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Nintendo Switch Aligned Four Six Month Report

Updated: 07/05/2024



[1.] Nintendo Switch North American Game Release List Stats

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. Unless otherwise stated, these figures apply to the North American region:

[a.] Total Number Of Games & Comparison to Nintendo's Competition

- Overall, the Nintendo Switch reached 4117 games as of September 2nd, 2020, 1279 days total.
- On average 1176 games were released per year, 3.21 games per day, 22.6 games per week, 98 games per month.
- Switch has the widest margin of any platform at 2069 games and counting.
- The margin is already bigger than the LTD numbers of VB, N64, Gameboy Color, Gameboy and Gamecube combined; but is higher than mentioned plus all other game systems LTD.
- By console pairing era; Switch has surpassed every pairing and surpassed the pairings of NES/GB, SNES/VB and N64/GBC combined.
- PlayStation 4 has roughly 2777 games.
- PlayStation Vita has roughly 1176 games.
- XBOX One has roughly 1905 games.

*Storylines For Aligned Year 4:

- The entire Yamaguchi era combined (NES-GBA inclusive) is 4151 games, Switch needs 34 games to surpass it. Will be surpassed within three weeks or less. (
Already surpassed.)
- Playstation 2 has 4218 games in all regions. Switch will likely surpass this by the end of September. (
Already surpassed.)

Side Note: I was going to include numbers for Japan and other regions; but Perfectly-Nintendo hasn't updated their numbers yet.

[b.] Number of Publishers and Developers Overall

- 1151 publishers have published at least one game on Nintendo Switch.
- That is doubled the amount of publishers in the entire Yamaguchi era (428 publishers combined) and surpass the entire Iwata era sans Switch (863 publishers combined).
- The average number of games per publisher is 3.58; the third lowest in Nintendo history. The highest is GBA with 14.39 games per publisher. (
This shows how the policy changes of sub-publishing as the support is less "big support from a small circle of publishers" and now is more of a "small support from a huge selection of publishers".)
- 2277 developers have developed at least one game on Nintendo Switch.
- Switch has surpassed the Yamaguchi era in total number of developers combined (1245 developers combined) and the San Switch Iwata era combined as well (1905 developers combined).
- The average number of games per developer is 1.81; 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. (
This stems from a huge selection of developers from the Indies scene. Policy changes from late stages of Wii U can explain away these numbers. Despite Switch being much more successful and many more developers in the marketplace: In the former case, Wii and DS sold 250 million units plus and both had under 200 publishers and over 500 developers each. In the later case, 3DS and Wiiu had roughly 200-300 publishers and under 500 publishers each. Switch became a perfect mix of lots of new publishers and developers on the scene, a successful system that was build for those developers and most importantly, policies that were more friendly to developers. You can argue if they were too friendly to them, though considering the record setting pace.)
- The developer/publisher ratio is 1.98; third lowest to Wiiu's 1.45 and 3DS' 1.96.

*Storylines for Aligned Year 4:

- Outside of Switch, the total combined publishers for all Nintendo platforms is 1291. Since 332 new publishers are released every year now, could it be possible for Aligned Year 4 to surpass them all? If not, Aligned Year 5 is not out of the question either.
- How about over 2500 developers as a storyline for the end of Aligned Year 4? (
Already surpassed.)

[c.] Publisher & Developer Breakdown

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.

