Nintendo Switch gaining ground

Nintendo Switch. © iStock.

Nintendo’s Switch portable console sales were up 44% in the first three months of the year compared to the same quarter the year prior. Today’s figures bring total Switch sales to 28.83 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, up 37% from the 21 million Switch consoles the company shipped the previous year. That makes a total of 84.59 million Switch units shipped worldwide since the console’s launch in 2017, nearing the Wii console’s 101.63 million lifetime sales.

Game sales for the year also spiked by 37%, with 230.88 million units sold, compared to 168.72 million units in the prior year. Leading the way, Animal Crossing: New Horizons with 20.85 million units sold, followed by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (10.62 million units), Super Mario 3D All-Star (9.01 million units) and Ring Fit Adventure (7.38 million units)./p>

However, Nintendo has warned that the production of Switch consoles will likely be affected by the global chip shortage, and predicts a 12% decrease in console sales in the fiscal year ending March 2022. The drop in console manufacturing would drag game sales down by 18%.

⇨ The Verge, Thomas Ricker, “The Nintendo Switch can’t be stopped.”

⇨ Ars Technica, Leo Lewis, Kana Inagaki, “Nintendo warns global chip shortage to hit Switch production.”

2021-05-06