It’s been no secret that the Nintendo Switch remains an insanely popular item even four years after its launch. It absolutely dominated console sales in Japan, with the then newly released PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles barely posing a threat against it, and new sales data has revealed that it performed just as strongly in the United Kingdom.
According to charts providers GfK and GSD, whereas the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S sold over 450,00 and 310,000 units respectively, the Switch crushed them both, pushing 1.5 million units. That’s nearly a million more than what it shipped in 2019. In terms of revenue, it generated £367.4 million. By comparison, the PS5 made £191 million and the Xbox consoles made £118 million.
This is particularly impressive considering the best-selling games chart contains very few Nintendo exclusives. In fact, there are only two: Animal Crossing: New Horizons (which released that year and was a massive success) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which released in 2017. Both games placed 6th and 12th respectively in the chart, managing to outperform other incredibly popular games like Minecraft and more recent titles like Spider-Man: Miles Morales. However, the chart only has data for Animal Crossing and Mario Kart‘s physical sales. Had their digital sales been included, they could very well have placed slightly higher.
They had stiff competition, though. The top of the charts were dominated by the latest entries of much popular franchises, like FIFA 21 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which respectively placed 1st and 2nd. Funnily enough, their predecessors from 2019 weren’t far behind, with FIFA 20 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare coming in 4th and 5th.
To be fair to the newer consoles, they were at somewhat of a disadvantage launching in 2020. The unexpected coronavirus pandemic greatly hampered and upended a lot of industries, including the games industry. Console manufacturing took a major hit, which no doubt played a part in the limited stock available at launch. Even now, many people still struggle to get their hands on either of the new consoles, which hasn’t been helped by a continuing scalper problem. It’s entirely possible that, under more normal circumstances, the new consoles would have performed much better.
With the Switch’s success not slowing down any time soon, some may argue that Nintendo has no reason to release an upgraded version of the hardware despite all the rumors. However, some inside sources are insistent that a supposed Nintendo Switch Pro is coming. The latest claims say that it will be announced this year and feature a larger, 7 inch, Samsung OLED display.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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