- Hamster is the #1 publisher for Switch at 220 games; the highest total for a third party publisher among Nintendo platforms and is second behind 3DS Nintendo (249).
- Nintendo has 107 games in 2nd place, meaning the gap is a -113; 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.)
- Rounding out the Top 5 are Ratalaika Games with 90, Ultimate Games at 68 and Forever Entertainment with 67.
- Rounding out the Top 10 after that are QubicGames with 49, Playdius with 48, Sometimes You with 46, Digerati with 43 and Sega with 41.
- Top Ten Publishing Minimum is at 41, which is in second place to only Wii with 51.
- SNK Corporation is the #1 developer for Switch at 99 games; the highest total for a developer 1st or 3rd party ever.
- Nintendo is in 2nd place with 67 games and is currently tied for 4th highest total for a developer 1st or 3rd party ever. This means a gap of -32 games.
- Rounding out the Top 5 are Sabec with 33 games, G-Mode with 30 games and Kariosoft with 28 games.
- Rounding out the Top 10 after that are Baltoro Games and Konami with 26 games, M2 with 23 games, Capcom with 20 games and Artifex Mundi/Ubi Soft with 19 games.
- Top Ten Developing Minimum is at 19; which is in third place.
- Correction: SNES and GBC are the ones where Nintendo is nowhere near the Top Ten.

*Storylines for Aligned Year 4:

- I don't think Switch Nintendo will reach the overall Top 10 in publishers in aligned year 4 considering COVID-19 wrecking havoc; but I can see Ratalaika Games making a run for second place. (
Nintendo has already made it and is tied for eight place already! Ratalaika Games has already surpassed 100 games as well!)
- SNK Corporation has a real chance of being the first developer to reach 100 games or more on a Nintendo platform, just like Hamster reaching 250 games published on a single platform. Something even Nintendo couldn't pull it off. Hamster only needs 30 games and SNK Corporation literally only needs one game and several games are still planned for release. It is a matter of when, not if. (
SNK Corporation on the developer side has made it!)
- 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. Ditto for Ratalaika Games and maybe even Forever Entertainment.


[d.] By Genre

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 780 games or 18.9% 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 THREE YEARS than the NES and 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 the Action genre is usually #1 on six of Nintendo's platforms. Considering the pace, 900 games is not out of the question for Aligned Year 4. Heck, by the end of Aligned Year 5, 1000 games doesn't sound like a pipe dream anymore. Imagine almost GBA LTD numbers on all genres being less than Adventure games alone on the Switch.

-
Action has 761 games or 18.5% 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. Action has already doubled the amount on GBA (GBA Action is #10 overall, the only Yamaguchi era system to reach the Top 10, and one of the few that is in the Top 30.). There are more Action games on Switch in THREE YEARS than the SNES had games in it's entire lifetime, period
.
*Storyline: Basically the same as Adventure. While Action is the bread and butter of gaming, it's nice to see Adventure games get their due on Switch.

-
RPG has 542 games or 13.1% 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. RPG has already doubled the amount on DS (DS RPG is #22 overall) and has more RPG games on Switch in THREE YEARS than the Gameboy Color had games in it's entire lifetime, period.

*Storyline: RPG getting to 500 games on one system would be the biggest tribute to the genre in the history of Nintendo platforms. After that, there's nothing to prove considering their overall ranking on Switch and on Nintendo platforms in general. Also, to have THREE genres over 500 games really paints the picture of how Nintendo policies have changed. RPG's only need 17 games to surpass Gamecube's total games overall. (
Already surpassed.)

-
Other has 430 games or 10.4% 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 THREE YEARS than the N64 had games in it's entire lifetime, period.

* Storyline: DS and Wii had a number of Other genres that had more games than in the other major genres. This will not be the case with Switch. They have the fastest chance to reach 500 games and be the fourth genre to do so. And they are 18 games away from surpassing Gameboy Color in overall games. (
Already surpassed.)

Side Note: I'll breakdown the Other genres and Sports genres by genre in a separate section.

-
Shooter has 416 games or 10.1% of the Switch lineup. Shooter is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #5 in overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. There are more Shooter games on Switch in THREE YEARS than the N64 had games in it's entire lifetime, period. Shooter also has more than double the amount of Shooters Wii had.

*Storyline: Pretty much the same as Other. While not as profound of a deal as RPGs, the twin stick shooting genre has virtually made Shooters one of the most popular genres on the Switch. The added arcade nature of the Switch helps it a lot as well. And they are 38 games away from surpassing Gameboy Color in overall games.

