Nintendo Switch has outsold the Nintendo 64

[-Apples-]

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-has-officially-outsold-the-n64/1100-6466474/

So it?s been a little over two years since the Nintendo Switch launched, and it has outsold three of their consoles. In 2017 alone, it has outsold the Wii U?s lifetime sales. In 2018, it outsold the GameCube, Nintendo?s worst selling console before the Wii U came out. Now it has outsold the Nintendo 64?s lifetime sales, and it?s on its way to outselling the SNES.

What do you think of this milestone the Switch made in the last two years?

 

[rianne]

I'm not surprised. :3 Nintendo did well with the marketing---on cable TV, I saw the advertisements a few times. So that showed the older demographic who watches TV that they ""need"" to get it for their sons, daughters, grandchildren, etc. Plus, the ~*~hot deals~*~ to get the console itself from various sites. There was online and "offline"/IRL hype for the console even long after its release. Nintendo Labo caused a bit of mixed reactions but any publicity is good publicity in this case. People I knew IRL began to talk about the Switch because of stuff like Labo and SSBU's release.

For Black Friday this past year, the Navy Exchange where I live did one such deal---you buy a Nintendo Switch console and get Mario Kart 8 or Fortnite along with it. It sold out that day because the flyer allows people to anticipate (and prep for) it lol. I'm sure the line to purchase was crazy long. And of course that doesn't take into account the Wal-mart, Target, etc. deals across the nation that were the same. Amazon had some deals too. Countless other retailers wanted a piece of that $ Nintendo pie $ and I don't blame 'em. I can't even imagine what it was like in Japan or elsewhere, but I have looked at the numbers in regard to how it sold globally. Pretty interesting stuff.

Rant aside, Nintendo really played their cards right to ensure that the Switch didn't have a similar fate to the Wii U.

 

[LambdaDelta]

tbh, I'm more amazed the n64 sales were this high to begin with

 

[MapleSilver]

As a Nintendo fan this is definitely nice to hear. I don't own stock in the company or anything, but I would prefer they do well so they can keep making excellent games. Right now they seem to be in a good spot, something that's especially welcome after the disaster that was Wii U sales numbers.

 

[-Apples-]

I wasn’t surprised that it will outsell the Nintendo 64 anyway. The sales report in January was 32.23 million, which is very close, but not above the Nintendo 64’s total sales. Because of how successful the Switch was, I doubt it will sell less than a million in three months.

Amusingly, the three Nintendo consoles it outsold were the Nintendo consoles that were bad for business. The Wii U was a complete disaster and was Nintendo’s big trouble akin to Microsoft’s common Red Ring of Death and Sony’s PSN Outage of 2011. The GameCube was Nintendo’s worst performing console as of 2011. And the Nintendo 64 was when Nintendo began to get in serious trouble (since they were stubborn to stick with the cartridge based format). The Switch will eventually outsell the SNES, the NES, and finally, the 3DS, but even they weren’t as bad for business.

 

[Midoriya]

I’ll be surprised when the Switch outsells the 3DS finally though. Not saying it can’t be done, just saying the Switch has some ground to cover before it gets there. As far as I’m concerned, the portable console lineup from the original DS to the New Nintendo 3DS has dominated the portable console market for a long time and was definitely better than anything Microsoft or Sony could come up with at one point.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

RIP in peace my N64 bebe :sad:

It's really cool to see the Switch doing so well though. The Wii U's failure legitimately tore up a part of my childhood because I had so much faith in it from the beginning, so it's great to see Nintendo revitalizing themselves.

 

[Stella-Io]

I'm not surprised the Switch has out sold the Wii U. Wii U is garbage, Nintendo should have just improved the Wii change my mind. I feel the Wii was pretty great thou, it doesn't need alot of improvements. Also the Wii and 3DS system are my fav so I'm a little biased.

I can't really say about the other consoles, since I never played them nor did I know they were considered bad.

 

[nintendofan85]

I wasn’t surprised that it will outsell the Nintendo 64 anyway. The sales report in January was 32.23 million, which is very close, but not above the Nintendo 64’s total sales. Because of how successful the Switch was, I doubt it will sell less than a million in three months.

