Support NeoGAF

[FunkyPajamas]

Nice. Zelda working its magic. Go Nintendo!

Now give me Metroid.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

You're making me feel old here.

The Wii was probably the hottest video game launch ever. It was like fucking impossible to find for at least a year and a half after launch. So yeah, beating its two day sales is a pretty big deal.

It was. I recall it just scraping 1st place but it was crazy suply constrained.

The Wii was indeed a hot item upon release. The motion controls where a hot topic and it came off the DS taking the world by storm. People where lining up early morning at retail stores across the country week 1.

Switch beating it, even if its just 2 days, is a pretty huge deal.

Wether it will have the word of mouth the Wii had all the way to the holidays due to Wii Sports catching on is another matter, since it was a domino effect I´m sure its very difficult to replicate.

This does show people where hyped for Switch though, and find the concept compelling, IMO.

The Walmart I camped outside of for 28 hours on launch had over 400 people in line when Wii went on sale. Wii was a phenomenon we will probably never see again unless some future device hits all those chords properly

Amazon really sucked the air out of my Switch hype

I just got it today and did not even open the box yet, I had to download Zelda from Wii U eShop even though they did get my Zelda Switch and Pro Controller to me day 1 but no hardware until today

I guess beating the Wii 2 days is impressive after all

 

[Icolin]

Congratulations to Nintendo. Looking forward to getting the Switch in the near future when the likes of Splatoon 2, MK8 Deluxe, Mario Odyssey, and the inevitable third party games from NIS, Capcom, Atlus, and SE start rolling out.

 

[Platy]

Scalpers! And judging by craigslist and ebay they bought a whole lot of them.

That will only give Zelda more eshop sales ...if the scalpers manage to sell them without zelda

 

[crazyjah2003]

I really hope this mean we get some good ports. I am hoping the next Elders scroll comes out for it.

 

[Dangansona]

So really 2017 can be the final nail in the coffin on the idea that we have to shove all games and hardware into the last three months of the year.

 

[Veitsev]

So really 2017 can be the final nail in the coffin on the idea that we have to shove all games and hardware into the last three months of the year.

That would be rad. Crazy how much good shit has (and will) come out in the first three months of the year

 

[Blackquill]

Zelda deserves it, but that's not enough

 

[Draper]

Congrats Nintendo!

Heck of a system.

 

[antonz]

So really 2017 can be the final nail in the coffin on the idea that we have to shove all games and hardware into the last three months of the year.

It would be fantastic if the industry finally realized that. There is a whole Calendar to fill and people will buy what they like no matter what time of the year it is.

 

[LordOcidax]

Great news. Zelda deserve all the love.

 

[Clockwork]

Inventory shipments are so strange. When I stood in line at Walmart Thursday night they had 23 Switch units.

I went there today and they obviously had no Switches but they had like 30 copies of Zelda in the display case.

 

[Gaiaknight]

now they need to continue the momentum with a first party games almost every month with mario kart 8 in april i hope they get ARMS out in may and possibly splatoon 2 out in june or july.

 

[immortald3ath]

Nice, gj Nintendo. Have a WiiU and still bought a Switch for Zelda alone. And after playing Zelda for 12 hours both docked and portable, totally worth it!!!

 

[eyeball_kid]

I won my Wii from a Ubisoft Red Steel website so I did not pre-order or camp out for one
I remember the shortages but I was not sure if the first 2 days was all that hot

but as posted on the first page if the first month numbers were a little over 450K for Wii the first 2 days for Switch can't be that massive

I spent all day in line for a Wii. The eBay prices were such that my gf bought one and then sold it at over double the price, meaning my Wii was basically free for us. The eBay prices I'm seeing now are looking like $100 over retail for the Switch, and I'd expect that to go down as stores resupply.

I'm guessing that means the Wii was severely supply constrained (plus it wasn't available online, no?), while the Switch supply has relatively few constraint issues. If the Wii was freely available at launch, I bet it'd still be number 1. The hype for it was palpable.

 

[ekim]

I was in 3 stores today in Germany and all they had were a few copies of 1-2 Switch and one pair of Joy cons. No Zelda, no console, no pro console to be seen. I guess it's also a success in Germany.

