck how much you end up driving it, because you already bought the car from me. However if I sold you a car, and you ended up not liking the car, how likely are you to buy another car from me?

Has the Switch been a success? Financially, yes. That's pretty clear.

But when you look back on previous systems, do you remember the system, or do you remember the games? Games are what make a system stand the test of time, not the system itself. The Wii's era was a failure when it comes to games. The Switch is off to a good start, but let's not all cheer from the heavens until we've seen that Nintendo can sustain the wave.

You're arguing that the Wii will have disappointed customers, and put them off buying future Nintendo consoles... a line or so before mentioning that the next-but-one Nintendo console is selling extremely well (and that's aside from the 3DS and its other iterations also selling extremely well), so clearly it didn't put people off buying Nintendo. These arguments don't really hold up to much scrutiny.

Ahh but you are forgetting something. The Zelda title.

A good major game released at the right time can do wonders for a console. I don't nessesscarilly think that the Wii was poor enough to put people off on the wii u. Instead the Wii U merely didn't have any games.

The Xbox 1 is suffering a similar fate to the Wii U, but to a lesser degree. You see the Xbone doesn't have a killer exclusive ap and that is obviously hurting the system. However Xbone is still getting almost all the 3rd party support, so Xbox fans aren't completely shot in the foot if they adopted the system.

The point of what I am trying to put across, is that the Switch needs this support to put itself onto the same levels as the other major console players.

Additionally, I do believe that there are some other factors that are playing with the Switch's sales numbers. The ease of portability while playing full AAA games in HD graphic resolutions is a big part of it. The 3DS has been around for a long fucking time, and people are eager for an upgrade. The fact that the Switch can be mobile AND an in-home console is a gimmick that is hugely useful to many people, especially those in Japan where the mobile market is insane.

 

[Silvanus]

Ahh but you are forgetting something. The Zelda title.

A good major game released at the right time can do wonders for a console. I don't nessesscarilly think that the Wii was poor enough to put people off on the wii u. Instead the Wii U merely didn't have any games.

The Xbox 1 is suffering a similar fate to the Wii U, but to a lesser degree. You see the Xbone doesn't have a killer exclusive ap and that is obviously hurting the system. However Xbone is still getting almost all the 3rd party support, so Xbox fans aren't completely shot in the foot if they adopted the system.

The point of what I am trying to put across, is that the Switch needs this support to put itself onto the same levels as the other major console players.

Where was I forgetting Breath of the Wild? I was talking about the Wii. You appear to have entirely changed the subject.

If people can be quite easily convinced to buy a Switch-- and they clearly can-- that's a strong indication that the Wii didn't put people off buying Nintendo consoles, isn't it?

Additionally, I do believe that there are some other factors that are playing with the Switch's sales numbers. The ease of portability while playing full AAA games in HD graphic resolutions is a big part of it. The 3DS has been around for a long fucking time, and people are eager for an upgrade. The fact that the Switch can be mobile AND an in-home console is a gimmick that is hugely useful to many people, especially those in Japan where the mobile market is insane.

That's not "playing with the sales numbers". Those are just reasons for its popularity.

---

You've not addressed the bit about your article referring only to the first 23 months, or the bit about the same article showing lower software sales for the PS3 in the same timeframe.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Which is funny, because isn't that exactly how the Switch is turning out so far? Think about it. It's a well marketed gimmick system, (portability) that has some great 1st party titles and a luke-warm at best 3rd party supporting thus far. I wouldn't be surprised to see most people who have a Switch end up barely playing the system save for maybe once a year when a good 1st party title is released. Then it will gather dust the rest of the time.

Even funnier is that both the Wii and Switch "launched" a Zelda game when it was for the previous system as well...

Zelda certainly seems to be a big factor when it comes to nintendo consoles. I wonder what would have happened to the Wii U if Breath of the Wild came out a year earlier.

Switch would've gone without a killer app for 7 months. I imagine most people would wait for Mario Odyssey to buy the console.

 

[Hawki]

Nintendo has been the least popular home console since Super NES.

Um, the Wii?

oh you think Sony is going to stop at part II?

Cute.

You're going into hypotheticals. If Last of Us 2 gets released this year, that means the franchise will have had two games over a five year period. Again, compare that to Splatoon, which has had two games over a two year period.

The Last of Us is a terrible example of a franchise that's being milked, not to mention that until Last of Us II is released, even calling it a "franchise" is dubious when it's had one game, one DLC, and one comic.

when looking at INDIVIDUAL sales, Splatoon is definitely more popular than Metroid as the only Metroid game that's ever come close to matching sales with Splatoon was Metroid Prime. that's it.

Metroid is definitely much more Niche than Splatoon is.

Which is a different argument. Saying a franchise is more niche doesn't mean that it's not "bigger."

Why do you guys talk to Yoshi, you know he/she isn't going to change their opinion so you might as well just ignore them.

But it's fun. ^_^

Yep the super popular wii. The system that everybody bought, but nobody played. My grandma has a wii for some reason.

But if the Wii was so popular, then surely people would have been after the Wii U as well.