-
Puzzle has 407 games or 9.9% of the Switch lineup. Puzzle is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #6 in overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. There are more Puzzles games on Switch in THREE YEARS than the N64 had games in it's entire lifetime, period.

*Storyline: To see six unique genres on the same platform have the most games in Nintendo history and having 12 competing platforms in the process is amazing at this point. Having double the amount of Puzzle games compared to DS and 3DS is basically the next two milestones along with competing for fourth place overall. And being 41 games away from surpassing Gameboy Color in overall games.

-
Simulation has 270 games on Switch or 6.6% of the lineup. Simulation is #2 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #15 in overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. Simulation also became the 7th Switch genre to reach over 200 games, a new record among all Nintendo platforms.

*Storyline: I think Simulation has a shot of surpassing DS Simulation and taking over #1 before the aligned year 4 ends. They only need 25 games to pull it off and the simulator type games are coming hard and fast. Don't be surprised if they become the seventh genre to reach 300 games or more and even get into the top 10 genres overall, which if done; there will be no genre in the Yamaguchi era in the Top 10!

-
Sports has 174 games on Switch or 4.2% of the lineup. Sports is #2 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #28 in overall genres among all Nintendo platforms.

*Storyline: Sports is probably the most questionable one of all the major genres on Nintendo Switch. They need 17 games to reach #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre, beating Wii. The fact that Switch is able to make it this far and still surpass all but two platforms is amazing considering the lack of Electronic Arts on board, something SNES and Wii had a lot of in terms of support. While still a difficult road, it's getting there. Maybe over 200 games isn't far-fetched since Sports still have 2 1/2 years at least to continue adding new titles.

-
Racing has 173 games on Switch or 4.2% of the lineup. Racing is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #30 in overall genres among all Nintendo platforms, being the ninth Switch genre to be in the Top 30.

*Storyline: Racing has pretty much proven it's point and it's just increasing it's rank further.

- Fighting is in last place among Switch genres with 164 games or 4% of the lineup. Fighting is #1 among all Nintendo platforms in the same genre; but is #31 in overall genres among all Nintendo platforms. They also doubled the numbers against fighting games for Wii.

* Storyline: Fighting is more than proven it's point and it's just increasing it's rank further. Although, making a run for Top 30 is also possible, despite it's slow pace which is a bigger deal since this hasn't happened since the N64 era. Switch's rank range is #1-#31; the narrowest range in history.


[e.] Others And Sports Breakdown:

- Switch's #1 Others genre is Party at 88 games. Party is #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; but is second overall on all Nintendo platforms.

*Storyline: Party still needs 21 games to surpass Music on Wii to reach #1 overall and only 12 games to become the second Others genre to reach 100 games.

-
Switch's #2 Others genre is Visual Novel at 68 games. Visual Novels are #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; but is #5 overall on all Nintendo platforms.

*Storyline: Due to the end of PlayStation Vita, Sony having no desire to create another portable and Switch being the next logical pick due to it's hybrid nature; Visual Novels have exploded to the point where by the next aligned year, it could easily be #1 overall contender. With at least three visual novels coming out in September 2020 alone, Visual Novels will be in fourth place and challenge for #3 with DS Edutainment.

-
Switch's #3 Others genre is Board Game at 57 games. Board Games are #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; but is #7 overall on all Nintendo platforms.

*Storyline: If they stay at the current pace, they would be within striking distance of Party for Wii with 62 games, maybe make a run for the Top 5.

-
Switch's #4 Others genre is Music Game at 43 games. Music Games are #3 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; but is #8 overall on all Nintendo platforms.

*Storyline: Pure music games are hard to come by these days compared to the DS/Wii era; so this will be a tough one to haul, and it's unlikely that they will surpass DS and Wii when it's all said and done. However, as a sub-genre, this genre is big in other games, so the music genre hasn't died out; it merely got combined with other genres. So, increasing it's ranking is more important than trying to surpass itself.

