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Nintendo Switch Aligned Year Four Report
Updated: 01/30/2023
[0.]
Introduction To Another Diabolic Year That COVID-19 Couldn't
Prevent
Welcome
to the latest Nintendo Switch report as we end the year realizing
that those "No-Games trolls" have really gas lit this
company so much now that it's like a game. Nintendo Switch and it's
hybrid nature has been setting records like it's trying to make up
for lost time. Switch started from a dozen games announced (one first
party title) before the trailer reveal to figures that would make
Steam blush (well, 2004-2014 Steam anyway). If I told you Nintendo
Switch alone would release over 5000 games and have over 1300
publishers and over 2600 developers with games released in North
America alone, a meme of Triple J from Spider-Man laughing at Peter
Parker, causing my computer to crash and literally burn would have
been a perfectly reasonable response. My internet career would be
done. Not anymore. The signs were always there when Switch broke the
record for most games in an aligned year in it's first year. The
signs were always there when Switch broke 500 games in it's second
fiscal year! It's gotten to the point where the story lines are now
just plain old-fashion running up the score. The curation is beyond
the pale comical now, on every single level. The question is no
longer if this system will be the most amazing library of games in
Nintendo history, it's what records won't they break. Also, I am
almost to the point where even my release list is in danger of
breaking 50Webs file limit. I never had this problem with any other
Nintendo system. Even PlayStation 2 globally has fewer games than
Switch, in North America. The file size is currently at 445K and I
might have to split up the games and developers list. I never
imagined this happening three years ago; but here we are and I should
have seen this coming the second Nintendo changed it's policies on
indies. Indies saved Wii U from total embarrassment and we should've
thought what would happened if the policy was applied to a system
that actually did sell well. Hope you love the answer to that.
Side
Note:
I
decided to structure this report differently from my previous report,
since the segments were released in a real haphazard fashion in
previous reports. So, I placed the Games stats in part 1, Publishers
and Developers in part 2 and Genres in Part 3, with Sales in Part 4.
It's a lot easier to read and looks less messy.
Aligned
Year 3 Report
Aligned
Year 5 Report
Also,
I will not be doing a halfway point report for Aligned Year 5. I have
a lot of other things to do that need to be done. But enough of me
having a headache, let's begin the rundown of Aligned Year 4 and the
story lines for Aligned Year 5.
[1.]
Nintendo Switch North American Game Release List
Stats
http://cloudkicker.50webs.com/NintendoPlatform.txt
http://cloudkicker.50webs.com/SwitchAA.txt
I
have a more detailed comparison of all platforms from Nintendo in the
links I have provided. This is the meat of the report and there is a
lot to cover here.
[a.]
Total Number Of Games
Unless
otherwise stated, these figures apply to the North American
region.
[i.]
Life To Date
-
Overall, the Nintendo Switch reached 5067 games as of March 2nd,
2021, 1461 days total.
- On average 1267 games were released per
year, up from 1102 games per year; slightly less on average than the
entire PlayStation lineup in North America.
- 3.47 games per day
were released, 24.4 games per week, 105.6 games per month.
[ii.]
By Calendar Year 2020
-
In 2020; Nintendo Switch had 1711 games released.
- This is 158
more games in 2020 compared to 2019's 1553 games.
- 4.7 games per
day were released, 32.9 games per week, 142.6 games per month.
-
This is the first calendar year where every single month had 100 or
more games released.
- 2020
Breakdown By Month:
January-
115, February- 137; March- 128, April- 122, May- 141, June- 135,
July- 150, August- 131, September- 143, October- 206, November- 155,
December- 148.
Minimum:
115, Maximum:
206, Average:
143.
- 2019
Breakdown:
January
2019- 151, February - 128; March- 119, April- 126, May- 122, June-
110, July- 121, August- 128, September- 140, October- 179, November-
133, December- 96.
Minimum:
96,
Maximum:
179,
Average:
129.
- 2018
Breakdown:
January
2018- 47; February- 67, March- 79, April- 80, May- 102, June- 80,
July 2018 - 97, August- 106, September- 127 , October- 128, November-
139 , December - 108.
Minimum:
47, Maximum:
139, Average:
97.
- 2017
Breakdown:
March
2017- 29; April- 13; May- 12; June- 12; July- 21; August- 27;
September- 43; October- 51; November- 62; December- 70.
Minimum:
12, Maximum:
70, Average:
34.
[iii.]
By Aligned Year 4
-
Aligned Year 4 had 1760 games released on Switch.
- 1516 games
came out in Aligned Year 3; an increase of 244 games.
- This
margin between Year 3 and Year 4 was bigger than between Year 2 and
Year 3 (+195 games.)
- 4.8 games per day were released, 33.8 games
per week, 146.7 games per month.
- All 12 months had at least 120
games released.
