Nintendo Co's new Switch 2 console sustained its blistering start to sales globally by setting a new record for the fastest-selling video game device in US history.
The Japanese company sold 1.6 million units of its US$450 console in the US in June, the highest launch month for any console in the country, according to market tracker Circana. The previous high was 1.1 million units for Sony Group Corp’s PlayStation 4 in 2013.
The Switch 2 performance helped more than triple overall game hardware spending, Circana said. Americans spent US$978mil on new devices and accessories, from all brands, setting an all-time high for June in a year that saw otherwise declining spending.
The new device, of existential importance to Nintendo and its family of game franchises, has been an instant hit with users in its most important markets. At home in Japan, the Switch 2 has also become the fastest-selling console ever, according to the latest Famitsu retail data.
Still, Mat Piscatella, executive director at Circana, sounded a note of caution for Nintendo’s long-term prospects.
"Launch buyers of any new video game product will be, by nature, the most enthusiastic and least price sensitive,” he wrote in an online post. "Have to wait until holiday at the earliest before getting a better read on how pricing will work with the more mass market buyer.”
Nintendo’s bet on a single hardware platform with the original Switch – combining its mobile and home consoles into one – added pressure on the company to get both hardware and software right. It responded by delivering a string of hits that sustained the Switch’s popularity, and it’s off to a strong start with the Switch 2 as well. Its July 17 release of Donkey Kong Bananza was greeted by positive critical reviews and looks set to power further sales deep into the summer. – Bloomberg