 

[Delusibeta]

So really 2017 can be the final nail in the coffin on the idea that we have to shove all games and hardware into the last three months of the year.

Honestly, it's getting to the stage where the first three months of the year is getting pretty cramped, too. This year has been absolutely crazy, but I remember last year's Q1 being excellent, too.

 

[arimanius]

I'm really loving the Switch more than I thought I would. I've always been lukewarm to my Nintendo consoles hardly playing them. This thing just seem different and fun. I'm excited for the first time since owning a n64 about a Nintendo console.

 

[thebisonxrc]

Great to hear that things have been going well so far. A healthy Nintendo is good for the industry. Hopefully they'll be able to keep up momentum. With Mario Kart next month, it should hold for a little while.

 

[LordOcidax]

So really 2017 can be the final nail in the coffin on the idea that we have to shove all games and hardware into the last three months of the year.

Switch sales are going to be insane this holiday season, great catalog and a new Mario. Looks like Nintendo strategy is going to work well.

 

[valkillmore]

FUCK YES!! I'm really happy to hear it was a successful launch. I plan on getting one in the fall for Mario Odyssey, and can wait until then to play Zelda.

 

[renegade_dewitt]

Like I said. It's a good start for Nintendo. Please Nintendo keep MOMENTUM. That's all you have to do to have a good selling system. Huge E3. Come out with all the guns and keep the fans happy with updates to the Switch.

If that Pokemon Stars rumor is true and is announced at E3....I am selling my 3DS and getting the Switch - BoTW + console-level mainline Pokemon game + Super Mario Odyssey in the Holiday? I AM SOLD!!

 

[QuikNez]

Great start Ninty!

 

[brinstar]

I spent all day in line for a Wii. The eBay prices were such that my gf bought one and then sold it at over double the price, meaning my Wii was basically free for us. The eBay prices I'm seeing now are looking like $100 over retail for the Switch, and I'd expect that to go down as stores resupply.

I'm guessing that means the Wii was severely supply constrained (plus it wasn't available online, no?), while the Switch supply has relatively few constraint issues. If the Wii was freely available at launch, I bet it'd still be number 1. The hype for it was palpable.

I had to camp for my Wii in summer 2007, months after its launch. Those were wild times.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I spent all day in line for a Wii. The eBay prices were such that my gf bought one and then sold it at over double the price, meaning my Wii was basically free for us. The eBay prices I'm seeing now are looking like $100 over retail for the Switch, and I'd expect that to go down as stores resupply.

I'm guessing that means the Wii was severely supply constrained (plus it wasn't available online, no?), while the Switch supply has relatively few constraint issues. If the Wii was freely available at launch, I bet it'd still be number 1. The hype for it was palpable.

I still wonder if the shortages did not help the Wii's word of mouth spread. I mean if they had enough on the shelves I am not sure so many here would have similar launch day memories

 

[cyba89]

I wonder what the Zelda attach rate is right now?

 

[SarusGray]

remember that weird contest where you had to hold your pee for a wii? Oh god that had a terrible outcome sadly.

 

[PSFan]

That will only give Zelda more eshop sales ...if the scalpers manage to sell them without zelda

I heard they aren't selling though, or scalpers aren't making much profit on them. Scalpers really skew sales numbers because when they return unsold items, those sales aren't then subtracted from the total sales numbers.

And it's especially bad here in the US, where there's more greedy and shady people than anyplace else in the world.

Those scumbag scalpers really ruined console launches.

 

[hughesta]

System is great and Zelda is literally the best game ever made. Congrats to Nintendo!

 

[dragonflys545]

Nice. Zelda working its magic. Go Nintendo!

Now give me Metroid.

Metroids gonna kill the magic. Just make more zelda. Port skyward sword without the motion controller.

 

[Frankfurter]

I wonder if they are gonna sell out the initial shipment Nintendo mentioned in their Business Report. 2 million wasn't?

Those 2 millions are gonna be very easy to sell through. The big question is what happens after that.

 

[SarusGray]

I heard they aren't selling though, or scalpers aren't making much profit on them. Scalpers really skew sales numbers because when they return unsold items, those sales aren't then subtracted from the total sales numbers.

And it's especially bad here in the US, where there's more greedy and shady people than anyplace else in the world.

Those scumbag scalpers really ruined console launches.

