Nintendo Switch Sales Surge in Japan a Month Before Christmas

The Nintendo Switch looks unsurprisingly set to dominate the Christmas sales period in Japan, with larger shipments of the console to retailers allowing for even more impressive numbers in the hardware charts, based on the information from Media Create. The console managed to move more than 145.000 consoles on the week traditionally seen as the start of the biggest period of sales, which makes some wonder how much higher it can get closer to the year’s end.

And while Nintendo platforms are traditionally the favourite items for consumers in December (Sony consoles usually experience a boost in January), the Switch seems like it will live an extra special holiday season, with numbers rivalring those of the Nintendo 3DS in its first Christmas. The portable device seems like it will leave the path clear for its hybrid successor, as the console actually decreased in sales this week, pulling about half the numbers of the same period in 2016. The PS4 is mostly stable, although it is expected to grow with the upcoming Monster Hunter bundles and the game’s beta starting in two weeks.

While consoles sales got to shine this week, new entries in the software list went largely unnoticed, with only Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone DX for PS4 breaking into the top five. Other new releases outside of the top 10 include Beyblade Burst: God and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney for 3DS, and Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 – Deluxe Edition and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus for PS4. Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Gran Turismo Sport increased their sales.

Software List

01. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon – 168.978 / 836.417 (-75%)
02. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey – 77.751 / 792.059 (+25%)
03. [PS4] Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone DX – 34.896 / NEW
04. [NSW] Splatoon 2 – 30.275 / 1.373.530 (+21%)
05. [PS4] Call of Duty: WWII – 21.512 / 290.995 (-37%)
06. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon Veteran Trainer’s Dual Pack – 20.297 / 268.080 (-92%)
07. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 18.846 / 837.850 (+14%)
08. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 15.162 / 657.015 (+116%)
09. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo – 10.806 / 281.571 (+214%)
10. [PS4] Star Wars: Battlefront II – 10.734 / 49.503 (-72%)
11. [3DS] Beyblade Burst: God – 9.550 / NEW
12. [3DS] Style Savvy: Styling Star – 6.256 / 54.605 (-4%)
13. [PS4] Gran Turismo Sport – 5.940 / 193.443 (+17%)
14. [3DS] Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney – 4.832 / NEW
15. [PS4] Ark: Survival Evolved – 4.308 / 114.287 (-30%)
16. [PS4] Dragon Ball: Xenoverse 2 – Deluxe Edition – 4.216 / NEW
17. [NSW] Pokken Tournament DX – 4.197 / 126.530 (-37%)
18. [NSW] 1-2-Switch – 3.921 / 283.108
19. [PS4] Assassin’s Creed: Origins – 3.662 / 91.997 (-35%)
20. [PS4] Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus – 3.555 / NEW

Hardware List

01. Nintendo Switch – 145.200
02. Nintendo 3DS – 34.886
03. PlayStation 4 – 26.909
04. PlayStation Vita – 5.964
05. Xbox One – 408
06. Wii U – 85
07. PlayStation 3 – 46