- Was only 31 games short of surpassing Wii's LTD
releases in North America and was at Wii's level after seven years,
all in one year!
- Align
Year 4 Breakdown By Month:
March
2020- 128, April- 122, May- 141, June- 135, July- 150, August- 131,
September- 143, October- 206, November- 155, December- 148, January
2021- 155, February: 143.
Minimum:
122, Maximum:
206, Average:
147.
- Align
Year 3:
March
2019- 119, April- 126, May- 122, June- 110, July- 121, August- 128,
September- 140, October- 179, November- 133, December- 96, January
2020- 115, February- 137.
Minimum:
96 - Maximum:
179 - Average:
126.
-
Align
Year 2:
March
2018- 79, April- 80, May- 102, June- 80, July 2018 - 97, August- 106,
September- 127 , October- 128, November- 139 , December - 108,
January 2019- 151, February - 128.
Minimum:
79 - Maximum:
151 - Average:
110.
- Align
Year 1:
March
2017- 29; April- 13; May- 12; June- 12; July- 21; August- 27;
September- 43; October- 51; November- 62; December- 70 ; January
2018- 47; February- 67.
Minimum:
12 - Maximum:
70 - Average:
39.
[iv.]
By Fiscal Year 2020
-
Here is the fiscal numbers breakdown:
Fiscal
Year 2016:
29
games.
Fiscal
Year 2017:
504
games.
Fiscal
Year 2018:
1365
games.
Fiscal
Year 2019:
1534
games.
Fiscal
Year 2020:
1802
games.
- So far, this means 4.9 games a day, 34.7 games a
week, 150.2 games a month.
- This means Fiscal Year numbers for
2020 surpass Wii's North America LTD release numbers.
[v.]
ESRB Breakdown
-
Switch has 474 M-Rated games on Switch, an average of 119 M-rated
games a year and there were 173 M-Rated games this year alone. This
is more than all 12 platforms sans Switch combined. Considering that
there are more M-Rated games on Switch in FOUR YEARS than N64 and
Gameboy Color had games, period; a percentage breakdown would be
useless and the difference is the same as N64 (Switch's percentage is
9.4%) and well ahead of Gameboy Color.
- There are roughly 1392
T-Rated games, 1154 E10+ games and 2043 E-rated games.
*
Storylines For Aligned Year 5:
-
DS/Wii/Wii U/3DS have a combined total of 6213 games (with 3DS still
getting games released at this point, mostly from one developer:
nuGame) and surpassing 6000 games and the entire Iwata era sans
Switch should happen before the aligned year is finished.
- 7000
games is likely to happen in Aligned Year 6, unless Switch gets close
to (1933 games) DS's North American LTD game releases (2048 games).
-
Obviously, 500 or more M-Rated games will happen, probably by Summer
of 2021.
[b.]
Number of Publishers and Developers Overall
Side
Note:
In
the case of developers, it can be quite messy since a lot of game
nowadays use a ad-hoc approach in that multiple developers get into
the action. The developer numbers are based on the planning team and
don't include the out-sourced developers (like Bandai-Namco Singapore
for instance or porting teams like Blind Squirrel and QLOC. Those are
included in the Nintendo Switch Game List though). If a game is
published by a third party; but sub-published by Nintendo outside
Japan, the 3rd party publisher is counted and Nintendo is considered
a distributor.
- 1320 publishers have published at least one
game on Nintendo Switch, an average of 330 new publishers per year,
down two publishers per year. 320 new publishers debuted new games
this year, more than Wii U had in it's lifetime.
- That is tripled
the amount of publishers in the entire Yamaguchi era (428 publishers
combined) and surpass the entire Iwata era sans Switch (868
publishers combined). Also surpasses all platforms sans Switch
combined (1296 publishers combined.)
- The average number of games
per publisher is 3.84; the third lowest in Nintendo history. The
highest is GBA with 14.39 games per publisher.
- 2655 developers
have developed at least one game on Nintendo Switch, an average of
623 new developers per year, an increase of 40 developers on average.
785 new developers debuted on Switch this year.
- Switch has
surpassed the Yamaguchi era in total number of developers combined
(1245 developers combined), and the Iwata era in total number of
developers combined (1911 developers combined).
- The average
number of games per developer is 1.91; technically the second lowest
in Nintendo history. However, since Virtual Boy is the lowest and has
only 14 games; Switch might as well be the lowest.
- The
developer/publisher ratio is 2.01; third lowest to Wiiu's 1.45 and
3DS's 1.96.
*
Storylines for Aligned Year 5:
-
The combined total of developers san Switch is 3156, a gap of 501
developers. This would be a major feat for Nintendo to surpass all
developers on all platforms combined sans Switch within five years.
At a rate of 9.6 developers a week, it's more than doable. This also
means there will be over 3000 developers debuting on Switch as well
by the end of the year.
