GameStop: Nintendo Switch Sales "Phenomenal," Could Outpace Wii

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Megalith

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For a second I thought they meant the Wii U, which would have been pretty funny, but GameStop’s merchandising guy suggests that Nintendo is going to sell more than 100 million Switch systems like their last console hit, the original Wii. Of course, this could just be an attempt by the retailer to hype people into visiting its stores—the article notes that in the UK, half of the population know about the new system but only 32 percent intend to buy one.

There’s no denying that the Nintendo Switch has had a very successful launch. In fact, the sold-out console has been doing so well that GameStop senior director of merchandising, Eric Bright, said the Nintendo Switch could potentially outsell the Wii. In an interview with Game Rant, Bright offered some thoughts about the success of the Nintendo Switch, calling the new Nintendo console a “transformational piece of technology.” During the discussion, Bright revealed his belief that the Nintendo Switch could eventually outperform the Wii, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide to date.
 
No. 1-2-Switch is no Wii Sports, and besides that, it's not a pack-in. People who don't buy consoles (but bought a Wii for Wii Sports) are not going to buy a Switch for anything out right now, and I don't see anything on the 'future release list' that is a non-gamer system seller either.
 
Well, I don't own one and likely never will, but good on Nintendo.

More options in this space never hurts and I think, in principle, the Switch is a cool little device despite some frustrating software/pricing issues.
 
Hopefully it'll have more lasting power than the Wii did. Everyone and their grandma bought one but they didn't buy any additional games.
 
Good for them.

Now maybe they can get on a proper Starfox, F-Zero, or Metroid game. Expand their horizons. Maybe even capture third party support again! I mean, develop for the switch, port over to the X1/PS4 for a cheaper cost and save. Win Win!


...Because I won't have any money left after investing in making ME:A work properly...
 
I wonder how that's possible seeing as how no GameStop in the Dallas area has had any since launch...Demand may be high up there but Nintendo cannot push these things out that quickly. Once they do ramp up production all the hype will fizzle.

Been trying like a fool to get my hands on one but I may just end up waiting until stock/demand normalizes.
 
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Yeahhhhhhhhhh no Gamestop, i seriously SERIOUSLY don't see it going to 100m, and i am pretty darn positive about the system with the cost as the main gripe i have with it (it really shouldn't cost as much if they want it to compete).
And no, artificial scarcity driving up current demand isn't something that will last long enough imho.
 
Scorpio and PS4 pro are way higher up on console to buy list, ps4 pro especially if it improves graphic quality of PSVR. Switch with all necessary accessories is damn near same price and cant run Zelda @ 30fps docked..
 
shad0w4life said:
Scorpio and PS4 pro are way higher up on console to buy list, ps4 pro especially if it improves graphic quality of PSVR. Switch with all necessary accessories is damn near same price and cant run Zelda @ 30fps docked..
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The problem I have with the Scorpio and Pro is that outside of a shrinking pool of exclusives there is nothing that differentiates them from a gaming PC. Hell, the majority of new Xbox exclusives are going to be released on PC and PSNow has allowed me to play all of the PS3 exclusives I missed back in the day.

The Switch offers things you really can't find anywhere else.
 
There are plenty of Playstation exclusives. Uncharted, TLoU, Ratchet & Clank, Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, God of War, Infamous, Nioh, Bloodborne, etc. Definitely enough to justify a system purchase, although whether the Pro really helps much is entirely up to the user. On the other hand, the vast majority of MS exclusives are also available on PC. Granted, most also take a workhorse PC to play, but they don't seem to be playing the exclusivity game as well as Sony has.
 
I didn't buy a Wii, a Wii-U, and definitely won't be buying a Switch. There are plenty of other games and consoles that I will not miss their 1st party titles. For me is has everything to do with their gimmicks. When they get serious about games again. Perhaps I'll take another look at Nintendo.
 
The Wii was a fad, and Nintendo rode it for as long as they could. I seriously doubt they'll be catching lightning in the bottle like that again. The idea that the Switch is going to replicate the Wii's sales numbers is complete BS.
 
