Nintendo: Switch Lite is weak, main model remains strong

The hole in the corona pandemic and the shortage of chips have left their mark, but the Switch is still on the road to success.

Nintendo released its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 (April-July) today. Last year the Kyoto-based company broke all records, spurred on by the corona pandemic. Animal Crossing: New Horizons also came out at just the right time. In the absence of a steady flow of major stocks and the continuing shortage of semiconductors, the hole that was left after the previous record year could not be filled.

In total, the devices of the Nintendo Switch family were able to sell 4.45 million times worldwide in the specified period. It is noticeable that the Switch Lite, which can only be used in handheld mode, has collapsed. 1.14 million Units stand 2.62 million Units in the corresponding period of the previous year. The standard model lasted roughly: From April to June 2021 3.31 million Units discontinued. They were in the same period last year 3.50 million. The total sales since the launch in March 2017 thus amount to 89.04 million.

Despite the corona-related damper, the Switch is still on the way to becoming the console that can sell 100 million copies the fastest. Even the Wii has been overhauled in this regard. This mark should be exceeded by the end of the year.

On the other hand, there has been little change in the software figures. The Wii-U port Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still the most successful Switch title. with 37.08 million sold units (including downloads), the title almost overtook the high-flyer Mario Kart Wii (37.38 million) as of June. Then follow accordingly:

1. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (37.08 Mio.)
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (33.89 Mio.)
3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (24.77 Mio.)
4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (23,20 Mio.)
5. Pokémon sword / shield (21.85 million)
6. Super Mario Odyssey (21.40 Mio.)
7. Super Mario Party (15.72 Mio.)
8. Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu / Evoli (13.57 Mio.)
9. Splatoon 2 (12.45 Mio.)
10. Ring Fit Adventure (11,26 Mio.)

The strongest new title of the quarter was New Pokémon Snap (2.07 million). Within a few weeks, Mario Golf Super Rush rose to become the second most successful title in the series (1.34 million). By the time of Christmas at the latest, major releases were able to boost sales again this year. With WarioWare: Get it Together !, Metroid Dread, Mario Party Superstars, Pokémon Radiant Diamond / Shining Pearl and Shin Megami Tensei V, Nintendo is well positioned for the rest of the year. In addition, the new Switch OLED model will appear in October.