-
Switch's #5 Others genre is Card Game at 40 Games. It is #2 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre.

* Storyline: If Card games can get 4 more games, it will easily be in the Top Ten and become the fifth genre on Switch to do so.

-
Other Notables: Edutainment has 27 games; 3rd place in the same genre on all Nintendo platforms and only two games behind Edutainment for Wii. Pinball games is at 21 games, #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre (7th Other genre to reach 20 or more games). Mahjong games is at 13 games, #1 among all Nintendo platforms. Arcade Compilation is now at 18 games, tied for first with GBA, TV Quiz Show is 11 games, the fourth platform to reach 10 or more, Application is now at 10 titles, tied for third with Wii U. Gambling game is at 9 games and #1, Art Program has 8 games, #2 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre Pool Game has 7 games, #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. 11 Other genres have reached 10 games or more.

* Storyline: Art Program and Gambling Game have a chance to be #12 and #13 to reach ten games ore more and Art Program could reach #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. TV Quiz Show needs only four games to get to #2.


- Sports #1 genre on Switch is Soccer (World's Football) at 35 games. Obviously it's #1 on all Nintendo platforms of the same genre; and #1 overall among Sports games on all Nintendo platforms.

* Storyline: Despite Switch's struggles in the Sports genre in general, it's still amazing that Soccer has done so well.

-
Sports #2 genre on Switch is Golf at 19 games. Golf is #1 among all Nintendo Platforms of the same genre, but #7 overall among Sports genres.

* Storyline: Look for Golf to continue to increase it's ranking further.

-
Sports #3 and #4 genres on Switch is Olympics and Tennis with 17 games apiece. Olympics is in #2 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre while Tennis is currently #1 for Nintendo platforms in the same genre.

* Storyline: Both genres only need two games apiece to get into the Top 10 for certain, giving Switch four slots.

-
Sports #5 genre on Switch is Baseball with 13 games. Baseball is currently tied for 5th for Nintendo platforms in the same genre with GBA. Became the fifth Sports genre to reach 10 games or more.

* Storyline: If Baseball can get four or more games; they can make a run for third place.

-
Other Notables: Basketball currently has 9 games on Switch, along with Bowling and Fishing. Basketball is sixth place among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. Fishing is #2 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. Bowling is #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. Dodge Ball has 8 games and is #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. Boxing has seven games and is tied for second place among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. American Football has 6 games. American Football is tied for #9 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre.

* Storyline: Basketball, Bowling and Fishing becoming the sixth, seventh and eighth Sports genres with 10 or more games is very likely. Dodge Ball is a long shot still though. Boxing will be #1 among it's genre and might even challenge to be the ninth genre to reach 10 games or more; but American Football is pretty much stuck without EA support (along with Ice Hockey, Skateboarding, Skiing/Snowboarding and Extreme Sports). I'm more surprised that despite all this, this is still much better support than the entire 3DS/Wiiu era. Also unrelated: Volleyball is #1 among all Nintendo platforms of the same genre. Rugby, Aussie Rules Football and Cricket have debuted on Nintendo platforms for the first time in North America.


[f.] Monthly Breakdown

Year One: 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 2018- 67.

Minimum: 12 - Maximum: 70 - Average Per Month: 39.

Year Two: 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 2019 - 128.

Minimum: 79 - Maximum: 151 - Average Per Month: 110.

Year Three: 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 2020- 137.

Minimum: 96 - Maximum: 179 - Average Per Month: 126

Year Four: March 2020- 128, April- 122, May- 141, June- 135, July- 150, August- 131.

Minimum: 122 - Maximum: 150 - Average Per Month: 135.

- In Aligned Year 4 so far: 810 games were released on Switch, 4.43 games released per day, 31.15 games per week; which is over the 30 game a week limit Nintendo imposed on itself.
- In Calendar Year 2020 so far: 1064 games were released on Switch; 4.33 games released per day, 29.55 games released per week, 133 games per month.
- Overall, Switch had over 25 months of 100 or more games released in a month.
- 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: 821 games. (so far)

- For the fiscal year, this means 4.5 games a day, 31.58 games a week and 136.8 games a month.