[c.]
Publisher & Developer Breakdown
-
Hamster is the #1 publisher for Switch at 246 games; the highest
total for a third party publisher among all Nintendo platforms and is
second behind 3DS Nintendo (249).
- Nintendo has 122 games in 2nd
place, meaning the gap is a -124; the biggest gap in Nintendo
platform history where Nintendo is not in first place (GBA has the
second largest at -67; although Nintendo was in 3rd place.). Nintendo
is also 8th place overall in terms of publishing on all platforms.
-
Rounding out the Top 5 are Ratalaika Games with 113 (tied for 11th
place with Activision on Wii), Ultimate Games at 98 and Forever
Entertainment with 72.
- Rounding out the Top 10 after that are
QubicGames with 61, Playdius with 57, Sometimes You with 51, Sega
with 45 and Digerati with 44.
- Top Ten Publishing Minimum is at
44, which is in second place to only Wii with 51.
- SNK
Corporation is the #1 developer for Switch at 103 games; the highest
total for a developer 1st or 3rd party ever and the only developer to
surpass 100 games developed.
- Nintendo is in 2nd place with 75
games and is the 3rd highest total for a developer 1st or 3rd party
ever (2nd highest for 1st party only to Wii U's 91 games). This means
a gap of -28 games.
- Rounding out the Top 5 are Sabec with 39
games, and G-Mode and Kariosoft tied with 33 games.
- Rounding out
the Top 10 after that are Konami with 31 games, Baltoro with 30
games, Artifex Mundi with 28 games, M2 with 26 games, and Digital
Game Group and Ubi Soft tied with 23 games.
- Top Ten Developing
Minimum is at 23; which is in third place.
*
Storylines for Aligned Year 5
-
Hamster is four games away from surpassing 3DS Nintendo and reaching
the mind boggling 250 games or more milestone. This will occur when
the fiscal year ends.
- Ratalaika Games is four games away from
making it to the Top 10 Publishers overall list and will make it
before the fiscal year is out. Also look out for Ultimate Games, they
might make the Top 10 in overall platform publishing if they keep up
the publishing duties on various titles.
- Nintendo is likely
making it to 7th place overall in publishing on all Nintendo platform
for this aligned year and will probably stay there for a while. Don't
be surprised if Ratalaika Games closes the gap further and makes a
run to reach 2nd place among Switch publishers.
- Watch out for
QuByte Interactive and Baltoro on the publishing side and Sabec on
both sides for this aligned year: They might be out of the Top Ten
for Switch at the moment; but they are releasing games pretty quickly
to get to 50 games or over and could take over since Digerati and
Sega have stalled quite a bit. This will also help increase the Top
Ten Publishing Minimum figures as well.
- Digital Game Group is
likely going to be the one to shatter the Top Ten Developing Minimum
first.
[d.]
Publisher and Developer Breakdown by Milestones
-
Both publishers and developers are #1 on all Nintendo platforms with
2 or more games published and developed, at 560 publishers and 761
developers in that order. The gap between 1 game and done and more
than 1 game is 760 publishers and 1894 developers. In terms of
publishers; Switch has more publishers than the entire Yamaguchi era
combined; and also has more publishers than the entire Iwata era
combined.
*
Storyline:
How
about 600 publishers and 1000 developers as a long term milestone.
Record wise, there isn't anything to prove here.
- Switch is
#1 among publishers with five or more games with 222. Switch is #1
among developers with five or more games with 160, more than doubling
Nintendo DS's mark.
*
Storyline:
Another
long term milestone is 250 publishers with five or more; or maybe get
304 publishers with five or more to surpass Wii U's 303 publishers
with at least one game released. On the developer side; 200
developers with five or more sounds like a long term milestone as
well.
- Switch is #1 among publishers with ten or more games
with 101. Switch is #1 among developers with ten or more games with
55.
*
Storyline:
100
publishers with ten or more games is amazing and it's something you
don't see ever on a Nintendo platform. This is a long shot; but how
about 100 developers with ten or more as a story line.
-
Switch is #1 among publishers with 25 or more games with 34. Switch
is #3 among developers with 25 or more games with 9 developers.
*
Storyline:
On
the publishing side, I can also see a long term goal of 50 publishers
with 25 or more. Difficult, but far from impossible. On the
development side, Ubi Soft and Digital Game Group (along with Capcom,
EXE Create, Jaleco among others) can boost Switch to #1 with 11
developers since DS and Wii are tied for first with 10 developers. It
should happen this year for sure.
- Switch is second place
among publishers with 50 or more games with 8. Switch is tied for
second with DS with 2 developers.
*
Storyline:
Now this is where things get interesting as this is really the only
major record that Switch might not break. On the publishing side,
Switch has at least four contenders to shatter the record of 10
publishers with 50 games or more: QuByte, Sabec, Sega and Digerati.
