With Splatoon 2 preparing to ink some turf, Nintendo of America doubled down on making sure that Nintendo Switch stock was steadily shipped across the country to meet the increased demand.
That concerted effort was worth it, VentureBeat reporting that the NPD Group has revealed that Nintendo Switch outsold the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July.
“The Nintendo Switch was July’s best-selling hardware platform,” explains NPD Group analyst Mat Piscatella. “[That was] driven by new inventory released in support of the launch of Splatoon 2.”
The games industry has much to celebrate, with console software sales in July up 17 percent year-on-year at $263 million, hardware sales up 29 percent year-on-year at $182 million, and even accessories up 9 percent year-on-year at $129 million.
“Year to date, hardware spending has grown 20 percent versus 2016 to $1.6 billion. [The] performance of the Nintendo Switch continues to be the primary cause of the year-on-year gains,” Piscatella added. “Sony’s PlayStation 4 is the best-selling hardware platform year to date.
“Accessories for the Nintendo Switch and Microsoft’s Xbox One drove spending growth. Gamepads were the top-selling accessory types for both platforms. Declines in the Interactive Gaming Toys (IGT) segment lessened in July. The IGT segment was down only 15 percent in dollar sales compared to July 2016.”
Nintendo of America has also just announced plans to release a new Nintendo Switch Splatoon 2 Edition bundle that will include a Nintendo Switch with Neon Pink and Neon Green Joy-Con controllers, a download code for Splatoon 2, and a Splatoon 2-themed carrying case, which is sure to spur sales even further.
