March 3rd marked the beginning of a new chapter in the world of gaming. The Nintendo Switch launch marks a change of direction for home console gaming, and GameStop says the device is off to a good start.
Nintendo hasn’t disclosed any opening weekend sales figures, but GameStop’s senior director of merchandising Eric Bright says the Switch had “one of the strongest and most successful gaming console launches for GameStop in the last several years”. In an interview with Game Rant, he said stores across the country were packed with people trying to get their hands on the new console. Here’s his entire quote:
“Stores across the country last night were packed with customers who couldn’t wait to get their hands on the brand new Nintendo Switch. We even had customers lining up as early as yesterday morning so that they could be one of the lucky ones to score one of the additional units for our walk-in customers. This is one of the strongest and most successful gaming console launches for GameStop in the last several years. For those fans who are still looking for the Nintendo Switch, don’t worry–we’re getting more. And, we’re pretty sure that there are a lot of gaming fans who pulled all-nighters last night playing their new Switch, and who also called in sick to work today with ‘game-fluenza’ just to stay home and play even more.”
It would have been great to get an update on GameStop’s ability to score some additional pro-controllers and Joy-Cons, but at least it seems more Switch consoles will be in stores soon. In the meantime, the Switch is being put to the test worldwide.
Sales figures aside, the console is off to a mixed start. Nintendo Switch launch game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild became the second highest reviewed game of all-time, currently owning a 98 on Metacritic. However, issues with the left Joy-Con have persisted and are not an isolated problem. Nintendo released a statement on possible fixes today, and we can only hope they’re searching for a long term solution. We’ll have more on the Switch here at The Outerhaven soon, so stick around for our official review of Breath of the Wild and much, much more.