Nintendo Switch eclipses Wii U lifetime sales in Japan

Nintendo has managed to sell so many of its Nintendo Switch console that it’s become not only its own fastest-selling console, but also the fastest selling in the U.S. ever, beating the record set by the Wii back during its launch. The Switch has sold over 4.8 million units in its first 10 months of availability, which beats out the Wii’s 4 million sold during the same initial window.

The console had a strong start thanks to flagship title The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which has been purchased by over 55 percent of Switch console owners. Also, Nintendo revealed that Super Mario Odyssey is on over 55 percent of Switch consoles, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe all has an ownership rate of more than 50 percent.

Nintendo is looking good going into 2018 based on these numbers, and the overall performance of the Switch should quickly eclipse the lifetime sales of the Wii U, which never really struck a chord with consumers.

But what is the global picture? We’ve been getting that data out of what Nintendo tells its investors at the end of each quarter. The company’s most recent guidance is that it expects to move 14 million Switches by the end of its fiscal year (in March) and that, too, would edge the Wii U’s global lifetime-to-date sales (13.56 million). The next report should be sometime at the end of this month.

Expect Nintendo to check in again with another fastest-selling milestone for the Switch once the console reaches its first year of sales on March 3. If the Switch was the fastest-selling console in the U.S. after one month, and after 10 months, it’ll probably be the fastest-selling one after 12 months, too. The console also has the 10-month record in Japan, where the title holder had been the PlayStation 2.

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