Amusingly, the three Nintendo consoles it outsold were the Nintendo consoles that were bad for business. The Wii U was a complete disaster and was Nintendo’s big trouble akin to Microsoft’s common Red Ring of Death and Sony’s PSN Outage of 2011. The GameCube was Nintendo’s worst performing console as of 2011. And the Nintendo 64 was when Nintendo began to get in serious trouble (since they were stubborn to stick with the cartridge based format). The Switch will eventually outsell the SNES, the NES, and finally, the 3DS, but even they weren’t as bad for business.

It should also be noted that the Nintendo 64 didn't sell particularly well in Japan.

 

[-Apples-]

It should also be noted that the Nintendo 64 didn't sell particularly well in Japan.

Because of cartridge format of course. They chose to stick with the cartridges, and most RPG makers have moved onto discs back then because of their cost effectiveness. They wouldn’t make any RPGs for the Nintendo 64 because of how limited the data in cartridges were. Since RPGs were so popular in Japan, the Nintendo 64 did very poorly there, even worse than the Sega Saturn (a console that was a death sentence for Sega). Nowadays, data has improved so well that cartridges are becoming relevant again, as discs are finally phasing out.

 

[Shellzilla_515]

Because of cartridge format of course. They chose to stick with the cartridges, and most RPG makers have moved onto discs back then because of their cost effectiveness. They wouldn’t make any RPGs for the Nintendo 64 because of how limited the data in cartridges were. Since RPGs were so popular in Japan, the Nintendo 64 did very poorly there, even worse than the Sega Saturn (a console that was a death sentence for Sega). Nowadays, data has improved so well that cartridges are becoming relevant again, as discs are finally phasing out.

Interesting. Kinda bit like the boomerang effect. Anyways, I'm glad the Switch is doing very well as of now. I'm assuming it had something to do with people's tight schedules and its portability. Granted, playing with one joycon can be a bit discomforting at times, but at least you don't have to shell out more money just so you can have another person to play with you.

 

[Halloqueen]

I'm of mixed feelings on this. On one hand, it's a fun console and the portability and convenience is great for those who are interested in that aspect (I only play docked personally, so it's no big deal for me).

However, it's also has issues that make this accomplishment feel bittersweet. I never use the Joy-Cons, but I've seen talk over the years of them eventually developing drifting issues, particularly the left Joy-Cons for whatever reason. The option to dock is great for people like me who only care to play the system on a bigger screen, but the dock is or was at one point seemingly so poorly designed that numerous people developed scratches on their Switch screens just from putting it in the dock, practically necessitating the separate purchase of a screen protector. I remember seeing people talk about the Switch overheating and developing cracks in the plastic. The Online functionality, as someone who owns both a 3DS and a Wii U, feels like a rip-off; we're now paying for what was free on the 3DS/Wii U with no real discernible benefit by purchasing a subscription and the NES games they let you play if you subscribe are a poor substitute for being able to pick games you wanted to purchase and play via the Virtual Console like you could on the Wii/3DS/Wii U.

The Switch, while fun, feels like it was hastily conceived and rushed out without ironing out all the fine details. There has been talk for a long while that there will likely be a Switch Mini or Switch Pro coming down the pipeline in the future, which is a fair guess considering Nintendo's history with handheld consoles. As someone who has owned a Switch since a little before Super Smash Bros. Ultimate released, such rumors are good and bad; good because maybe some of the technical issues and design flaws the console has will be remedied somewhat, bad because it can leave an "early adopter" feeling a bit left out in the cold. That latter point is a bit weak when the various iterations of the DS and 3DS/2DS are considered, as this practice should be accounted for before purchasing a Nintendo console, but if a more powerful Switch is released which can better handle third-party ports and original Switches get the shaft then that is really going to suck. And if that possibility comes to pass then it feels different from the 3DS/3DS XL/New 3DS XL situation in that at least the standard 3DS, while it couldn't play something optimized for a New 3DS, could play a majority of the library and was, on its own, well designed and perfectly functional for what it was meant to be.

I can't say I don't enjoy the Switch, but I also can't say that I'm going to be happy about its financial successes. Compared to previous consoles it doesn't feel like it should be rewarded despite it failings. In comparison, even the Wii U, despite its poor sales and some underwhelming features (the limited range you can take the GamePad from the console is dreadful), feels more like a fully realized console, from concept to creation and even, to a point, execution, than the Switch does.


