UK week one Switch sales hit 80k

Nintendo Switch sold 80k units in its first 48 hours on sale in the UK, MCV understands.

To put that into context, that’s double the 40k Wii U managed in its opening weekend, but below the 113k shifted by the 3DS in the same period.

For further context, Wii sold around 105k in its opening weekend. The Xbox One managed 150k, and the PS4 250k.

To what extent Switch’s numbers were limited by stock levels is unclear. Certainly some retailers are sold out, although the machine is still available from some online stores and can still be found on the High Street, albeit patchily.

In the US, GameStop described the launch as one of the strongest and most successful gaming console launches for GameStop in the last several years”, according to GameSpot. Analysts have over the weekend voiced the opinion that Switch has done very well in Japan and the US, but less so in Europe.

Critical smash hit The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the Switch’s best-selling UK title, although it didn’t make to the top of the UK Charts, being beaten by new PS4 IP Horizon Zero Dawn, which became PS4’s biggest ever new IP launch.

78 per cent of Breath of the Wild’s sales were for Switch and 22 per cent for Wii U. The Switch game ranks as the third biggest Zelda launch ever behind Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

Breath of the Wild accounted for 75 per cent of all total Switch software sales for the week, with two others making the Top Ten – 1-2 Switch at No.4 and Super Bomberman R at No.7. The Switch version of Just Dance 2017 also sees that game re-enter the Top 40 at No.24, although Skylanders Imaginators misses out on a Top 40 spot despite the new Switch version.