Nintendo Switch sales in US, Japan and UK reveal strong launch week

Update: Nintendo has now announced that Nintendo Switch has enjoyed the best first week sales of any Nintendo console across Europe and that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is its most successful launch title ever.

The new Zelda adventure, which was sold separate from the console, even outsold Wii Sports, which was bundled with every Wii console.

Original Story: Sales of Nintendo's new Switch console following its global launch last Friday (3 March) have been revealed for the US, Japan and the UK, suggesting a strong launch for the home and handheld hybrid device.

Overnight Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime revealed that Nintendo Switch sold more in its first week (consisting of its first weekend) on sale than any previous Nintendo console in North America.

In Japan, video game publication Famitsu estimates that sales tallied 330,637 units, a solid figure when compared with first week sales of the PS4 (322k), Wii U (308k) and Wii (370k).

On Monday (6 March), GamesIndustry.biz revealed that in the UK Switch sold around 80,000 units – twice that of the Wii U during its launch week, but less that of the Wii (105k), 3DS (113k) and a lot less than the PS4, which sold an enormous 250,000 units in week one.

In North America (via New York Times reporter Nick Wingfield on Twitter, citing an interview) Fils-Aime didn't offer a specific figure but trusting his claim is true and this was the strongest Nintendo console launch in the territory, that'd mean sales of over 600,000.

The Wii sold over 600,000 units in its first week in November 2006, aided by being close to the Black Friday retail event.

While it's impossible to judge a console's future success or failure on such launch week sales, it's still a strong start. Especially given the device launched in March rather than the busy end-of-year / Christmas period.

The figures for the three territories reveal that over one million units were sold in just the console's two biggest territories and the UK, before data has been revealed for the rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and so on.

Fils-Aime also stated that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the company's best-selling standalone launch title ever, beating Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64. He specifies standalone to discount pack-in games such as Wii Sports and Super Mario Bros.

Nintendo Switch is a console capable of both a home and handheld play, with users able to switch easily between the two modes. Breath of the Wild has aided the launch after drawing near-universal praise, with our own review hailing it as a masterpiece.

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