If I could get a Switch without the screen. Just the console itself, permanently docked, I'd go for it. I just have no desire for another portable system. I just wouldn't use it. The console looks good, looks to have some great games coming, but I just want a simple console that can play some great Nintendo games. No gimmicks.

The games are great. The console, like the Wii U, is too expensive for me due to the gimmicks they toss in. The tablet controller for the Wii U? No thanks. I never use it when I play other people's Wii-U.

Of course, those gimmicks have been getting shit on for a long time. Super Scope 6, 32X, Sega CD, Menacer, Power Glove, ROB, Kinect, Activator, etc.. They just aren't the selling point. It's about the games. The gimmicks are not a good selling point. Give me a black box that plays Nintendo games. Do that, and I'll buy it (or grey or whatever. Just a simple console).

I don't see it selling that many consoles, though. After the hype train is over and supply is higher, I think it'll just taper off quite a bit. Nintendo is giving small supply and hyping the shit out of it. Perhaps all the sales are going to scalpers? :)
 
i found the switch controls really really small for my hands. way too small. The Swith itself is really small, I think it could've been a bit bigger and more powerful had it bin an inch or 2 bigger.
 
The Switch controls are weird. To me they're uncomfortable when used together (attached to the sides of the Switch) and they're also too small and cramped to be used as 2 individual controllers for classic games that don't need 2 analog sticks. It feels like a compromise was made so this thing could be somewhat portable and so it's just not quite right for any one particular modality. That said, the Pro Controller is dandy for people used to Xbox pads. It's a virtual copy of one without the analog triggers. Batteries in it last forever and ever, too. I'm at 15+ hours and it's still showing that's it's 1/2 charged. I guess for $70 it should probably have some kind of perpetual motion machine inside :p
 
the issue with alot of people is they keep trying to think of the switch as a console but its not. Its a portable system that just happens to have a home dock. I think Nintendo would of been way better off selling it as a portable handheld instead of their next console. It would of been way easier to just say "hey, we have this new handheld that can be docked to your tv for easy couch play" then they could of left the dock resolution at 720p and avoided all the performance issues it has in docked mode and just told people "what do you want from us its a portable sysem if you want 1080p go buy a console". Once I stopped looking at the switch as a lame attempt to compete with the ps4/xbox one and started looking at it as the next 3ds its became way more tempting to buy. Once more games are out I may just do that for when im on the road or flying on a plane for work.
 
I had the chance to play Zelda on the switch for about an hour at a party last weekend. A cousin got one for his kid.


I guess if you are a hard core zelda fan, this is a must have. But for me...

Meh...

The controls feel small, the screen looks good for its size but it could be brighter, also it feels kind of heavy, At first lots of kids were in line to try it, but within minutes they were back to their tablets/ipads.

My 9yo kid played with it for a while too, he also wasn't impressed.
 
Stoly said:
I had the chance to play Zelda on the switch for about an hour at a party last weekend. A cousin got one for his kid.


I guess if you are a hard core zelda fan, this is a must have. But for me...

Meh...

The controls feel small, the screen looks good for its size but it could be brighter, also it feels kind of heavy, At first lots of kids were in line to try it, but within minutes they were back to their tablets/ipads.

My 9yo kid played with it for a while too, he also wasn't impressed.
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Ain't it something? How kids nowadays can sit on a phone/tablet playing mindless microtransaction filled mobile games for hours at a time but drop a feature rich game after a few mins.
 
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Breath of the Wild was the first Nintendo game in over 10 years that I played from start to finish and beat within a month. It's a really great game but can be enjoyed just as easily on Wii U if you have one. I do love the Switch design though, waiting on more titles to be released before I decide to get one.
 
Ur_Mom said:
If I could get a Switch without the screen. Just the console itself, permanently docked, I'd go for it. I just have no desire for another portable system. I just wouldn't use it. The console looks good, looks to have some great games coming, but I just want a simple console that can play some great Nintendo games. No gimmicks.

