Technobubble: Switch fastest-selling Nintendo system, Zelda Switch attach rate above 100%
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Nintendo is seeing a switch in its console fortunes following the launch of its latest system.
The Nintendo Switch is now officially the fastest-selling system in the company’s history, Nintendo of America announced on Thursday afternoon.
The system sold more than 906,000 units during its launch month of March, according to numbers from the NPD Group released by Nintendo.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which the Reno Gazette-Journal rated a 10 out of 10, also proved to be a critical and commercial success for Nintendo. The game sold more than 925,000 units for the Switch, outpacing the console’s own sales numbers. This gave the latest Zelda game an attach rate of more than 100 percent for the Switch.
One factor could be Nintendo’s inability to keep up with demand for the system so far. Just two weeks after the Switch launch, Nintendo bumped up production for the console from a planned 8 million units for the year to 16 million units, according to the Wall Street Journal due to strong sales. The system continues to sell out a little over a month since launch.
Nintendo, however, pointed to collectors as a potential reason for the unconventional attach rate for Breath of the Wild's Switch version.
“This may be attributed to people who purchased both a limited edition of the game to collect and a second version to play,” Nintendo said in its announcement.
Breath of the Wild also posted nearly 460,000 sales for its Wii U version, bringing the game’s sales total up to more than 1.3 million units.
Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America president and chief operating officer, credited the Switch’s hybrid design for its launch success. The system can be played on the go as a portable console but can also be docked to connect to a television at home.
“Nintendo always strives to offer consumers something fun, new and different,” Fils-Aime said. “With its various play modes and the innovative features of the Joy-Con controllers, Nintendo Switch provides unique experiences that people can take with them anywhere and share with anyone.”
Nintendo plans to provide more details about the Switch’s worldwide sales on April 27 as part of its fiscal-year earnings report.
