Switch is the fastest selling US console in 2018

Nintendo’s hybrid console is showing no signs of slowing down.  According to data-counter NPD, the Switch is the fastest selling video game console in the US, beating out the PS4 and Xbox One.  From the system’s launch in March 2017, to November 2018, the Switch has sold 8.7 million units in the US alone.

This has no doubt been bolstered by the recent releases of several major Switch exclusives in the last few months, including the Pokemon: Let’s Go titles, Super Mario Party and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee and Let’s Go: Pikachu have sold 2 million copies in US, and Super Mario Party has sold 1.4 million in the same region.

However, that is nothing compared to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Nintendo’s latest entry in its landmark mascot fighter franchise has become the fastest selling Nintendo Switch game, and the fastest selling entry in the Super Smash Bros. franchise, selling over 3 million copies in just 11 days.

Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Doug Bowser, had this to say: “We are thrilled to see such a strong reaction from consumers in the second holiday season for Nintendo Switch.” He added:”We’re looking forward to delivering more excitement and smiles to our fans in the coming year and beyond.”

These are some great figures, but isn’t yet close to the mammoth sales of its hyper-successful predecessor, the Wii. Over its lifetime, the Wii had sold upwards of an estimated 101 million units globally. As of September this year, the Switch had sold more than an estimated 22 million units globally, a figure that has likely greatly increased over the last few months.

Even though the Switch is the fastest selling console this generation, the competition are still ahead in terms of total sales. This isn’t exactly surprising, considering the PS4 and Xbox One were released several years before the Switch was.

Microsoft doesn’t release precise sales figures for the Xbox One anymore, but the most recent figures from Sony state that over 86 million PS4s have been sold globally as of October 2018. At the rate the Nintendo Switch is flying off the shelves, however, Sony and Microsoft have reason to be nervous.