Nintendo Switch Sales Get Explosive Growth Thanks To Pokemon Let’s Go In New Media Create Report

We already know that Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! sold over 600,000 copies in Japan last week. However, what is arguably an even more interesting number than that is the hardware sales that they pushed upon release. According to Media Create’s latest report for video game hardware and software sales in Japan, the Nintendo Switch sold over 200,000 units last week in Japan—an eye watering amount.

That number indicates that Pokemon Let’s Go is causing new audiences to pick up the Switch, which is the kind of audience expansion Nintendo needs if it is to hit that 20 million shipment target for the financial year. It also means the Nintendo Switch was the highest selling console in the country last week; more than the PS4, which sold less than 18,000 units, and more than the 3DS, which sold less than 7,000 units. In fact, the Nintendo Switch sold more units than every single other system on sale in Japan put together multiplied by four—which puts that number into perspective.

On the software front, Pokemon Let’s Go of course topped the sales charts, but we also saw most other evergreen Nintendo Switch software get significant bumps as a result. Fallout 76 debuted in second place, and Hitman 2’s placement on the charts at number five proved to be disappointing.

You can check out the full chart below.

Software Sales

1. [NSW] Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! (Bundle Editions Included) (Nintendo, 11/16/18) – 661,240 (New)
2. [PS4] Fallout 76 (Limited Edition Included) (Bethesda Softworks, 11/15/18) – 73,489 (New)
3. [NSW] Super Mario Party (Nintendo, 10/05/18) – 20,942 (345,627)
4. [PS4] Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII (SIE, 10/12/18) – 17,159 (460,890)
5. [PS4] Hitman 2 (Warner Bros. Interactive, 11/15/18) – 10,162 (New)
6. [3DS] Luigi’s Mansion (Nintendo, 11/08/18) – 9,320 (36,689)
7. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04/28/17) – 9,319 (1,836,063)
8. [PS4] Red Dead Redemption 2 (Limited Editions Included) (Take-Two Interactive, 10/26/18) – 8,120 (181)
9. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Bundle Version Included) (Nintendo, 07/21/17) – 7,992 (2,698,886)
10. [NSW] Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition (Microsoft, 06/21/18) – 7,449 (365,347)
11. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Limited Edition Included) (Nintendo, 03/03/17) – 6,215 (1,159,398)
12. [PS4] Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs: Steam Dungeon (FuRyu, 11/15/18) – 5,025 (New)
13. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey (Bundle Version Included) (Nintendo, 10/27/17) – 3,990 (1,845,682)
14. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon (The Pokemon Company, 11/17/17) – 3,493 (1,760,304)
15. [PS4] Marvel’s Spider-Man (Bundle Version Included) (SIE, 09/07/18) – 3,134 (305,030)
16. [NSW] Kirby: Star Allies (Nintendo, 03/16/18) – 2,958 (642,205)
17. [NSW] RPG Maker MV (Kadokawa Games, 11/15/18) – 2,641 (New)
18. [NSW] Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun! (Bandai Namco, 07/19/18) – 2,181 (225,417)
19. [PS4] RPG Maker MV (Kadokawa Games, 11/15/18) – 2,090 (New)
20. [PSV] Shiro to Kuro no Alice: Twilight Line (Limited Edition Included) (Idea Factory, 11/15/18) – 2,087 (New)

Hardware Sales

1. Switch – 200,850 (54,235)
2. PlayStation 4 – 8,922 (8,154)
3. PlayStation 4 Pro – 8,867 (7,927)
4. New 2DS LL – 4,189 (4,243)
5. PlayStation Vita – 1,877 (1,869)
6. New 3DS LL – 1,788 (1,681)
7. 2DS – 622 (294)
8. Xbox One X – 119 (360)
9. Xbox One – 45 (46)