Oh wait...they weren't.

The Wii sold off a well marketed gimmick that appealed to people who didn't play games. This created an anomaly in system sales. However none of this translated into game sales. (except wii sports which came with most wii systems) And it certainly didn't carry a wave of success to the following system the Wii U.

Even if the Wii catered to a different audience, that doesn't mean the audience should be dismissed. The Wii clearly was a system seller. And I say that as someone who doesn't even like the Wii (motion controls can go die in a fire).

 

[kenu12345]

Why do you guys talk to Yoshi, you know he/she isn't going to change their opinion so you might as well just ignore them.

Scientific curiosity mostly. I am honestly curious cause I am a fan of things but I can acknowledge their faults and not have to deflect, make hyperbolic or nonsensical points, or just in general angrily rant bout what I consider competition against what I like. Hell i am a huge infamous nerd but I can say how i think the newest one is not as well produced and how great Prototype is

 

[Yoshi178]

Why do you guys talk to Yoshi, you know he/she isn't going to change their opinion so you might as well just ignore them.

This Guy.

He gets it.

 

[Yoshi178]

Why do you guys talk to Yoshi, you know he/she isn't going to change their opinion so you might as well just ignore them.

Scientific curiosity mostly. I am honestly curious cause I am a fan of things but I can acknowledge their faults and not have to deflect, make hyperbolic or nonsensical points, or just in general angrily rant bout what I consider competition against what I like. Hell i am a huge infamous nerd but I can say how i think the newest one is not as well produced and how great Prototype is

if you'd actually pay attention. you'd see me complain about Nintendo faults all the time. for example, i think it's complete bullshit that we STILL don't have a decent voice and party chat system for online on a Nintendo system after all this time.


instead no, people would just rather ***** and moan about stuff like the lack of 3rd Party support on Nintendo systems and they put all of the blame on Nintendo, when in actual fact, no it's not. it's mainly the 3rd Party developers fault for only putting half assed stuff on Nintendos system in the first place and then companies like EA have a massive whinge when stuff like their half assed ports of things like Mass Effect on the Wii U don't sell.

for example: Why would i buy mass effect 3 on Wii U when you ALREADY released the entire Mass Effect trilogy in a single collection on PS4 and Xbox One? that's EA's fault. not Nintendo's fault like people try to make it seem all the time.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

instead no, people would just rather ***** and moan about stuff like the lack of 3rd Party support on Nintendo systems and they put all of the blame on Nintendo, when in actual fact, no it's not. it's mainly the 3rd Party developers fault for only putting half assed stuff on Nintendos system in the first place and then companies like EA have a massive whinge when stuff like their half assed ports of things like Mass Effect on the Wii U don't sell.

That's only true in Nintendo Land or maybe the History Channel...

 

[Rangaman]

Oh, cool. The question now is "can they keep the momentum up?" It's worth remembering that the Wii only dominated the market for about two years before the sales dropped off of a cliff. Or before that: the Dreamcast made bank in its first year but then hit rock bottom after the announcement of the PS2 (to the point that it failed to outsell the Saturn).

I could be underestimating it; there's always a chance it will be the next PS2 or DS. Nevertheless, I wouldn't go around saying that Nintendo is back to dominate the market so soon. Take it from someone who backed the Xbone in the lead-up to the eighth generation.

Plus, Sony lets franchises end without milking them forever...

Roooiiight...tell me, when did the first Rachet & Clank come out? Or the first Uncharted game?

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Plus, Sony lets franchises end without milking them forever...

Roooiiight...tell me, when did the first Rachet & Clank come out? Or the first Uncharted game?

Rachet & Clank is probably done, the last actual entry to the series was on PS3. And, Uncharted? Really? It was a new IP just last-gen and it's probably done too. Outside of Gran Turismo, that's basically a sports series, I don't think there's any franchises still going from PS1. And God of War and Killzone (probably done too) IIRC are the only franchises from PS2 that have entries this gen.

Compare that to Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pokemon, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Fire Emblem, Star Fox, Animal Crossing, etc.

 

[Yoshi178]

Plus, Sony lets franchises end without milking them forever...

Roooiiight...tell me, when did the first Rachet & Clank come out? Or the first Uncharted game?

Rachet & Clank is probably done

yeah definitely.

 

[Yoshi178]

Plus, Sony lets franchises end without milking them forever...

Roooiiight...tell me, when did the first Rachet & Clank come out? Or the first Uncharted game?

Rachet & Clank is probably done, the last actual entry to the series was on PS3. And, Uncharted? Really? It was a new IP just last-gen and it's probably done too. Outside of Gran Turismo, that's basically a sports series, I don't think there's any franchises still going from PS1. And God of War and Killzone (probably done too) IIRC are the only franchises from PS2 that have entries this gen.

Compare that to Metroid etc.

wait, you were literally JUST complaining about how we haven't had enough Metroid

Nintendo couldn't even be bothered to release a Metroid for the WiiU...

And now you go and turn around and start being mad about how much Nintendo "Milks" the series?


Make up your bloody mind!!!!!!