Sega and Digerati have slowed down to a crawl as of late and it's
unknown if they can pick it up again. On the developer side, only
Sabec seems to be moving at a rate to assure Switch will be second
place outright, but it looks like this is the only time a record will
not be broken. We'll see where this goes.
- Switch is tied
for second among publishers with 100 or more games with 3. SNK
Corporation on Switch is the only developer with more than 100
games.
*
Storyline:
Ultimate
Games will surpass 100 games or more and tie the record; but it might
be it in terms of records since Forever Entertainment has slowed down
considerably in terms of game releases. And of course SNK Corporation
made history on the development side. If Nintendo can release 25 more
games on the Switch, it could join SNK Corporation with 100 or more
games on the development side. That last one is very tough, but not
impossible.
[e.]
By Genre
http://cloudkicker.50webs.com/Top30genre1.txt
Side
Note:
Now
here's where things get really messy. In order to keep these stats
from getting out of control, I base the games on the majority genre
that each game has since many games on Switch have more than one
genre. Also; I try to keep the genres down to ten genres (Sports and
Other are the exception as they can be unlimited in their respective
sub-genres). Strategy, Tower Defense and Action RPG's fit in the RPG
category. Action/Adventure games are usually Adventure unless there
is ample evidence that Action overwhelms Adventure. Beat'em Ups are
Action games. I ignore Arcade as a genre completely since it's a
platform and Arcade games have many genres. Some action games I have
noticed are not action games, but clearly shooters. Twin Stick
shooters are shooters. Hunting games are considered shooters for the
purpose of compiling. Fishing simulations are considered Sports
games, unless the majority genre is another genre. This applies to
Golf Story in that sense, that it's RPG rather than Sports/Golf.
Mini-Games are Other/Party, Dancing/Rhythm games are Other/Music.
-
Adventure
has 927 games or 18.3% of the Switch lineup.
This
is the first time Adventure has ever been #1 on a single platform and
is currently the leader among all genres on all Nintendo platforms.
In fact, there are now more Adventure games on Switch in FOUR YEARS
than the SNES had games in it's entire lifetime, period.
*
Storyline:
There
is little for Adventure to prove, other then to maintain the #1 spot
over Action, which is usually #1 on six of Nintendo's platforms. They
do need 28 games to reach GBA's entire game lineup, and 1000 games
isn't a pipe dream anymore.
- Action
has 917 games or 18.1% of the Switch lineup.
Action
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre, but is #2 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. There are more Action
games on Switch in FOUR YEARS than the SNES had games in it's entire
lifetime, period.
*
Storyline:
Basically
the same as Adventure. They need 38 games to surpass GBA LTD games
period numbers and 1000 games isn't a pipe dream anymore either.
Action is also closing the gap on Adventure, so the bread and butter
genre of the industry is looking to overtake the #1 position overall
once again.
- RPG
has 659 games or 13.0% of the Switch lineup.
RPGs
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #3 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. There are more RPG games
on Switch in FOUR YEARS than the Gamecube had games in it's entire
lifetime, period.
*
Storyline:
RPG's
rate of game releases had declined a little bit this year from last
year. Still, RPG is only 11 games away from surpassing NES's entire
lineup of games in just a little over four years.
- Other
has 574 games or 11.3% of the Switch lineup.
Other
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #4 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. There are more Other
games on Switch in FOUR YEARS than the Gamecube had games in it's
entire lifetime, period.
*
Storyline:
The
Wii/DS effect really showed up this year as Other had a pretty huge
increase from last year and leapfrogged over Puzzles and Shooters.
The Visual Novel effect helped a lot in this increase. Don't be
surprised if Other closes the gap on RPG as well.
Side
Note:
I'll
breakdown the Other genres and Sports genres by genre in a separate
section.
- Puzzle
has 520 games or 10.2% of the Switch lineup.
Puzzle
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #5 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. There are more Puzzles
games on Switch in FOUR YEARS than the Gameboy had games in it's
entire lifetime, period.
*
Storyline:
Mostly
increasing it's numbers further and is 59 games away from surpassing
the entire Gamecube lineup of games.
- Shooter
has 512 games or 10.1% of the Switch lineup.
Shooter
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #6 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. There are more Shooter
games on Switch in FOUR YEARS than the Gameboy had games in it's
entire lifetime, period.
*
Storyline:
Mostly
increasing it's numbers further and is 67 games away from surpassing
the entire Gamecube lineup of games.
- Simulation
has 347 games or 6.8% of the Switch lineup.
Simulation
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #9 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. Simulation has more
games on Switch in FOUR YEARS than N64 has games, period.
*
Storyline:
There are two here: Simulation is 14 games away from becoming the
seventh straight genre on Nintendo Switch from #1=#7 overall.