The games are great. The console, like the Wii U, is too expensive for me due to the gimmicks they toss in. The tablet controller for the Wii U? No thanks. I never use it when I play other people's Wii-U.

Of course, those gimmicks have been getting shit on for a long time. Super Scope 6, 32X, Sega CD, Menacer, Power Glove, ROB, Kinect, Activator, etc.. They just aren't the selling point. It's about the games. The gimmicks are not a good selling point. Give me a black box that plays Nintendo games. Do that, and I'll buy it (or grey or whatever. Just a simple console).

I don't see it selling that many consoles, though. After the hype train is over and supply is higher, I think it'll just taper off quite a bit. Nintendo is giving small supply and hyping the shit out of it. Perhaps all the sales are going to scalpers? :)
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To be fair, ROB was a necessary gimmick, as no store at the time was willing to take a chance on video games. That allowed Nintendo to call it a toy to get it on shelves.

vegeta535 said:
Ain

Ain't it something? How kids nowadays can sit on a phone/tablet playing mindless microtransaction filled mobile games for hours at a time but drop a feature rich game after a few mins.
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Those mobile games purposely target addictive tendencies, which probably feature rich games don't.
 
give me a xenoblade chronicles X port and I'll buy one tomorrow

I really don't want to have to buy a wii u to play XCX
 
vegeta535 said:
Ain

Ain't it something? How kids nowadays can sit on a phone/tablet playing mindless microtransaction filled mobile games for hours at a time but drop a feature rich game after a few mins.
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My son has figured out how to put every emulator with every rom ever made on his laptop. You would think he loves playing all these great games right?

No, all he does is watch glitch/hack videos on youtube and then attempt to glitch out said game. While I know it's creative and he's learning from it, it pains me to no end to see him hack open the debug room in Sonic 2, open up golden sonic without having to do a single chaos emerald stage, and then warp to the last level and place enough coins on the ground to stay gold sonic till he beats the game.

The only game he refuses to glitch or tweak? Geometry dash. He's put hundreds of hours into tap tap tapping those demon levels on his tablet.
 
oldmanbal said:
My son has figured out how to put every emulator with every rom ever made on his laptop. You would think he loves playing all these great games right?

No, all he does is watch glitch/hack videos on youtube and then attempt to glitch out said game. While I know it's creative and he's learning from it, it pains me to no end to see him hack open the debug room in Sonic 2, open up golden sonic without having to do a single chaos emerald stage, and then warp to the last level and place enough coins on the ground to stay gold sonic till he beats the game.

The only game he refuses to glitch or tweak? Geometry dash. He's put hundreds of hours into tap tap tapping those demon levels on his tablet.
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I recently setup my andoird box with tons of emulators and woke up at 6am to my 8 year old son playing golden axe on my genesis emulator lol. Actually made me happy to see him enjoys the games I grew up with, even if it was at 6 in the morning :D
 
oldmanbal said:
My son has figured out how to put every emulator with every rom ever made on his laptop. You would think he loves playing all these great games right?

No, all he does is watch glitch/hack videos on youtube and then attempt to glitch out said game. While I know it's creative and he's learning from it, it pains me to no end to see him hack open the debug room in Sonic 2, open up golden sonic without having to do a single chaos emerald stage, and then warp to the last level and place enough coins on the ground to stay gold sonic till he beats the game.

The only game he refuses to glitch or tweak? Geometry dash. He's put hundreds of hours into tap tap tapping those demon levels on his tablet.
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Well your son is in the minority. Most kids these days are not that smart. Sure I was putting computers together when I was 8. My nephew's in their late teens still can't even use a computer on a basic level. I built them computers that took them less then a week to trash. I tried to show them all the old a classics but they didn't care.I stopped trying to teach them and left them to their iPads and minecraft. Hate how kids think they are tech savvy cause they can use a iPad.
 
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joseardzm said:
i found the switch controls really really small for my hands. way too small. The Swith itself is really small, I think it could've been a bit bigger and more powerful had it bin an inch or 2 bigger.
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Well they also have a more traditional controller... it'll only set you back $70 :confused:
unless you meant in tablet mode, then you're out of luck, I think.
 
