Nintendo Switch Sales Vs Wii U Vs Wii: New Console Looks To Break Records

It’s been less than a week since the Nintendo Switch launch, but we already have some idea on how well the new Nintendo console has sold.

Via Nick Wingfield of the New York Times on Twitter, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said the Switch had the best opening two-day sales within North America for a console in Nintendo’s history.

Notably, Nintendo said the Switch also outsold the Wii during the older console’s opening two-day window. While Nintendo has yet to disclose current North American sales numbers for the Switch, it’s likely encouraged by the strong opening start. In Japan, via Bloomberg reporter Yuji Nakamura, the Switch sold 313,700 units since launch. By comparison, Nintendo sold 600,000 Wiis in North America during its first eight days on the market, via Gamespot. The Wii U also sold an estimated 400,000 North American units during the same launch time frame.

Fils-Aime also said that launch title The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the top-selling standalone launch title in Nintendo history, beating the Nintendo 64’s Super Mario 64.

As Wingfield points out, the Switch’s strong two-day start is also impressive for additional reasons. With its March launch, the Switch lacked the built-in sales wave of the holiday season, but still managed to pull steady sales numbers. While the console’s launch wasn’t without issues like scant Nintendo Switch preorder availability, good word of mouth for launch titles like Breath of the Wild and a strong advertising push helped close the gap for casual and diehard Nintendo fans.

For Nintendo, the next challenge looks to be continuing the Switch’s momentum. The Switch's launch was anchored around Breath of the Wild, but with Nintendo’s staggered strategy to its Switch launch titles, major releases like Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey aren’t slated to drop until the summer and fall.