Over the weekend, GameStop announced in a press release that its first shipment of the Nintendo Switch sold out, completely.
Of course, this news may come as a surprise to both those writing it and others who have spent the large part of the weekend hating on Nintendo's new console. The Nintendo Switch has been an easy target for harsh criticism, a lot of which is warranted (its disappointing $299 price, its dearth of compelling launch titles, etcetera).
Just look at the front page of N4G.com on Friday night, the day after the Nintendo Switch was revealed:
To those behind these stories, and to those quick to proclaim the death of the Nintendo Switch before it even began its life, the idea of the console selling out of pre-orders in any capacity would have seemed like a pipe dream. On the flip side, Nintendo faithfuls who couldn't wait to get their hands on the Switch will see this news as vindication.
Before jumping to conclusions, though, there are a few factors that need be considered, namely the Wii and the Wii U, both of which were reported to have very successful pre-launch sales. The Wii U Deluxe Edition (that came bundled with a game) also sold out in advance of the launch, but that later translated into 320,000 sales after around two months (for context, the original Wii console sold more than 600,000 consoles in the first eight days after launch).
It's also important to note that GameStop also didn't reveal how many Nintendo Switch consoles made up their "first allocation," as the press release put it. Was it one million? One thousand? Three? We don't really know. GameStop did reveal that the first allocation for the Wii U was less than 500,000, so this could be an issue of Nintendo not shipping enough consoles to fill an albeit modest demand.
Although, Nintendo big wigs have stated publicly that 2 million units shipped worldwide, but that is presumably across all retailers, so there's no way to know what share of that GameStop took in. So all we know is that GameStop sold out of anywhere between 1 (a singular console) and 2 million Nintendo Switch consoles.
And even though the Wii did have a much more successful run than the Wii U, it was still a console that had a very niche appeal and was held back by its hardware, leading to its comparatively short run. These pre-launch stats can be misleading, and neither the Nintendo fan boys nor the Switch haters can draw any concrete conclusions from GameStop's numbers, mostly because they aren't numbers.
While this may very well mean vindication for the Nintendo Switch, a sure sign that all the nitpicking on the console's various features or lackthereof was all for naught, the Nintendo Switch won't be out of the woods until we get some solid sales figures.
Check Out More Nintendo Switch Coverage On GameRevolution:
- Should You Sell Your Wii U?
- The Unknowns of the Switch
- Complete List of Switch Games
- Switch Is Bringing Back Motion Controls
- A Look At the Switch's Smartphone Integration
- 5 Things We Learned About Super Mario Odyssey
5 Things About The Nintendo Switch That Shouldn't Make You Panic
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5 Things About The Nintendo Switch That Shouldn\'t Make You Panic
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Motion Controls
Many people (let’s call them “haters”) were upset that Nintendo continues to pursue motion-based controls with the Switch. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of how Nintendo revealed and dwelled on this aspect (showing how a JoyCon controller could feel like a glass with ice cubes in it isn’t exactly a console-seller), I don’t think that’s enough reason to write off motion controls entirely.
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rnFor all the Wii U’s failings, it had some truly great games, and many of them adequately made use of motion-based controls. It’s a gimmick, but gimmick does not automatically mean bad, and the use of motion controls doesn’t spell panic for me, just yet.
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rnAnd, many games, such as ARMS, will not require the use of motion controls, anyhow. So, if you don't like it, don't use it. -
Joy Con Charging Grip
A lot of headlines are being made right now about the Joy Con charging grip, a $28 accessory that charges your JoyCon controllers. The JoyCon grip that comes with the console does not charge the JoyCon controllers. Obviously, the prospect of having to pay upwards of $30 extra just to be able to charge the very things I need to use the console in any capacity should be concerning. So why aren’t we concerned?
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rnGameRevolution saw this story very early on, before it was being widely reported, and we weren’t impressed. Upon further research, the JoyCon controllers will charge when they are attached to the console itself (whenever it’s in handheld mode), and the battery life of each JoyCon has been reported as around 20 hours.
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rnWhile the JoyCon charging grip would be a nice accessory, it’s just that: an accessory. If Nintendo was asking that you pay extra for a necessary feature, we’d be just as upset as everyone else. -
Super Mario Odyssey
Sure, we already covered the lineup of the Nintendo Switch as a reason not to panic, but Super Mario Odyssey has been a surprising target of backlash at this point.
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rnThe chief complaint? “It’s just Sonic 2006!” Near as I can figure, though, the comparison is being made because they both have a city level … and that’s it. Really? I didn’t know Sonic 2006 had a patent on retro platformers in a city setting, and I certainly didn’t think that it would be so abiding that people look to it as the bastion of city-based retro platformers.
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rnIf I overlooked an element here, please let me know, but I am not impressed with any comparisons thus far, beyond one out of the dozen or so different levels sure to be in Super Mario Odyssey. -
Games Lineup
While the lack of titles specifically ready at the launch of the Nintendo Switch is concerning, the overall lineup of games announced thus far is actually rather impressive, with Shin Megami Tensei, Super Mario Odyssey, Zelda Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
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rnThere’s also something to be said for spreading out your big releases to make sure you don’t flood the market immediately and leave people wanting more in the later months.
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rnThis is not to mention that it’s still possible that more, post-release game announcements are on the horizon, especially around the time of E3 and other like events. Give it some time (and maybe don’t pre-order it). -
Online Services (Not Yet)
As of right now, I’m tentatively giving Nintendo the benefit of the doubt about their online services for the Nintendo Switch. In keeping with the times, the Nintendo Switch will be charging for its online services, effective Fall 2017, after a several-month-long free-trial period. But, the negative spin is that they’re charging for it at all.
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rnAlso, it appears the only bonus that comes along with it is one free NES game that you only get to play for a month, as opposed to PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold that lets you keep the free games they give you for as long as you keep their service.
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rnWhile this is rather concerning, I’m reserving judgement until we get a price for it. If it’s $50-$60 per year, like PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold, I’m out, and I will be grabbing my pitchfork like everyone else. However, if it’s somewhere in the $20-$25 per year range, that’s probably a worthwhile cost. We’ll see.
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rnAlso, we can’t forget that the Nintendo Switch has local multiplayer, making the idea of using its online services optional in many cases.