Ragenrok said:
I recently setup my andoird box with tons of emulators and woke up at 6am to my 8 year old son playing golden axe on my genesis emulator lol. Actually made me happy to see him enjoys the games I grew up with, even if it was at 6 in the morning :D
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My kid has been playing several PSP games on the shield console. He now splits his gaming time between that and his xbox 360.
I tried a wii emulator once but it was too slow, maybe its time to take a 2nd look.
 
Nytegard said:
To be fair, ROB was a necessary gimmick, as no store at the time was willing to take a chance on video games. That allowed Nintendo to call it a toy to get it on shelves.
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Very true. Still, it wasn't very supported. It was cool, though!

Ragenrok said:
I recently setup my andoird box with tons of emulators and woke up at 6am to my 8 year old son playing golden axe on my genesis emulator lol. Actually made me happy to see him enjoys the games I grew up with, even if it was at 6 in the morning :D
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My youngest (now 16) loves the older games. He runs the emulators on his computer and is getting the USB controllers for the various systems. While I can still (and always) kick his ass at Street Fighter 2, he can always get me on Super Smash Bros 64. Every single time. It's a blast to play with kids and watch them have a great time on the same games you grew up with.

Golden Axe was my favorite game at the time. I had it on the Sega Master System before I got it on the Genesis. SMS version wasn't horrible until you get the Genesis version. I tried to 'port' Golden Axe to GWBASIC in high school, too. Failed miserably, but it did teach me a lot about game programming at the time. I finally beat that game, and many others, due to emulation. I'm almost done (need an amp for the speakers) with my arcade cabinet and then I can really get into playing the older games. I want an arcade only machine and then make a custom "console" emulator. Make my own console, but it will just be a mini-PC in a custom case that starts up with Hyperspin. Some games are meant for arcade, others are meant for the couch sitting for a while.
 
Ur_Mom said:
Very true. Still, it wasn't very supported. It was cool, though!



My youngest (now 16) loves the older games. He runs the emulators on his computer and is getting the USB controllers for the various systems. While I can still (and always) kick his ass at Street Fighter 2, he can always get me on Super Smash Bros 64. Every single time. It's a blast to play with kids and watch them have a great time on the same games you grew up with.

Golden Axe was my favorite game at the time. I had it on the Sega Master System before I got it on the Genesis. SMS version wasn't horrible until you get the Genesis version. I tried to 'port' Golden Axe to GWBASIC in high school, too. Failed miserably, but it did teach me a lot about game programming at the time. I finally beat that game, and many others, due to emulation. I'm almost done (need an amp for the speakers) with my arcade cabinet and then I can really get into playing the older games. I want an arcade only machine and then make a custom "console" emulator. Make my own console, but it will just be a mini-PC in a custom case that starts up with Hyperspin. Some games are meant for arcade, others are meant for the couch sitting for a while.
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I got an arcade cabinet years ago, but I never finished it. I ended up just using the arcade joysticks which I love.
 
Something I have not seen mentioned much is that some households will likely buy more than one Switch. I pre-ordered and have one, and my kids love playing Zelda. At some point I can see having one for the kids to use on long trips, etc and one for myself. With the Wii, you generally got one and set it up in your game room or basement or whatever. The portable aspect to the Switch means buying more than one makes a little more sense. I could see that helping it surpass the Wii in sales.
 
They've only sold somewhere between 1.5-2m consoles. How the f are they gonna get above 100 lol.
 
I wish my son would play emulators he has to have the original, original game on the original console with the original controller. My wife got an NES Classic and we hacked it to add more games and she loves it. He snubs it because its not the real thing.

