The Switch is officially the fastest selling Nintendo console of all time

We pretty much already knew this, but now it’s been confirmed. Nintendo’s Switch is numero uno in terms of the brand’s hardware sales.

Switch-ed

It seems strange to say that Nintendo isn’t the driving force in the gaming industry. After all, it was the savior of the industry with the NES, and kicked all kinds of butt with the SNES, and even the N64. But the company hasn’t been at the pinnacle of gaming for quite some time at present.

Basically that’s been the case since the early days of the Wii. You could make an argument that it started before that though, since the GameCube (which hit right before) went down as one of the worst selling Nintendo consoles of all time.

Here we are though, in 2017, and the Nintendo Switch is cleaning up at retail. The little semi-portable might not sport the horsepower of the PS4 and Xbox One, but it’s still moving plenty of units. And while finding one at retail isn’t impossible, it’s not easy either. Bottom line – it’s a hit. How big of a hit?

Nintendo has announced that the system sold more than 906,000 units in March

That figure is according to the US-based NPD group, which tracks game and console sales, so this isn’t an in-house figure. Mighty impressive, especially for a March launch, since that would probably be a much easier number to hit around the Holidays.

“Nintendo always strives to offer consumers something fun, new and different,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and COO. “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.”

But you know what might be even more impressive? The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 1.3 million units between the Wii U and Switch versions, with 925k of those being the latter edition. Think about that for a second. It means that the Switch version of BotW had an above 100% attach rate.

How can a game sell more copies than the console it’s playable on?

Nintendo attributes that to gamers buying Limited, Collector’s, and basic editions of the game. Thing is though, I know of people who’ve bought copies ahead of buying a Switch. Why? Because they want to have a copy for when they manage to find a Switch at retail. That’s pretty… wild, when you think about it.

So when taken all together, it certainly looks as though Nintendo has a hit on its hands. Now the only question is whether or not they’ll be able to keep up with demand. Well, that and if they can keep the games coming – a make-or-break factor.

They’re assured three hits at least this Spring/Summer though,m whites very positive. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Arms, and Splatoon 2 will all be hitting between now and July. I’ll be watching for some big announcements at E3 too. ‘Cause while those three titles might be solid for the year’s hottest months, Nintendo will need plenty more to keep the Switch train a-chuggin’ past Holiday 2017.