In the United States, Nintendo sold more than 735,000 Switch and Switch Lite consoles in October, the company confirmed Thursday, citing numbers from NPD Group. That’s up 136% compared to the same month last year, and the second highest October sales for any gaming console besides the Nintendo Wii, which sold 807,000 units in 2008.
Those numbers are just a slice of the success Nintendo has enjoyed, especially during an ongoing pandemic where many people are staying home in an abundance of caution. The Nintendo Switch has now sold more than 63 million systems worldwide and has been the best-selling game console — beating the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One — for 23 consecutive months.
“Certainly this is an exciting week for the video game category as other consoles launch,” Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, told CNN Business. “But we think Nintendo Switch really occupies a unique position in the marketplace… It’s the only video game console that you can play at home or on the go.”
For Black Friday, Nintendo is bundling Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three month subscription for gaming online with the Switch for $299.99.