On that note, this talk of Nintendo console sales and how the GameCube had lackluster sales is really unfortunate given all this considering its fun library and makes this a particularly rough pill to swallow. The GameCube had great experiences like:

Animal Crossing
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Kirby Air Ride
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Luigi's Mansion
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Mario Party 4-7
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Pikmin
Pikmin 2
Pok?mon Colosseum
Pok?mon XD: Gale of Darkness
Resident Evil (remake)
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
SoulCalibur II
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Monkey Ball
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Viewtiful Joe

and more.


That a console like the GameCube sold so poorly despite all of its offerings and wonderful controller is a bummer. That a faulty console that seems to succeed and be rewarded despite itself has so handily outsold it is even more of a bummer. And yet, the Switch is not wholly without merit. The convenience is top notch.

All in all? Congratulations on the achievement, I guess. The Switch isn't all it could be, but as I've said, it's still enjoyable for what it is.

 

[Tao]

Anyways, I'm glad the Switch is doing very well as of now. I'm assuming it had something to do with people's tight schedules and its portability.

I would throw the Wii U's low sales figures in as a contribute to the Switch's success too, not to mention Nintendo's previous lack of third party support.

I'm personally still not really that impressed with the Switch. The hardware aside (which whilst it's impressive I can play these games on the go, I still see a lot of issues with it) I bought it for Nintendo exclusives and so far there's not been that much which has really blown my mind. I can count on one hand the number of current exclusives I've had enough interest in to finish with fingers to spare. Basically every Wii U port I already have on the Wii U, the vast majority of third party games I've already played on other systems or would prefer to own on more 'capable' hardware.

Meanwhile, all these Wii U ports are attractive to everybody who didn't own a Wii U (which is a lot of people). I wouldn't be surprised if most people buying these games were unaware that games like Mario Kart 8 or Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze were even games from an older system. For non Wii U owners, the Switch has a very attractive Nintendo library thanks to the failure of the Wii U and how quickly these titles got ported.

There's a lot of people who also wouldn't touch previous Nintendo home consoles because of the lacking third party support leading to a fairly anorexic 'worthwhile' library. Seeing as publishers are actually supporting the Switch, that isn't as much of an issue this time around. It's not getting EVERY latest release and I suspect it never will (especially when "next gen" comes), but I imagine a lot of people would opt for a technically inferior version of a new release like Mortal Kombat 11 if it meant they can play it on the move.


I think if I skipped the Wii U like pretty much everybody else did, I would like the Switch a lot more...But on the other hand, Xenoblade Chronicles X still hasn't gotten and there's no news of it getting a port, so, glad I did.

The Switch, while fun, feels like it was hastily conceived and rushed out without ironing out all the fine details.

I won't count issues I've not had, but:

- the joycon drift has happened to me. In 28 years, these flimsy pieces of crap are the first controllers I've EVER had to replace...And unsurprisingly given Nintendo's history with stock, the colours I wanted weren't in stock so I ended up with ones I kinda don't like

- The crappy battery life is a consistent issue. So many times I've took it out of the bag to find it on basically unplayable battery life, not helped by the fact that they've made it awkward to actually turn off the system and basically forcing 'sleep mode' on me. Even when it's at full charge, it's not long until me and my friends are rationing who gets to use the charger since it drains so quickly.

- The lack of such a basic necessity like a friggin' web browser. As much as I prefer playing on a TV, my game time has basically been demoted solely to outside in my car whilst I wait for things. Given it's a portable system with some games that heavily focus on online, why doesn't it have a browser? Even the 3DS had a browser. A game like Splatoon 2, as much as I would like to, I just don't play anymore since if I'm out and need an internet connection, many places require you to 'sign in' even when they're free...Something a lack of browser ultimately prevents.

- Remember all the stories about how they tested older handhelds to make sure they were basically nuke proof? Throwing them downstairs multiple times or drowning them to make sure they would survive a childs stupidity? If I dropped my Game Boy or 3DS I would be more worried I damaged the floor than the console. Meanwhile, it feels like the Switch could break at any moment. I've never been so protective over a console and not because I love it, but because I'm paranoid the flimsy feeling thing could break at any moment.

- The interface is just horrible. It's not like having home screen interfaces are new, it's been literally decades at this point. The Wii U and 3DS interfaces were actually quite good IMO. Why is the Switch's so lacking?

- That kick stand. Just no. I'll never use that thing. Who looked at that and thought "yea, that'll be safe"?


I know consoles are in production years before the successor, but it feels like the Switch was put into mass production before they had finished designing the consumer model.

 

[Jo Frosty]

And we're glad, its what she deserves! nintendo flopity four smh