{"id":3841,"date":"2025-06-10T17:01:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T17:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/?p=3841"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:19:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T12:19:02","slug":"nintendo-switch-2-outsells-switch-1-launch-by-over-100-but-fails-to-beat-ps5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/nintendo-switch-2-outsells-switch-1-launch-by-over-100-but-fails-to-beat-ps5\/","title":{"rendered":"Nintendo Switch 2 outsells Switch 1 launch by over 100% but fails to beat PS5"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"A\t<\/div>
Only a couple of UK retailers held midnight launches (Credits: David Parry\/PA Media Assignments)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Nintendo<\/a> Switch 2<\/a> has already sold over 160,000 consoles<\/a> in the UK and become Nintendo’s fastest selling console ever.<\/p>\n

Although there’s still no official sales figures for the Nintendo Switch 2 everything points towards it being a massive worldwide success, selling more units in its first day<\/a> than any other console.<\/p>\n

That\u2019d certainly be an impressive feat, but Nintendo itself has yet to substantiate these claims. Earlier today, though, additional sales data has been shared, and it at least gives an indication of how the Switch 2 has performed here in the UK.<\/p>\n

Although no exact figures have been given, it\u2019s said that the Switch 2 has had the best UK launch of any Nintendo console ever. Although given the company’s history in this country, it’s difficult to know exactly what that means.<\/p>\n

The data comes courtesy of market research firm NielsenIQ, which shared its findings with The Game Business<\/a>, adding that the Switch 2 outperformed the Switch 1 by more than two to one.<\/p>\n

On top of that, it outperformed the Nintendo 3DS, which was the original record holder for the biggest Nintendo hardware launch in the UK.<\/p>\n

For the record, the Switch 1 managed 80,000 units in the UK at launch while the 3DS sold 113,000 units. So the implication is that the Switch 2 sold over 160,000 consoles.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter<\/strong><\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The only Switch 2 figures we have so far are from Currys<\/a>, which says it sold 30,000 pre-orders at its stores<\/a>, which they seemed to be very happy with.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"PlayStation\t<\/div>
PlayStation consoles have always been more popular in the UK (Sony)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NielseinIQ adds that this only makes the Switch 2 the fourth best-selling console launch in the UK, trailing behind the Xbox Series X\/S, the PlayStation 4, and especially the PlayStation 5.<\/p>\n

Coming out in the middle of lockdown, the PlayStation 5 was a huge deal in the UK, when it launched in 2020, and went on to become the country\u2019s best selling console in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As The Game Business points out, the original Switch and the Wii had weaker launches in the UK than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox One.<\/p>\n

The UK has always been Nintendo\u2019s weakest international market, which can be traced all the way back to the original NES from the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Not only did the UK not receive the console until 1987 – four years after its initial Japanese launch and two years after the US – but it and its games were badly overpriced and little effort was made in converting it for PAL televisions.<\/p>\n

Nintendo didn’t even have a proper UK headquarters at that time and it wasn’t until the GameCube that they started taking the region seriously, with the Wii and DS being the first time that Nintendo’s success in the UK mirrored that of the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

The good news for Nintendo is that things have been steadily improving since then and doubling the Switch 1’s debut is quite a feat.<\/p>\n

In the run up to the Switch 2\u2019s release, some analysts predicted it would be the biggest console launch ever<\/a>, although Nintendo is only aiming to sell slightly more<\/a> than the original Switch managed in its launch period.<\/p>\n

This more conservative outlook can likely be chalked up to Nintendo opting to play things safe due to all the uncertainty caused by US president Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs<\/a>. Plus, it looks better for them if they easily beat their goals.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"EDITORIAL\t<\/div>
A lot of people queued up for the Switch 2’s midnight launch in the UK (Credits: David Parry\/PA Media Assignments)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Email\u00a0gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a>, leave a comment below,\u00a0follow us on Twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To submit Inbox letters and Reader\u2019s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/06\/10\/mario-kart-world-review-final-verdict-switch-2s-biggest-game-23373706\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Mario Kart World review \u2013 the final verdict on the Switch 2\u2019s biggest game<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/06\/09\/nintendo-switch-2-welcome-tour-review-dullest-nintendo-game-ever-made-23368371\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour review \u2013 the dullest Nintendo game ever made<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/06\/10\/new-splatoon-game-coming-nintendo-switch-2-plus-massive-splatoon-3-update-23378785\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">New Splatoon game coming to Nintendo Switch 2 \u2013 plus massive Splatoon 3 update<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >Only a couple of UK retailers held midnight launches (Credits: David Parry\/PA Media Assignments) The Nintendo Switch 2 has already sold over 160,000 consoles in the UK and become Nintendo’s fastest selling console ever. Although there’s still no official sales figures for the Nintendo Switch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3841"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3841"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3846,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3841\/revisions\/3846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}