After the March 3 global launch of the Nintendo Switch, Eric Bright, the senior director of merchandising for GameStop, called the hybrid console's release as the retailer's "strongest, most successful in years."
In an interview with Game Rant, Bright then said that the Nintendo Switch was a huge hit in GameStop stores nationwide, with all locations packed with customers who are looking to purchase the hybrid console.
Nintendo Switch Sales Through The Roof
In another more recent interview with Game Rant, Bright described the Nintendo Switch as a "transformational piece of technology," and it seems millions of other gamers agree with him enough to purchase the device.
A few days after its launch, the Nintendo Switch was given the status as the fastest-selling console that Nintendo has ever released in the United States. According to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, the sales over the first two days of the Nintendo Switch in the Americas was the most for any other Nintendo console, beating the previous mark set by the Nintendo Wii.
There were no specific figures then released regarding the sales performance of the Nintendo Switch, but SuperData was able to estimate that a whopping 1.5 million units over its week.
According to Bright, the booming launch of the Nintendo Switch has it on track to possibly beat Nintendo's currently most successful console, the Nintendo Wii, which sold more than 100 million units worldwide.
Bright said that, while he could not provide specific figures, GameStop is seeing very high attach rates for the Nintendo Switch in terms of accessories and software, the highest that the retailer has seen over a long time.
Will The Nintendo Switch Beat The Nintendo Wii?
Beating its predecessor, the failed Nintendo Wii U, is already a given for the Nintendo Switch, as the Nintendo Wii U was only able to manage sales of over 13 million units. Nintendo said that it expects to sell 40 million units of the Nintendo Switch over the next four years, with analysts predicting that the hybrid console could sell as many as 8 million units by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
To be able to sustain its momentum and launch an attempt to reach the lofty sales of the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo will first need to address the many issues that customers are having with the hybrid console. Among these problems are scratched screens from docking, dropping frame rates, and connection issues with the left Joy-Con. Gamers have mostly discovered their own solutions for the above problems, when Nintendo should be the first to acknowledge and provide a solution to these issues.
In addition to the solutions to reported problems, Nintendo will also need to continue releasing top-quality games for the Nintendo Switch. SuperData found that 89 percent of customers who purchased the hybrid console in its first week also bought The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Nintendo will need to draw the same level of interest for upcoming Nintendo Switch titles.
