Super Mario Odyssey Is A Mega Hit For Nintendo Switch Selling Faster Than Zelda

One of the few criticisms we could muster about the Nintendo Switch when the console first debuted last March was that it launched with a relatively weak catalog of games. Luckily for Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild turned out to be a fantastic title, and early on it even sold more copies than the console itself. Over time, however, things have improved, and Nintendo is seeing particularly good results from one of its newest titles, Super Mario Odyssey.

Super Mario Odyssey has been one of the most anticipated games for the Switch. The numbers back that up—Nintendo has sold over 2 million copies of Super Mario Odyssey in just the first three days since it came out. And with the holiday season fast approaching, Nintendo is set to sell a whole bunch more. Super Mario Odyssey is also likely to bolster Switch sales, just as Zelda did in the early going.

None of this has been lost on Nintendo. Here is what the company said Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said in a recent financial results briefing:

Last Friday saw the release of Super Mario Odyssey in Japan and in overseas markets. This newest title in the Super Mario series received many awards this year at the largest game shows in Western markets, such as E3 and Gamescom, and consumers had high expectations leading to its release. Although Super Mario Odyssey launched just a few days ago, the game appears to be meeting those expectations, judging by its high review scores from the gaming media and players’ positive comments on social media.

While about 7 million units of Nintendo Switch hardware have been delivered into the hands of our consumers around the world, we estimate that the global sell-through of Super Mario Odyssey has already exceeded 2 million units in just its first 3 days. The holiday sales season will soon go into full swing, and we plan to make more Nintendo Switch systems available in the market. We will endeavor to further increase the number of consumers who want to purchase Super Mario Odyssey, and eventually we would like the game to be seen as an evergreen title that has longevity in the market beyond this holiday season.

Put another way, more than a quarter (28.5 percent) of all Switch owners have purchased Super Mario Odyssey in the first three days. It shows the power of Nintendo's IP, and Mario specifically, and the company is right about the game being well received. Super Mario Odyssey currently enjoys a 97 professional rating and 8.9 user score on Metacritic, a popular reviews aggregate site.


Nintendo suddenly finds itself in a good place. The company doubled its profit forecast for its fiscal year ending March 2018, adjusting to reflect an anticipated profit of 120 billion yen (~$1.06 billion), up from its previous forecast of 65 billion yen (~$572.8 million), the latter of which it estimated only three months ago. Nintendo also bumped up its revenue forecast from 750 billion yen (~$6.6 billion) to 960 billion yen (~$8.5 billion).

Looking ahead, several upcoming games will strengthen the Switch's lineup, including Doom, Skyrim, and several Resident Evil titles, to name just a few.