Nintendo Switch Dominates September Sales Charts in Japan

The Nintendo Switch continues to sell very well indeed, but its lack of availability on store shelves is likely hurting it.


The Nintendo Switch continues to dominate in Japan, where it managed to top both the hardware and sales charts for the month of September. That information comes from Famitsu, which recently posted the preceding month’s totals.

As reported on NintendoSoup, the Nintendo Switch hardware sold 168,810 units during September, giving it a comfortable lead over the PlayStation 4, which still managed to sell an impressive 114,630 units. A Sony executive recently suggested Nintendo’s success isn’t hurting Sony’s hardware sales, and that appears to be correct at least for now.

Software is trickier to compare. Nintendo still has several active platforms competing in the marketplace, including not only the Switch, but the still-popular Nintendo 3DS and moribund Wii U. Together, sales for Nintendo’s games on those platforms totaled 398,000 units. In comparison, Sony sold 291,000 units of software across its active platforms. Square-Enix, without any hardware of its own, sold 180,000 units for various systems.

Although Nintendo’s numbers for September are impressive, the Switch sold 254,289 units in August. Given the console’s rarity on store shelves, it’s possible the difference is explained by customers simply being unable to find the hardware they otherwise would have purchased. Nintendo is working feverishly to meet demand, so that problem will hopefully diminish in coming months.

Another bright spot for Nintendo was Splatoon 2, which with 138,694 copies sold was the second most popular piece of software during the period. That’s not bad at all, especially considering the game originally released on July 21. It will likely continue to perform well for Nintendo for months to come, judging by the success its predecessor enjoyed.

In North America, sales are tracked by separate group. Nintendo will likely share those numbers later in the month, if they are favorable (as seems likely). Have you found a Switch yet?

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