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Switch sells over 700k in UK since launch, beats out total Wii U sales
- Switch has sold just over 700,000 units in the UK since launch
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey and Zelda: Breath of the Wild have sold more than one million copies combined
- Switch has already outsold Wii U in the UK by a large margin
- GAME has posted improved results thanks to Switch's success
In other words, the Switch is doing well in the UK, but not breaking records like it is all over the world. Why have things remained a bit quieter in the UK? Piers Harding-Rolls, director of research and analysis at IHS Markit, shared some insight.
"If you look at the historical performance of previous Nintendo consoles, UK has rarely taken the lead in sales in Europe. It is normally France, and occasionally Germany. The Wii and DS were an exception to the rule. In the UK there was a thirst for Wii from non-traditional game retailers and it shifted out of the games sector into something much more akin to a lifestyle product for offerings such as Wii Fit. There was a similar vibe with the DS and I think we can attribute some of the success of the DS due to the halo impact of the Wii.
So historically more often than not, the UK has been relatively less engaged with the Nintendo brand and its IP compared to some of its European cousins considering its normal leading position in console adoption in Europe. But I also think there were some other local factors which may have dampened UK sales of the Switch. A £280 price point against a backdrop of exchange rate and economic turmoil following the Brexit vote probably pushed this out of financial reach of a good number of consumers. Add to this the up and down supply of Switch, very limited price point discounts for the console at the end of 2017, the aggressive price points of the favoured Xbox One S and PS4, and a picture forms where it is not surprising that Switch has not altered the historical trend of the UK following the lead of France.
The makeup of the console market in the UK differs from France and Germany, due to the popularity of the Xbox brand in the market. Xbox is far less competitive in France and Germany, which alters the dynamic of the market somewhat and may contribute to the relative success of Nintendo products in these markets, especially France.
"It is likely that this sales trend will continue unless the Switch starts to shift into a broader category of content. I would not be surprised to see Nintendo Labo sell well in the UK, for example, which may help drive sales of the Switch."