Simulation is also 47 games away from becoming the ninth genre to
have a margin of +100 between first and second place in the same
genre.
- Racing
has 216 games or 4.3% of the Switch lineup.
Racing
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #24 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms, being the eighth Switch
genre to be in the Top 25.
*
Storyline:
Racing
has pretty much proven it's point and it's just increasing it's rank
further. Racing is also four games away from becoming the eighth
genre to reach a margin of +100. This should be obtainable by the end
of the fiscal year.
- Sports
has 199 games or 3.9% of the Switch lineup.
Sports
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #26 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms.
*
Storyline:
Sports
has defied the odds on Nintendo Switch despite being the one genre
that has truly struggled to get actual progress. Sports will be the
ninth genre to reach 200 games by the end of the fiscal year and
that'll make it the final genre to reach a margin of +10 or more
between first and second. It's unlikely that they will make it to
100+ since they need at least 91 games to pull it off, and they get
roughly 50 games a year on average.
- Fighting
is in last place among Switch genres with 197 games or 3.9% of the
Switch lineup.
Fighting
is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #28 in
overall genres among all Nintendo platforms.
*
Storyline:
Fighting
has more than proven it's point and it's just increasing it's rank
further. Now; there's only getting to 200 games or more and maybe get
into the Top 25.
[f.]
Others And Sports
Breakdown:
http://cloudkicker.50webs.com/Other%20Genre%20Breakdown.txt
http://cloudkicker.50webs.com/Sports%20Genre%20Breakdown.txt
-
Switch's
#1 Others genre is Visual Novel at 109 games.
Visual
Novels are #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre and is #1
overall on all Nintendo platforms.
*
Storyline:
The
Visual Novel genre will be among the genres of games on Nintendo
Switch that people will remember, along with the rogue-lite games,
the twin-stick shooter genre and puzzler-platformer, among others.
The real question is if Visual Novel can surpass major genres now?
Unlikely to happen at this time.
- Switch's
#2 Others genre is Party at 102 games.
Party
is #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; but is third place
behind Music game for Wii on all Nintendo platforms. This also makes
Switch the first platform in Nintendo history to have over 100 games
in two Others genres.
*
Storyline:
Party
games are another genre that have benefited from the Switch effect
and are more akin to the Wii/DS era than Visual Novels now. Don't be
surprised if Party Games surpass Music game for Wii and join second
place behind Visual Novel.
- Switch's
#3 Others genre is Board Game at 73 games.
Board
Games are #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; but is #5
overall on all Nintendo platforms.
*
Storyline:
Board
games will likely make a run for 4th place and maybe a long shot to
be the third Switch Other genre to surpass 100 games.
-
Switch's
#4 Others genre is Music Game at 63 games.
Music
Games are #3 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; but is #7
overall on all Nintendo platforms.
*
Storyline:
Look
for the Music genre to be in the Top 5 and maybe be second place in
the same genre.
- Switch's
#5 Others genre is Card Game at 53 Games.
It
is #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre and #9 overall on
all Nintendo platforms.
*
Storyline:
Mostly
Card increasing it's rank further and getting over 60 games.
Other
Notables:
-
Edutainment has 34 games; #2 in the same genre on all Nintendo
platforms.
- Arcade Compilation has 24 games, #1 in the same
genre on all Nintendo platforms.
- Pinball is at 22 games, #1
among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre.
- TV Quiz Show
has 17 games, #2 in the same genre on all Nintendo platforms.
-
Mahjong is at 15 games, #1 among all Nintendo platforms.
-
Applications has 14 titles, #3 in the same genre among all Nintendo
platforms.
- Gambling game is at 14 games, #1 among all Nintendo
platforms in the same genre.
- Art Program is at 12 titles, #1
among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre.
*
Storyline:
The
only long shot story lines are Arcade Compilation getting over 25-30
games and Edutainment needing 10 games to reach the Top Ten Other
overall, which would be the sixth Switch genre in the Others to do
so. TV Quiz getting to #1 in the same genre is also a possible story
line and seeing if Fitness can reach 10 games are also possible.
-
Sports
#1 genre on Switch is Soccer (World's Football) is 43 games.
Obviously
it's #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre and is #1 overall
in Sports on all Nintendo platforms.
*
Storyline:
Soccer
will continue to grow despite the market having lots of choices
involved. A long shot goal of being the first Sports genre with 50
games or more doesn't sound like a pipe dream anymore.
-
Sports
#2 and #3 genre on Switch is a tie between Golf and Tennis at 21
games apiece.
Golf
and Tennis are #1 among all Nintendo Platforms of the same genres;
and are tied for fifth place overall in Sports.
*
Storyline:
I
wouldn't be surprised if Golf increases it's rank further now that
Mario Golf for Switch has been confirmed along with the Pocket Mini
Golf sequel being planned by QubicGames. There are a few Tennis games
as well; one released in Japan only at the moment.
