Japanese Giant Nintendo Worried After Sailing Through Troubled Waters With Alarming ‘Switch’ Sale Storm

The past year has been a rollercoaster for Nintendo as it saw its ups and downs. While it received tremendous appreciation for its releases, the franchise was at war when it came to console sales. Nintendo launched its last hardware, the Nintendo Switch OLED model, on October 21. Post that, the company solely focused on game development, releasing titles like Splatoon 3, Pokemon Arceus, The Legend Of Zelda, and a lot more. 

This worked well for Nintendo until October, after which they heard a ‘sales’ alarm. Apparently, Sony surpassed them in sales in their home ground, which came as a blow to the franchise. Compared to Nintendo Switch sales, PlayStation 5 secured the top spot with a mere 200 unit lead. The difference looks almost negligible, but it states the sales in Japan, which is Nintendo’s fort. 

Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 battle out for the top spot in sales for Japan

Both Nintendo and Sony are industry leaders catering to millions of fans from different parts of the world. However, Nintendo always had the upper hand in Japan, staying one step ahead of its arch-rival. 

Sony and Nintendo are both Japan-based brands, but Sony has more control over the world markets compared to Nintendo. But the last week of October stunned everyone as PlayStation 5 took the top spot. 

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Famitsu, a sales website, confirmed PlayStation 5 sold 38,866 units, while the Switch halted at 38,634 units. Despite the faint margin, it was slightly unbelievable as Nintendo saw a sharp incline in revenue. 

In the past month, the Japanese giant dropped Splatoon 3, which sold three million copies in days after launch. This was a positive sign for the franchise as it churned massive profits off it. Apart from that, they were already viewing good numbers with Mario games, The Legend Of Zelda, and Pokemon. So, the franchise sat back and saw their creations reach new heights every day. 

However, during the success, they paid little attention to hardware, being entirely focused on new games. And so this was a green signal for Sony, who pushed out a fresh PlayStation 5 batch after months. PS5’s sales paved the way for the franchise to grab the top spot in Japan, finally taking over their arch-nemesis. 

Nevertheless, one should not forget that Nintendo released Switch seven years ago when the PlayStation 5 was just a faint rumor. And with multiple games lined up for the coming months, it won’t take much time for the Japanese giant to climb back on top. 

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