* Storyline for Aligned Year 4: I don't think Nintendo will attempt to flood the store with over 140 games a month ever again, they don't need to anymore. (And then they got 150 games in July and September. And then broke their own record with over 200 games in October 2020!) Heck, to get to 5000 games, they need 883 games, which is a little over half of a year's worth. While the numbers have increased, the margin compared to last year is much smaller, so Nintendo seems to have a soft limit on number of releases per year, although it's much more generous than at any time in Nintendo's history.

[g.] 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 470 publishers and 609 developers in that order. The gap between 1 game and done and more than 1 game is 681 publishers and 1673 developers. In terms of publishers; Switch has more publishers than the entire Yamaguchi era combined. Switch has surpass 500 and 600 developers with two or more games, thus surpassing the total number of DS developers had releasing one game or more. Surpassed entire Iwata era sans Switch combined.

* Storyline: How about 500 publishers with 2 or more games? That could easily happen before Aligned Year 4 is said and done. (Already done..) The developer side is closing in on 700 developers with 2 or more games.

- Switch is #1 among publishers with five or more games with 183, more than doubling DS's output. Switch is #1 among developers with five or more games with 114.

* Storyline: Considering the pace, 200 publishers with five or more sounds like a long shot, but I wouldn't discount that milestone happening by the end of aligned year 4.

- Switch is #1 among publishers with ten or more games with 76. Switch is #2 among developers with ten or more games with 38.

*Storyline: Among publishers, there are lots of 8's/9's, so expect these numbers to increase. Maybe one day in another couple years, we will be talking about 100 publishers releasing ten or more games; but that's comically pointless now. Developers on the other hand, they need 6 developers to make it to #1 and they have enough 8's/9's to make it to #1 held by Nintendo DS with 43. (Nintendo Switch now has 44 developers with 10+ games and has broken DS's record.)

- Switch is #1 among publishers with 25 or more games with 28. Switch is in third with 7 developers.

*Storyline: M2 only needs two games and depending on localization, they will make it. Capcom, Ubi Soft, Artifex Mundi and maybe EXE Create all have a shot, but are more long shots for Aligned Year 4. Getting this in Aligned Year 5 is more likely, along with the Top Ten developer Minimum which is also 25 games.

- Switch is fourth place among publishers with 50 or more games with 5. Switch is tied for second with DS with 2 developers.

* Storyline: There are 5 publishers within ten games of 50 or more: Playdius, QubicGames, Sometimes You, Digerati and Sega. Playdius and QubicGames are very likely to reach 50 or more by the end of Aligned Year Four. Digerati will likely happen in Aligned Year 5 as well as Sometimes You, so expect them to be in third place when the year is out. If all four make it, it will be second place outright with 9. Sega might make it in Aligned Year 5 or 6. Might. As for developers, I think Wii might be able to stop Switch from this milestone since Sabec has 33 games and G-Mode has only 30 games. I doubt that they will be able to get to even three developers at this point.

- Switch is third among publishers with 100 or more games at 2. SNK Corporation on Switch is the closest developer to have 100 games or more developed at 99 games. (
SNK Corporation is the first to reach 100 games developed. YAY!)

* Storyline: Ratalaika Games is within 10 games of making it to 100 games or more, so expect a tie with Wii for second place. While Forever Entertainment and Ultimate Games are still far behind to getting to 100 games, their pace of releases might get them there in early Aligned Year 5. That would give them five publishers with 100 games or more which would be a record. Also, in Aligned Year 5, I expect Hamster to be the first publisher to surpass 250 games or more. A feat even Nintendo for 3DS couldn't do, despite being within one game of making history.

