Nintendo Switch Takes Title As Best-Selling Console In April

Several weeks after launch, the Nintendo Switch continues to fly off store shelves just as fast as employees can stock them. And that is not because Nintendo is intentionally shortchanging vendors with inventory, as one of the conspiracy theories goes. According to NPD Group, the Switch outsold the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (and every other console) in the United States last month.

In the month of April, Nintendo sold more than 280,000 Switch consoles in the U.S. alone to lead the pack of game console. It is the second month in a row that the Switch outpaced competition following a record-breaking launch in March. Combined with more than 68,000 Nintendo 3DS system sales in April, Nintendo's two consoles accounted for almost half of all dedicated game system sales last month.

On the software side of things, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild maintained its momentum by coming in as the third highest selling game in April. No surprise there considering the rave reviews the latest Zelda title has been racking up—it has a near perfect Metacritic score of 97 based on more than 100 professional reviews, and an 8.4 user score based on 8,435 user rankings.


However, it was the newer Mario Kart 8 Deluxe title that took the crown as the best selling game in April. Nintendo sold more than 460,000 physical copies of the game, and 550,000 total if you factor in digital downloads. That would be impressive for a normal month of sales, though in this case the game launch on April 28, so those figures represent sales accumulated in just two days.

If there was any lingering doubt about Nintendo's decision to build a hybrid console that is decidedly under powered compared to the Xbox One and PS4, the continued interest in the Switch should erase that. The Switch is flat out killing it in terms of sales, and doing it with a limited number of launch titles.

Looking ahead, Nintendo will attempt to keep the pedal to the metal with a strong lineup of games, including Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers from Capcom, ARMS, and Splatoon 2, to name just a few of the upcoming games for the Switch.