Hey Nintendo Fans! I am Tim from The Nintendo Gamer. Once a week I will be jumping in to visit NAG and talk about all things Nintendo in this very special column. The giant Japanese developer is in the news a lot lately and, thanks to the recent success of the Switch, many South Africans are more interested in Nintendo now than they have been in years (or possibly ever were). So, every (Wednesday?) I will be enthusiastically sharing my opinion on some of the big stories and hopefully conveying my love of Mario one pixel (and one word) at a time.
So here we go!
Switch Sale-a-bration
February is a strange month for Nintendo. There aren’t any big first-party titles out this month and while I suspect most fans will be playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus this week, because it only launched on Friday it’s probably too soon to chat about anything but initial impressions. So, we’ll leave that one for later this month.
Hmm, it may seem there’s not much I can wax lyrical about…except later today Nintendo will be providing updates on their software and hardware sales (up to December 2020)!
Now, I know financial reports don’t usually get too many people excited. But, bear with me. You see, last week, early predictions concluded that this particular report may reveal that total Switch Sales have now exceeded 102.5 million. That is significant because that number is the lifetime sales figure of the original PlayStation. And some even say that by the end of 2022 (and barring any real ‘Super Switch Pro’-type announcements) Switch sales may even overtake those of the PS4 and Game Boy. If they do, that would mean the Switch would become the 3rd highest-selling console ever – and only the Nintendo DS family of systems and the supreme PS2 would have sold more.
Just think of that for a second. Think what a huge phenomenon the original PlayStation was. If you’re anywhere around my age you probably owned the original PlayStation or definitely knew a friend who did. Think about how gigantic the PS4 was (and continues to be). The success of the PS4 was so massive that it basically blew Xbox out of the water and it could be argued is partially responsible for Xbox’s current bold strategy which includes Game Pass, and xCloud and their multiple acquisitions. And yet, the Switch may outsell the PS4 this year. Consider that it may also overtake the GameBoy; A system that in one way or another was around for 14 years and was home to the original Pokémon games and Tetris too. Again, the Switch may outsell the GameBoy… this year!
Finally, travel back in time with me to the months before the Switch launched in 2017. The Wii U had sold a measly 13.5 million systems over 5 years. To put that into some perspective – that’s not too far off what the PS5 and Xbox X/S have already sold in around one year. (In fact, as confirmed earlier today – the PS5 actually outsold the Wii U in just over year with 17.3 million in sales).
While the world was in a pandemic.
And there were severe production issues.
Many people thought Nintendo was dead in the water and would soon go the way of SEGA – and who could blame them?
And yet, here we are 2022 talking about how well it is doing. Nintendo, by ‘going their own way’ and producing an innovative piece of hybrid hardware alongside some fantastic software has got a mega-hit on its hands. And as the Switch flourishes into its fifth year, I can’t help but marvel at the simply wonderful console sitting on my desk and smile that (at least according to the sales figures) so many of you may be doing the same thing right now.
Check out more dedicated Nintendo news, reviews and features at www.nintendogamer.co.za!
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