Gaming

5 numbers that explain Nintendo's enviable position in 2020

The Japanese console-maker has rebounded spectacularly after the Wii U flopped, and the future looks bright.

by Jen Glennon
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Future Publishing/Future/Getty Images

2020 looks to be a banner year for the games industry, with two brand-new consoles: the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. As competitors entice gamers with promises of 8K gaming and solid state drives, look for Nintendo to quietly expand its dominance with the Switch, with stellar IP and a more powerful Pro console rumored to hit stores this summer.

Here's a quick look at some of the need-to-know numbers that explain Nintendo's enviable position in 2020.

2

By December 2019, the Switch had outsold the Xbox One, making Nintendo the number-two player in console gaming.

VGChartz

Despite having a headstart of more than three years, Xbox has fallen to the bottom of the big three console developers, thanks to steady, robust sales of the Nintendo Switch worldwide.

50M

Between March 3, 2017 and January 1, 2020, the Nintendo Switch sold 49.79 million units.

VGChartz

SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Nintendo needed a big win after the lackluster sales of its Wii U console, which only moved around 13 million units between 2012 and 2017. Thanks in part to stellar launch titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WIld, the Switch has proven to be a winner for the Osaka-based gamesmaker.

After the 2019 holiday rush, the hybrid console surpassed the 49.1 million unit sales of the Super NES.

VGChartz

75

'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' will add its 75th fighter to its formidable roster by the end of February 2020.

Digital Trends

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold more than 12 million copies in its first three weeks of release, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo game of all time. It's also the best-selling fighting game of all time, outpacing genre standbys like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Like its predecessors, SSBU has also spawned a lively competitive scene.

Wikipedia

64

Memory manufacturer Macronix plans to produce expanded-capacity 64 GB cartridges for future Nintendo Switch releases.

Taipei Times

Currently, hard copies of Nintendo Switch games are limited to 32 GB cards, making ports of larger, more graphically intense games a tricky proposition. Solid sales of ports like Skyrim and The Witcher 3 suggests there's a healthy audience of people who want to take graphically intense games on the go.

16

'Breath of the Wild 2,' a rumored Nintendo Switch Pro launch title, will be the sixteenth installment in the long-running franchise.

When the Switch launched in 2017, it needed to make a compelling case to gamers from the get-go. Breath of the Wild deserves a huge share of the credit for helping the fledgling console avoid the fate of the Wii U, moving 5.46 million pieces of hardware in its first month. Rumors claim the Switch Pro will aim to make lightning strike twice, by launching along with BotW 2.

Thanks for reading,
head home for more!