Nintendo in Canada Going Strong

Nintendo’s numbers world wide in 2017 have been phenomenal, thanks to continually strong sales from the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, but also because of the huge success of Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch. It should be no surprise that the Nintendo Switch is doing well in the market right now, at least not if you look at what has been released to date. Big, AAA titles are hitting the system at a pace of once per month, and third party support seems to be present for the time being. Here are a few highlights from the numbers, as they impact Canada, generally considered a great example of what world wide numbers might look like.

Nintendo Switch is the Best Selling Console in Canada – This really shouldn’t be surprising. While PS4 sales are strong, the system has been around for a number of years, and most individuals who want one, have one. PS4 sales are not poor, but they cannot compete with a brand new, innovate gaming system. For the Xbox One, sales of the system have tapered off this year dramatically, due in part to the lack of first party exclusive titles, and the pending launch of the Xbox One X; while we expect those sales numbers to spike in November when their newest console launches, it might be hard to topple the Nintendo giant.

Super Mario Odyssey has the Strongest Launch Day Sales of any Super Mario title in Nintendo of Canada History – This stat is pretty much par for the course around the world, but they build up and hype for Super Mario Odyssey really began the second Super Mario Galaxy 2 was released. Nintendo expiremented with a number of other ‘3D’ titles, but fans were clamoring for the open world style game to make a come back, rather than the worlds/levels that Nintendo had been doing on the Nintendo Wii U. Perfect scores – such as the one we gave the game – probably help a lot too!

Super Mario Odyssey is the Number One Fastest Selling Game on the Nintendo Switch, Toppling the Previous Leader, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – To have two great titles like Zelda and Mario land in the same year is phenomenal, and until this past weekend, I would have said Breath of the Wild was a slam dunk tow in Game of the Year in 2017. I’ve altered my position slightly, sticking with Nintendo and the Switch, but changing my Game of the Year title to Super Mario Odyssey. With over 2 million units of Super Mario Odyssey being sold world wise, it is no surprise it was also the fastest selling Switch title in Canada as well!

73% Of All Gaming Hardware Sold in September was Nintendo – This figure actually shocked me, because despite how good Nintendo was performing with both the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, I would still think the other consoles combined would make somewhat of a dent in the sales of the Nintendo systems. Nope, I couldn’t have been more wrong, and probably for the reasons outlined above regarding the Switch being the number one console in Canada. But, to outsell everything out by almost 3 times?! That is insane!

Nintendo is the #1 Publisher of Games in Canada – This one I can easily believe. As noted earlier, Nintendo has been hitting the Nintendo Switch with AAA, first party titles on a monthly basis; outside of a few recent launches, almost everything else has been Nintendo published. We have pride in our relationship with Nintendo, and I can tell you it is not joke that we are getting 2-3 first party games for review each month from Nintendo, on both the 3DS family of systems and the Nintendo Switch.

And there you have it. After the debacle that most media and consumers will agree was the Nintendo Wii U, the Nintendo Switch has turned haters into believers again, and are doing it the right way, focusing on games, games, and more games! We will be up in Toronto this weekend checking some of them out, and will post our thoughts on Nintendo’s upcoming titles early next week!