Don't be ridiculous. Scalpers ruin everything.

 

[PinkyMonkey]

Good job Nintendo. I'll be joining the club as soon as the Switch hardware issues are resolved.

 

[Falchion]

Hope it sells well and they start updating some of the things that aren't present in the system yet like the ability to transfer save data.

 

[Confused Cheeseburger]

Turn switch on play Zelda in handheld mode.

Turn off switch, go downstairs plug switch into TV, play more Zelda.

Take switch out, kickstand play Zelda at dinner.

This console makes it impossible to resist great games. You can have one of the best open world games of the last decade anywhere you want.

 

[7DollarHagane]

Good job Nintendo. I'll be joining the club as soon as the Switch hardware issues are resolved.

What issues?

There's the usual tiny percent of individual issues but there doesn't seem to be any big universal issue like the red ring of death or ps4 ejecting discs, even.

 

[Version 3.0]

Scalpers really skew sales numbers because when they return unsold items, those sales aren't then subtracted from the total sales numbers.

Where on Earth did you hear that? I work for a retailer, and believe me, we most certainly do report sales as a net including returns. We don't sell video games or report to NPD, but I can't believe the retailers that do would be so incompetent as to overstate unit sales that way.

 

[Maxinas]

What issues?

There's the usual tiny percent of individual issues but there doesn't seem to be any big universal issue like the red ring of death or ps4 ejecting discs, even.

The Switch dock scratching the screen is a legit hardware issue and needs to be addressed. Same with the left joycon signal being marginally weaker than the right joycon.

Note that no console launch is free of hardware flaws and issues, it happened to the PS4, Xbox One, etc. This is something that day one buyers need to always be aware of.

 

[lindseybp]

WTF sold more than super mario 64! I mean that has to be due to more consoles available at launch right? Super Mario 64 had to be close to a 1:1 attach rate. That game was epic for the times.....but this new Zelda is right there too.

 

[Kevinroc]

Congrats on the successful launch, Nintendo! Totally deserved!

Hopefully they can keep up the momentum and deliver more truly memorable experiences.

 

[Tavernacle12]

Its entirely possible Switch camping (like Wii camping) will happen at some point this year between portable HD Mario Kart, Splatoon 2, and Mario. I assume there'll be a lull between Kart and Splatoon, but once Splatoon hits things should get insane.

 

[Plinko]

MK8 MIGHT help out the Switch if Nintendo bundles them together. ARMS looks like a non-starter.

I think it looks like the next breakout hit, to be quite honest.

 

[13ruce]

The Switch dock scratching the screen is a legit hardware issue and needs to be addressed. Same with the left joycon signal being marginally weaker than the right joycon.

Note that no console launch is free of hardware flaws and issues, it happened to the PS4, Xbox One, etc. This is something that day one buyers need to always be aware of.

The scratching is only if your switch is not straight in the dock or the dock front is slightly bend.

 

[CrazedProfessional]

I hope we get NPD.

 

[OVDRobo]

I'm a pretty cynical person, but from the little I've played of Zelda so far, it's absolutely deserving of all the praise and sales.

I can't believe how great a job Nintendo did at realizing a compelling open world as compared to competitors in the field despite not being all that experienced with it. I generally find open world games a waste of time because they're often vast areas of nothing notable with loads of repeated mission types thrown across them randomly, but Zelda is just a joy to wander around.

Well-deserved sales. Can't speak to the quality of the hardware as of yet, though.

 

[TheDinoman]

At the moment, I don't think we should totally judge how well ARMS will do after this infamous thread right here regarding Splatoon.

It's definitely an interesting wild card, for sure. It might not be quite as successful as Splatoon (fighting games don't have as much appeal as shooters for the most part) but it could still do well in its own right.

 

[foxuzamaki]

The line at the best buy i went was just super huge

 

[MemoryHumanity]

Deserved. Lovely piece of hardware and Zelda is incredible.

 

[Kinsei]

Zelda totally deserves those launch sales. It's such an amazing game.

I'm really loving my Switch.

 

[TheLastCandle]

The hardware issues need to be resolved, but overall I'm very happy with my Switch so far.

Zelda is fucking unbelievable. I haven't played a game this addicting since Mario Galaxy.