On April 24th, 2021, the impact Nintendo Switch has reached a new milestone by becoming the sixth best-selling console of all time in Japan, with a sales total of 19.41 million units. As of May 8th, 2021, it has currently sold 84.59 million units worldwide, which surpasses the Game Boy Advance by 3.08 million units sold in half the time.
The Nintendo Switch surpassed the Famicom by 60,000 units and currently trails the Sony PlayStation Portable by 280,000 units. The milestone is an extraordinary achievement for the popular console, and it is important to not only take a look back at its history, but the impact it has had on gamers and the gaming community.
The Impact Nintendo Switch Has Delivered: Four Years of Hybrid Gaming
By March 31, 2007, the Sony PSP had dominated the handheld console market with 25.39 million units shipped worldwide and, by the week of March 24, 2008, almost outsold all other consoles on the market at that time in Japan.
With the growth of mobile gaming and popular series now being ported to phones, such as Diablo Immortal which is in beta right now, it made sense to bounce back from the Wii with a more versatile and user-friendly console that could have a real impact on the industry.
A Financial Success
The Switch tripled the Playstation 4 in sales for 2017 with 3.8 million units sold in Japan versus 1.1 million. In the first month, it sold 2.74 million units worldwide, which topped the original estimate of two million. Also in Japan, the Switch topped the Playstation 2’s first-year sales by two hundred thousand units helping to rejuvenate an increasingly stagnant console market. It became the fastest-selling console in the United States, France, Canada in 2017, and in Spain in 2018. In fact, as of 2021, Nintendo Switch has had better overall sales than the Wii U, Gamecube, Nintendo 64, SNES, the NES, and the Nintendo DS.
Versatility Is The Name Of The Game
The Nintendo Switch enables the player to use the console as a mobile device as well as a stationary system. This versatility makes the console more appealing to the average gamer, due to the value of choice. As a gamer myself, I can play during a bus ride to pass the time, or invite friends over to enjoy a multiplayer experience. I am not personally limited in my feeding my gaming needs. The more options there are, the more reach there is in the consumer market. Lives are getting busier and busier, and prior to the pandemic, more people were out and about. To be able to just pick up and play wherever you can is extremely convenient.
Younger generations are growing up more technologically savvy through early exposure to devices. They know their wants and needs and will gravitate to what provides the best experience for them. Having a console with a multitude of functions is the baseline current day, and is also what the Switch provides. Plus, gamers really enjoy picking up a title and playing with their friends. Game franchises like Mario Party and Mario Kart are primarily focused on that aspect, which means the Switch is far-reaching in who it can be used by.
The versatility is not just in its hardware and multiplayer functions though, it is also seen in its promotion of smaller named games. In the viewpoint of an indie developer, to have their game promoted by a large, well-known brand is very encouraging. Smaller companies gain some footing on par with the established ones, which exposes their product to more communities.
Bringing Childhood Characters To The Modern Digital Screen
Many gamers will have experienced Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda Donkey Kong amongst others meaning there plenty of value to be had in re-mastering and re-imagining these games for the modern age. Retro gaming continues to grow and the Nintendo Switch Online service brings NES and SNES classics into your hands providing the best of all worlds. The Switch has also allowed gamers to access old classics from the Nintendo E-Shop, as well as use the console’s versatility to play them on higher resolution screens.
Last Word on Gaming Viewpoint – The Impact Nintendo Switch Has Made
The Nintendo Switch catapulted Nintendo back into the limelight and although they are attacking a different audience than Microsoft and Sony, it was vital that they didn’t make any errors with the Switch. Nintendo showed bravery following the failure of the Wii U, and used that experience and not only learned from it but capitalized on it.
Younger generations are being exposed to gaming earlier and have more technology at their fingertips than ever before and the Nintendo Switch is perfect for all ages because it covers so many eventualities providing them with more choice and versatility towards their gaming habits.