- Sports
#4 genre on Switch is Olympics with 17 games.
Olympics
is currently #2 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre and
currently tied for 11th in overall Sports.
*
Storyline:
Olympic
genres/Sport Compilations have stalled for the most part and I don't
see any movement this year at this point.
- Sports
#5 genre on Switch is Baseball with 13 games.
Baseball
is currently tied for 6th for Nintendo platforms in the same
genre.
*
Storyline:
Baseball
will be sixth outright; but not much movement otherwise.
Other
Notables:
-
Basketball has 11 games on Switch. Basketball is #4 among all
Nintendo platforms of the same genre.
- Bowling and Dodgeball have
10 games on Switch. Both are #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the
same genre.
- Fishing has 9 games on Switch. Fishing is #2 among
all Nintendo platforms of the same genre.
- Boxing has 8 games on
Switch and is tied for #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the same
genre.
- American Football has 6 games and is tied for #9 among
all Nintendo platforms of the same genre.
- Extreme Sports has 5
games and is #3 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre.
-
Skiing/Snowboarding has 5 games and is #5 among all Nintendo
platforms of the same genre.
*
Storyline:
If Basketball can get three games; it'll be locked into second place
among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. There are two Boxing
games in development, so expect Boxing and Fishing to join the 10+
game club. Boxing will also be #1 outright in the same genre. Don't
expect much movement on the American Football side; because of EA
continuing to have cold feet on Sports games on Switch in general.
Skiing/Snowboarding only need two games to tie for #1 among all
Nintendo platforms on the same genre and tied for second place among
Extreme Sports. Also, Skateboarding will finally start to make it's
move this year. On an unrelated note, Volleyball is #1 among all
Nintendo platforms of the same genre with 4 games. Also; Switch joins
DS and Wii as the only platforms with a Curling game.
[2.]
Nintendo Switch Sales
As
of June 30th, 2021 (Context: Nintendo
Switch was roughly 4 1/4 years old at this point.):
-
Switch hardware has sold 89.04 million units globally, surpassing PS3
and XBOX 360.
- Switch has surpassed Wii U/3DS combined,
Gamecube/GBA combined and has surpassed NES and Gameboy software
sales at 632.40 million units. This does not include downloads only
software.
- The games per hardware tie ratio is 7.10.
- There
are 54 one million unit sellers on Switch.
From
previous data (March 31st, 2021):
-
For the fiscal year 2020; Switch sold 28.83 million units. Only two
Nintendo DS fiscals did better (30.31 million and 31.19 million units
in 2007 and 2008.)
- Switch had the third largest non-holiday half
in history; at 12.53 million units. Only two Nintendo DS halves did
better (13.74 million and 13.37 million in 2007 and 2008.)
-
Switch sold 5.68 million units in the first quarter of this fiscal
year. It sold 6.86 million in the second quarter, 11.57 million units
in the third quarter, and 4.72 million units in the final quarter.
-
For the calendar year 2020; Switch sold 221.69 million units.
-
For the fiscal year 2020; Switch sold 230.88 million units, the most
in a fiscal year in Nintendo history.
- Switch had 100.25 million
units of software in the first half of this year alone, more than any
other time in history.
- Switch sold 50.43 million units of
software overall in the first quarter of this fiscal year. The second
quarter saw 49.82 million units. The third quarter saw 75.85 million
units, while the fourth quarter recorded the highest non-holiday
quarter in Nintendo history at 54.78 million units.
[1.]
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 37.08 million.
-
Highest selling portable Mario Kart game of all time and second
highest of any Nintendo platform, only Mario Kart Wii has more with
37.38 million units.
- Combined with Mario Kart 8 on Wii U's 8.45
million, it sold 45.53 million units.
[2.]
Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold 33.89 million.
-
Only three games in video game history have sold more units than
Animal Crossing in 102 days and all three were multiplats (Call of
Duty, Grand Theft Auto 5, Red Dead Redemption 2) and those were sold
during a holiday season.
- Outsold all Animal Crossing games
combined at roughly 30 million units.
[3.]
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate sold 24.77 million.
-
Highest selling fighting game of all time and no one is touching that
one.
[4.]
Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 23.20 million.
-
Has more units sold than Ocarina of Time (N64) and Twilight Princess
(Wii) combined. It also outsold both Ocarina of Time (original and
3DS remake) combined.
- Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is the
first Zelda game to outsell a mainline Mario game in history.
-
First Zelda game to sell 20 million units or more.
- Combined with
Wii U; the game sold 24.70 million units.
- The "Zelda
Killer" Horizon: Zero Dawn on PS4 sold 10 million units.
[5.]
Pokemon Sword and Shield sold 21.85 million units.
