Nintendo could have a huge install platform leading into the big holiday season rush

The Nintendo Switch is continuing to make waves in the industry by becoming a trendsetting device in the world of interactive entertainment. Ahead of the official NPD Group sales figures for the month of April, Nintendo revealed that the Nintendo Switch has already managed to break a record. According to Gamespot, the Nintendo Switch is the first ever hybrid home console and portable gaming device to top the NPD charts two months in a row. Nintendo confirmed that the Nintendo Switch has managed to sell more than 280,000 units in the U.S., alone, making it the top selling home console and portable gaming device in the United States. This is the second month in a row where the Switch managed to top the charts, originally managing to move 500,000 units in the first half of March in the Americas and then another 500,000 in Japan as well. The system has been extremely popular, managing to move more than 2.74 million units in March alone, according to USA Today. Another 280,000 added on to the 2.74 million would put the Nintendo Switch well over the 3 million SKU threshold, which means it's definitely trending faster in the sales department than the Wii U. Back in 2012 the Wii U managed to move 3 million SKUs from November through to the end of December. That means it was moving at a rate of 1 million SKUs a month. However, those sales tapered off rather quickly and the Wii U ended up languishing in sales hell for the better part of 2013. The Nintendo Switch, alternatively, has already surpassed the Wii U's sales within half that time frame, managing 3 million SKUs from March to April. The really impressive part about it is that they managed to do so during an off-season in terms of big sales. The Wii U launched during the holiday season, and it didn't have much competition at the time since it wasn't until a year later that the Xbox One and PS4 launched. Even then the Wii U got off to a rocky start and stayed that way throughout the rest of its lifespan, barely being able to come close to a 15 million install base. A large part of the problem was with marketing. Many people (including hardcore gamers) didn't know if the Wii U was a new system or just an add-on. The design of the Wii U's base console looked like a slightly larger version of the Wii, and the tablet screen ended up confusing people into thinking that it was just an accessory for the Wii. Epic fail on Nintendo's part. For the Nintendo Switch things switched around (pun intended) quite auspiciously for Nintendo. They managed to market the thing right the first time around, giving gamers a look at how you can easily pick it up and play it on the go, or plug it in and play it while at home. All throughout March and April supply shortages hampered the intense demand, and the supply is still constrained even well into the middle of May as we prep for the big hype season of June. Nintendo even had to pay out of their own pocket to air-ship the Nintendo Switch into America to meet demand. If the console continues to sell at this rate, Nintendo could have a huge install platform leading into the big holiday season rush at the end of 2017.