Nintendo Switch is Nintendo's fastest selling console

Just hours after announcing the discontinuation of the hit NES Classic Edition console, Nintendo is trumpeting record sales of its new Switch video game console. Selling more than 906,000 units in the United States in March, the Switch “has sold faster in its launch month than any other video game system in Nintendo history,” according to Nintendo. From the press release:

The Nintendo Switch system sold more than 906,000 units in March, according to the NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. That makes Nintendo Switch one of the fastest-selling video game systems of all time. Notably, this sales surge was accomplished in a nontraditional month for a console launch.

The Nintendo Switch was released on March 3, meaning it sold nearly 1 million units in its first 29 days of availability. For context, Microsoft moved more than 2 million Xbox One units in its first 18 days of availability while Sony moved 2.1 million PlayStation 4 units in that console’s first 14 days, according to CNBC.

Meanwhile, the console’s biggest launch title — The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — sold over 925,000 units for Nintendo Switch, somehow outselling the console itself, and nearly 460,000 units for the older Wii U console. Nintendo acknowledged the more-than-100-percent attach rate, speculating, “This may be attributed to people who purchased both a limited edition of the game to collect and a second version to play.” Or it may be attributed to imprecise data collection methods, or a continued shortage of Nintendo Switch consoles.

“This was all enough to make The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the fastest-selling Nintendo launch game of all time, as well as the fastest-selling game ever in The Legend of Zelda series,” the press release says.

Nintendo notes that a “full accounting of worldwide Nintendo Switch sales” will be made available on April 27 when it issues its fiscal-year earnings.