[h.] ESRB Breakdown

- Switch has 392 M-Rated games.
- This is more than all 12 platforms sans Switch combined.
- Considering that there are more M-Rated games on Switch in THREE YEARS than N64 had games, period; a percentage breakdown would be useless and the percentage is roughly the same as N64.
- Switch's percentage is 9.5%.
- There are roughly 1254 T-Rated games, 1078 E10+ Titles and 1768 E-rated games.
- Playstation 4 has 449 M-Rated games.
- XBOX One has 319 M-Rated games.

* Storyline: Right now, I'm certain Switch has more than every console and portable except for XBOX 360, PS4 and PS3; which is an amazing feat for a system that is produced by a company where M-rated titles are not a selling point. Case in point; the rest of the games are pretty much rated as expected, except there are more T-rated titles than E10+ rated games. Maybe 500 M-rated games is a possible goal?!

[2.] Nintendo Switch Sales

+ As of September 30th, 2020 (Context: Nintendo Switch was roughly 3 1/2 years old at this point.):


- Switch hardware has sold 68.30 million units.
- 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.)
- As of August 16th, 2020; Switch has surpassed NES in global numbers at over 62 million units, thanks to the Japanese Switch numbers alone.
- Switch sold 5.68 million units in the first quarter of this fiscal year. It sold 6.86 million in the second quarter.
- Switch has surpassed SNES, GBA and Nintendo 3DS software sales at 456.49 million units.
- Switch had 100.25 million units in the first half of this year alone, more than any other time in history.
- Switch sold over 50 million units of software overall in the first quarter of this fiscal year. The second quarter saw 49.82 million units. This does not include games that are downloadable from the eShop only.
- The games per hardware tie ratio is 6.68.
- There are 46 one million unit sellers on Switch, 10 of them are third party games.

[1.] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 28.99 million units.

* 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.
* Mario Kart 8 on Wii U sold 8.45 million units, thus the two combined for 37.44 million units.

[2.] Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold 26.04 million units.

* In Japan alone, as of August 2nd, 2020; this game sold over 7.50 million units (this does not include digital download numbers between July 1st- August 2nd, 2020), the second most in Japan of all time and the highest selling single SKU game of all time in Japan (The top game sold over 10.23 million units, but Pokemon Red, Green and Blue requires 3 SKU's).
* 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.

[3.] Super Smash Brothers Ultimate sold 21.10 million.

* Highest selling fighting game of all time and no one is touching that one.
* Super Smash Brothers Ultimate is the third game over 20 million units for the Switch.
* This hasn't happened since the Wii/DS era and is the first time with Switch not getting a true pack-in title.
* Also, the first three games to surpass all Playstation 4 games, exclusive or multiplat (GTA 5 is the highest selling PS4 game at 20 million and is pretty much the highest selling game on a Sony platform. XBOX 360 has Kinetic Adventures at roughly 24 million units which is the highest Microsoft platform exclusive, however; Mario Kart 8 has already surpassed it and the other two will surpass it at some point.)

[4.]
Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 19.74 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.
* Combined with Wii U; the game sold 21.24 million units.
* The "Zelda Killer" Horizon: Zero Dawn on PS4 sold 10 million units.

[5.]
Pokemon Sword and Shield sold 19.02 million units.

* This is the 3rd highest selling Pokemon games of all time and the highest Pokemon sales in the entire Iwata era and highest since 2000.

[6.]
Super Mario Odyssey sold 18.99 million units.

* Has surpassed Super Mario Brothers 3.
* Odyssey has surpassed Super Mario Land for Gameboy and 1.62 million units away from surpassing Super Mario World, both pack in games for Gameboy and SNES.
* All six Switch games have surpassed Uncharted 4 in terms of PlayStation exclusives.

[7.]
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee! sold 12.49 million units.

* Surpassed Pokemon FireRed/Leaf Green.
* It is currently fourth highest among Pokemon secondary games and third among remakes.
* They are 500,000 units away from surpassing HeartGold/SoulSilver.

