Despite being one of the most popular consoles in the world right now, the Nintendo Switch has had a bit of a slow 2018. At least in terms of hardware sales. For while 2017 it dominated much of the time after its release, between January and June its sales were very inconsistent, and the quarterly results they didn’t even sell 2 million units in three months. However, July was the month where Nintendo got its groove back in terms of both hardware and software.
For the July NPD numbers have released, and they revealed that the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in terms of both units sold and dollars made (they keep track of both apparently. This is the first time in 2018 that the Switch has been on top console wise.
NPD analyst Mat Piscatella noted, “this is the seventh month that Switch has led in hardware dollar sales since launching in March 2017, and the first since December 2017. Unit sales of Nintendo hardware in July 2018 reached its highest point for a July month since 2009.”
That’s a pretty big jump, and it was bolstered by the incredible software numbers. For not only did they have the top spot via Octopath Traveler (read our review!), but in total, they had 6 of the top 10 spots in July. Including Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy, which released on June 29th on Switch, and has been selling pretty well ever since. Here is the top ten rankings:
- Octopath Traveler
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Far Cry 5
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Crew 2
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege
- Mario Tennis Aces
Octopath Traveler has already been confirmed to have over 1 million sales, and I’m curious to see how much it’s gotten in total. Ironically, the NPD numbers don’t include digital sales for the Nintendo titles, and Octopath still had the top spot. Last month’s top seller Mario Tennis Aces managed to hold into the Top 10 as well, showing that that game had legs as well.
All in all, a great month for Nintendo.
