Even though there was no Direct last month or even a big landmark release, the Switch continued its dazzling sales performance, marking the best January performance of any console this generation. In addition, sales are up year over year despite the fact that there was one less week of tracking sales, meaning that it sold more than the same month last year in a shorter amount of time.
What makes the performance remarkable (in my estimation) is a couple of distinct factoids — it’s the period after Christmas, which is a traditionally slow time for most sectors of the entertainment economy. There were a couple of notable smaller releases (like New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and Tales of Vesperia), but nothing that would drive Switch console sales. In fact, the month’s biggest bombshells — Resident Evil 2 and Kingdom Hearts III — were practically tailor made to be PS4-pushers. Which means that the Switch is no longer being bought on the back of individual killer apps, but rather the strength of its library as a whole.
Given that February had a Direct that could drive hype sales for certain fans, it’s not unreasonable to suspect that this will also be a healthy month for console sales. But we’ll have to wait to see the full numbers materialize to know for sure.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