(2024: PlayStation 5 has seven one million unit sellers.)

[8.]
Super Mario Party sold 12.10 million units.

* The highest selling Mario Party game of all time and also surpassing Wii Party in the process.

[9.]
Splatoon 2 sold 11.27 million units.

* This is more than double the sales of the first game on Wii U (4.95 million units)
* That means NINE games reached ten million units or more.

(2024: At this point, nine games have more sales than Spider-Man 2 on PlayStation 5, it's highest selling game so far.)

[10]
New Super Mario Brothers DX sold 8.32 million units.

* Higher than both NSMB U and NSLB U separately. 400,000 units away from outselling them combined.

[11]
Luigi's Mansion 3 sold 7.83 million units.

* Surpassed Luigi's Mansion 2 for highest selling Luigi's Mansion game of all time.

[12]
Super Mario Maker 2 sold 5.89 million units.

* The highest in the Maker series.

[13]
Ring Fit Adventure: 5.84 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. Shipments are improving at this time.

[14]
Super Mario 3D All-Stars sold 5.21 million units.

** Other Notables:**

[15] Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: 4.57 million units.

* Higher than the original series and DX remake.
* Fourth highest 2D Zelda game ever. (
2024: At this point, 15 games have sold more than every game except Spider-Man 2 on PlayStation 5.)

[16] 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.).

[17]
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.

[18]
Among Us: 3.2 million units.

[19]
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.

[20]
Fire Emblem: Three Houses: 3.02 million units.

* Highest selling Fire Emblem game ever. First one to surpass three million units ever.

[21]
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: Over 3.00 million units.

* Four days of sales only.
* 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.

[22]
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: 2.93 million units.

* Better seller than the Wii U version, surpassed Donkey Kong Returns on 3DS.

[23]
Paper Mario: The Origami King: 2.82 million units.

* Second highest Paper Mario game only to Super Paper Mario for Wii (4.23 million units).

[24]
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle: 2.59 million units.

*Highest selling Rabbids game ever.

[25]
ARMS: 2.47 million units.

* Outsold Punch-Out! for Wii; and did 82% of the sales of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! for NES.

[26]
Yoshi's Crafted World: 2.09 million units.

* Outsold Yoshi's Wooly World on WiiU and Yoshi's New Island on 3DS.

[27]
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: 2.05 million units.

* Highest selling game in the series.

[28]
Minecraft: 2.04 million units+.

* Only counts physical version releases in Japan and Europe only.

[29]
Octopath Traveler: 2 million units+.

* Almost sold as many units as Bravely Default and Bravely Second combined.

[30]
Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!: 2.00 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)

[31]
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics: 1.81 million units.
[32]
Pokken Tournament DX: 1.80 million units.

* Sold more than WiiU version.

[33]
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: 1.58 million units.

* Sold more than Wii U and 3DS versions combined.

[34]
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX: 1.43 million units.

* Sold more than Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates To Infinity on 3DS.

[35]
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition: 1.40 million units.

* Sold more than both versions of Xenoblade; 80,000 units away from selling more than both combined.

[36]
Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit: 1.37 million units
[37]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: 1.15 million units.
[38]
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.

[39]
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.

[40]
Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy: 1.11 million units.
[41]
FIFA 18: 1.10 million units.

* Best selling Nintendo platform version in history.

[42]
Enter the Gungeon: 1 million units+
[43]
Puyo Puyo Tetris: 1 million units

* Third highest selling Puyo Puyo game, only to Super Puyo Puyo and Puyo Puyo Sun Ketteiban.

[44]
Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!: 1 million units+.

* Highest selling entry in series.

[45]
Fitness Boxing: 1 million units.

* Highest selling Imagineer title in history.

****Under One Million 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.
-
Thief Simulator: 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.
-
Fitness Boxing 2: 500,000 units.

Well, that is all. I'm not in the mood to write a final summary and even do a business storyline thing since the sales tell the story better than anything else.

 

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