He just finished Zelda for the Switch 80+ hours and is now going through the old ones again.
 
oldmanbal said:
give me a xenoblade chronicles X port and I'll buy one tomorrow

I really don't want to have to buy a wii u to play XCX
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Xenoblade Chronicles X is reportedly being ported over to the Switch.
 
zero2dash said:
No. 1-2-Switch is no Wii Sports, and besides that, it's not a pack-in. People who don't buy consoles (but bought a Wii for Wii Sports) are not going to buy a Switch for anything out right now, and I don't see anything on the 'future release list' that is a non-gamer system seller either.
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The holiday price drop and bundles for current price will change that. The Nvidia Shield is $199 with (essentially) identical internals and has a far better screen. You'll see the switch for $250 by Christmas and possibly as low as $200 at some point as well.
 
lilbabycat said:
The holiday price drop and bundles for current price will change that. The Nvidia Shield is $199 with (essentially) identical internals and has a far better screen. You'll see the switch for $250 by Christmas and possibly as low as $200 at some point as well.
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The shield tablet is based on Tegra K1 (Kepler), while the Switch is Tegra X (Maxwell) like the shield tv. I wish they went with Pascal as its already on the Jetson TX2 and its about twice as fast as maxwell.
 
lilbabycat said:
The holiday price drop and bundles for current price will change that. The Nvidia Shield is $199 with (essentially) identical internals and has a far better screen. You'll see the switch for $250 by Christmas and possibly as low as $200 at some point as well.
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Ok, but you're not going to sell the console to people who don't buy consoles; that's my point. The Wii got away with it because of Wii Sports. I see nothing on the Switch now (or coming) that indicates that sort of 'system selling' movability that Wii Sports had.
I'm not denying that people will buy Switches. People want them, the demand is high but the supply is low. (Whether artificial or not, those are the facts.) They'll sell. "How long" they'll sell, is anyone's guess...my guess is that "not for long".

Price drops are inconsequential of that. You're not going to get people who don't buy consoles to spend $200 on a Switch if there's no Wii Sports-esque title that everyone can get involved in, everyone likes to play, that appeals to all ages - even if that $200 purchase includes 1-2-Switch.
People seem to be 'over' the whole 'motion control' thing anyway, which is basically what 1-2-Switch is. That same non-gamer crowd doesn't give a damn whether the console can be carried around or docked. That's not a reason the Switch will sell to non-gamers.
I agree with the earlier point - the Wii was lightning in a bottle. Nintendo did not catch it again with the Wii U, and I don't think they will with the Switch either. I don't know if they'll ever do it again like they did with the Wii. The Wii was the right console at the right price at the right time, just like the NES was.
 
zero2dash said:
Ok, but you're not going to sell the console to people who don't buy consoles; that's my point. The Wii got away with it because of Wii Sports. I see nothing on the Switch now (or coming) that indicates that sort of 'system selling' movability that Wii Sports had.
I'm not denying that people will buy Switches. People want them, the demand is high but the supply is low. (Whether artificial or not, those are the facts.) They'll sell. "How long" they'll sell, is anyone's guess...my guess is that "not for long".

Price drops are inconsequential of that. You're not going to get people who don't buy consoles to spend $200 on a Switch if there's no Wii Sports-esque title that everyone can get involved in, everyone likes to play, that appeals to all ages - even if that $200 purchase includes 1-2-Switch.
People seem to be 'over' the whole 'motion control' thing anyway, which is basically what 1-2-Switch is. That same non-gamer crowd doesn't give a damn whether the console can be carried around or docked. That's not a reason the Switch will sell to non-gamers.
I agree with the earlier point - the Wii was lightning in a bottle. Nintendo did not catch it again with the Wii U, and I don't think they will with the Switch either. I don't know if they'll ever do it again like they did with the Wii. The Wii was the right console at the right price at the right time, just like the NES was.
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Even people who buy consoles may not grab it, many pick one ecosystem and stick with it. Xbox and PS4 has a wealth of 3rd party titles compared to what Nintendo has been having, if you're the sort who only gets one console per generation, that makes the switch that much harder a sell.
 
I have not actually seen a Nintendo Switch anywhere yet. And I still have yet to see a Nintendo Classic Mini new @ MSRP in a store.

Either they are selling like hotcakes or Nintendo may be a company that somehow goes out of business despite people waiting in line to give them money.
 
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