-
This is the 3rd highest selling Pokemon games of all time and the
highest Pokemon sales and first main games to sell 20 million units
or more in the entire Iwata era and since 2000.
[6.]
Super Mario Odyssey sold 21.40 million units.
-
Now surpassing Super Mario World for fourth highest selling mainline
Mario game ever.
- All six Switch games have surpassed Uncharted 4
in terms of PlayStation exclusives.
[7.]
Super Mario Party sold 15.72 million units.
-
The highest selling Mario Party game of all time and also surpassing
Wii Party in the process.
[8.]
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee! sold 13.57 million units.
-
It is currently third highest among Pokemon secondary games and
second among remakes.
[9.]
Splatoon 2 sold 12.45 million units.
-
This is more than double the sales of the first game on Wii U (4.95
million units).
[10]
Ring Fit Adventure sold 11.26 million units.
-
Much better than Nintendo Labo thanks to it's health angle, but the
numbers are very low due to shortages in part due to the COVID-19
outbreak.
- Switch now has 11 ten million unit sellers, the best
in Nintendo history and currently tied with Playstation 4.
[11]
New Super Mario Brothers DX sold 10.44 million units.
-
Higher than both NSMB U and NSLB U combined.
[12]
Luigi's Mansion 3 sold 9.59 million units.
-
Surpassed Luigi's Mansion 2 for highest selling Luigi's Mansion game
of all time.
[13]
Super Mario 3D All-Stars sold 9.01 million units.
-
Super Mario Sunshine on Switch outsold the Gamecube version.
-
Sold about 90% of the amount Super Mario All-Stars on SNES did.
[14]
Monster Hunter Rise sold 7.50+ million units.
-
Second highest 3rd party game of all time on a Nintendo platform,
next to Just Dance 3 on Wii.
[15]
Super Mario Maker 2 sold 7.15 million units.
-
The highest in the Maker series.
[16]
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury sold 6.68 million
units.
-
Outsold Wii U version.
[17]
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: 5.49 million units.
-
Higher than the original series and DX remake.
- Second highest 2D
Zelda game ever, sixth highest of all time.
**
Other Notable Million Unit Sellers:**
[18]
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: 3.70 million units+.
-
Outsold all three platforms (Wii U, 3DS, Switch) of Hyrule Warriors
combined.
- Highest selling Warriors game of all time.
-
Highest selling Koei-Tecmo developed game of all time, and even
includes Koei and Tecmo before the merger.
- Sold higher than
Legend of Zelda: Skyworld Sword.
[19]
1-2 Switch: 3.31 million units.
-
Despite it's numbers being very small compared to Wii Play, it's
still higher than any game in the Wario Ware series (the series this
game is actually compared to.).
[20]
Mario Tennis Aces: 3.29 million units.
-
Highest selling Mario Tennis game ever.
- Fourth highest selling
Mario Sports game ever, highest selling non-Mario & Sonic Olympic
game ever.
[21]
Among Us: 3.20 million units.
-
Highest known selling Indie game on Switch.
[22]
Kirby Star Allies: 3.15 million units.
-
2nd highest Kirby title ever as a portable.
- Becomes the first
Kirby game to surpass three million units since Kirby's Dreamland in
1992.
- Highest selling Kirby game as a console.
[23]
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics: 3.14 million units.
-
Outsold the DS version of Clubhouse Games.
[24]
Paper Mario: The Orgami King sold 3.12 million units.
-
Second highest Paper Mario game only to Super Paper Mario for Wii
(4.23 million units).
[25]
Fire Emblem: Three Houses: 3.02 million units.
-
Highest selling Fire Emblem game ever. First one to surpass three
million units ever.
[26]
Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!: 3.00 million
units+.
-
Highest selling Momtaro Dentetsu game in history.
- In Japan, this
is Konami's second best selling game in history, behind Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel Monsters 4.
- In Japan, this is the best selling game as a
Hudson brand.
- The only 3rd party game to sell over one million
units in Japan in 2020, retail only. (1.43 million units)
[27]
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: 2.93 million units.
-
Better seller than the Wii U version, surpassed Donkey Kong Returns
on 3DS.
[28]
Minecraft: 2.60 million units+.
-
Only counts physical version releases in Japan and Europe only.
-
In Japan, the game has outsold XBOX 360's LTD hardware sales.
[29]
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle: 2.59 million units.
-
Highest selling Rabbids game ever.
[30]
ARMS: 2.47 million units.
-
Outsold Punch-Out! for Wii; and did 82% of the sales of Mike Tyson's
Punch-Out! for NES.
[31]
New Pokemon Snap: 2.33 million units.
[32]
Octopath Traveler: 2.20 million units+.
-
Almost sold as many units as Bravely Default and Bravely Second
combined.
[33]
Yoshi's Crafted World: 2.09 million units.
-
Outsold Yoshi's Wooly World on WiiU and Yoshi's New Island on
3DS.
[34]
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: 2.05 million units.
-
Highest selling game in the series.
[35]
Pikmin 3 Deluxe: 2.04 million units.
-
Highest selling Pikmin game in history.
- Combined with the Wii U
version, it sold 3.31 million units.
[36]
Pokken Tournament DX: 1.80 million units.
-
Sold more than WiiU version.
[37]
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: 1.58 million units.
-
Sold more than Wii U and 3DS versions combined.
[38]
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition: 1.52 million units.
-
Sold more than both versions of Xenoblade combined.
[39]
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX: 1.43 million units.
-
Sold more than Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates To Infinity on
3DS.
[40]
Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit: 1.37 million units.
[41]
Mario Golf: Super Rush: 1.34 million units.
[42]
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit: 1.27 million units.
[43]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: 1.15 million units.
[44]
Astral Chain: 1.14 million units.
-
Is the fifth highest selling game in PlatniumGames history; and their
first game on a Nintendo platform to sell over a million.
[45]
Marvel 3: Ultimate Alliance 3: 1.13 million.
-
Is the second highest in history, although that's because XBOX 360's
version was bundled with the system.
[46]
Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy: 1.11 million units.
[47]
FIFA 18: 1.10 million units.
-
Best selling Nintendo platform version in history.
[48]
Miitopia: 1.04 million units.
[49]
Enter the Gungeon: 1 million units.
[50]
Puyo Puyo Tetris: 1 million units.
-
Third highest selling Puyo Puyo game, only to Super Puyo Puyo and
Puyo Puyo Sun Ketteiban.
[51]
Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!: 1 million units+.
-
Highest selling entry in series.
[52]
Fitness Boxing: 1 million units.
-
Highest selling Imagineer title in history.
[53]
Thief Simulator: 1 million units.
[54]
Resident Evil: Revelations Collection: 1 million units.
Non-Million
Unit Notables:
-
Bravely
Default II:
950,000 units+.
- Fitness
Boxing 2:
900,000 units+.
- Super
Bomberman R:
870,000 units.
* 3rd highest selling Bomberman game in
history, to only Bomberman for NES and Bomberman 64.
- Just
Dance 2018 & 2019:
760,000
units each.
- Sonic
Forces:
740,000
units.
- Monster
Hunter Generations Ultimate:
720,000
units.
- Story
of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town:
700,000
units+.
- The
Witcher III:
700,000
units.
- Fortnite
(Retail Edition):
690,000
units.
- Rayman
Legends:
690,000
units.
- Okami
HD:
600,000
units.
* Tied for second in history with the original Wii
version, only PS2 version is higher by 30,000 units.
-
Bayonetta
2:
570,000
units.
- Fire
Emblem Warriors:
510,000 units.
- Timberman
VS:
500,000
units.
- Fishing
Spirits:
500,000
units.
[3.]
Final Thoughts
Four
years ago today, I felt Nintendo Switch had a shot of becoming one of
the most amazing systems in recent memory. This system has exceeded
expectations in so many ways that I have to be reminded that this all
happened in FOUR years and not at the end of the system's life. NCL
president Shuntaro Furukawa actually revealed that the Switch is
nearing the halfway point of it's life, so there is still at least
THREE YEARS of full support, so it will be 2024 before Switch dies
down and the next system arrives. In other words, there will be no
console system until then at the earliest because the Switch is a
hybrid system that is both console and portable. It's Wii and DS all
over again, except it's going to be much more difficult to put the
system in a box in the case of Switch. Nintendo might support the
system until 2027 and beyond. While consoles last from 5-11 years and
portables are 5-14 years, we never had anything like Switch, so who
knows how long it lasts. It might be 15 years for all I know. It's
certainly lasting at least six years and that's just full support. I
got a lot of things wrong this year. I thought the amount of game
releases would decline; and instead we got increases from last year,
and in the case of Aligned Year Four, the margin between Year Four
and Year Three was larger than Year 3 and Year 2. All ten genres
managed to be #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre within
four years; faster than expected. Switch's hardware and software
sales continue to grow at near Nintendo DS peak levels, and Nintendo
DS didn't have mobile in the background. While COVID-19 did a lot of
damage, in terms of game releases, Nintendo found a way around it and
sets record it would probably never would have set if it wasn't for
COVID-19. Now, let's see if Aligned Year 5 becomes similar to peak
Nintendo DS and maybe 2000 games in one aligned year. Heck, we came
close to Wii's LTD numbers this year, so why not?
I end this with saying this and unlike last year; it's not over the top. It's really to the point and to quote Jack Edwards, the Boston Bruins commentator: "Are you having fun, yet?!" No need to change this line, the train wreck is going to get even more gruesome now.