Sales Data Updated sales numbers for Switch titles: Fire Emblem Engage (1.61M), Kirby's RtDL DX (1.46M), Metroid Prime Remastered (1.09M), and more

[Catalyst]

Oh wow. Luigi's Mansion 3 has outsold Super Mario Galaxy?!?

Would have never conceived of such a thing being possible just a couple years ago. I wonder if it can get all the way to 13 mil at this rate? maybe?

It's really interesting to me how Nintendo currently have these two polar opposite success stories living in the same general range that used to be the ceiling for Animal Crossing and 3D Mario games pre-Switch era, with both Splatoon(Totally new IP, celebrated primarily for it's multiplayer focus but also has a single-player campaign, over night success story, bigger in Japan but still a global success) and Luigi's Mansion(spin-off of a long running existing Nintendo brand, celebrated primarily for it's single-player focus but also has multiplayer, took a decade for them to invest in it seriously, bigger hit globally but still a success in Japan).

Both of which also happen to be totally unique takes on genres not traditionally associated with Nintendo at all, one a third-person shooter and the other a survival horror.

All this and they are also both only on their third main entry, with plenty of untapped potential to grow and change with time.

I have no idea who greenlit the original Splatoon or the revival of the Luigi's Mansion series, but kudos to them. They were absolutely right, and honestly, they have earned the right to be extremely smug about it.

Now add the Professor and Polterpup to Mario Kart and King Boo to Smash already dagnabbit!

It’s close to Smash Bros Brawl as well, and that game was huge back on the Wii.

 

[ngpdrew]

I take no joy in being correct about Metroid Prime: Remastered selling...fine.

I take a little joy in looking back at the posts where I was called unreasonable for thinking it could be a shadow drop with a shallow sales ceiling.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Oh wow. Luigi's Mansion 3 has outsold Super Mario Galaxy?!?

It's also outsold every Zelda game except BotW haha. I'm very, VERY pleased with the comeback the series has made. I think NLG has done a fantastic job even though I have a soft spot for the original. There's still so much potential for the series and I can't wait to see what they do with it next.

 

[Christo750]

Well, in the Switch's life alone, we've gotten Xenoblade 2, Torna, Xenoblade: Definitive Edition, Xenoblade 3, and Future Redeemed.

That's like 3 major releases in just a few years, all selling over a million. Some closer to 2 million. Monolith has a consistent release output alongside assisting with Nintendo's biggest releases.

I would hope Nintendo would be happy with this situation.

This is exactly my point though. there have been 3 boxed Xenoblade releases on Switch since 2 and none of them are breaking 2 million. I wonder if Nintendo expected better performance for the series by now.

 

[E.Gadd]

It’s close to Smash Bros Brawl as well, and that game was huge back on the Wii.

Right? Like wut?

It's so hard for my mind to comprehend this so I'm just going enjoy it I guess lol. Luigi's Mansion is a major Nintendo thing now.

It's also outsold every Zelda game except BotW haha. I'm very, VERY pleased with the comeback the series has made. I think NLG has done a fantastic job even though I have a soft spot for the original. There's still so much potential for the series and I can't wait to see what they do with it next.

It's just wild. All these years later.

And yeah, for me I'm mostly just exited to see where they decide to go with it next. With how well this game did they have a pretty big audience ready to try out whatever new thing they come up with, so I hope they get bold with it, really go all out.

 

[Mr.Fletcher]

I‘ll always cling to the conspiracy that Torna was only released standalone to plug a gap in a relatively slow year (after a stellar 2017).

 

[Apopheniac]

This is exactly my point though. there have been 3 boxed Xenoblade releases on Switch since 2 and none of them are breaking 2 million. I wonder if Nintendo expected better performance for the series by now.

XC2 broke 2m. 3 may not reach that, but "sequel on same device with more frontloaded sales that doesn't hit predecessor's numbers due to worse legs" is a common story

Xenoblade reuses a lot of assets and is on the conservative side with its cutscene animations, it's budgeted a lot lower than its scope might suggest

 

[Sadist]

Btw, over one billion sold in software? That’s big

 

[MrBones]

"Proper marketing" like "appearing in multiple Directs" which no other Switch-era remaster has received? I think I can already imagine the outcome here.

Didn't Return to Dreamland DX just show up in the last 2 Directs? Most 1st party ports/remasters show up in at least 2 Directs, typically one for the reveal and then other with follow-up information. That's been the norm as far as I remember.

Even just showing up in 1 Direct and giving time for hype to stir would be enough in some cases. Like if Nintendo bad revealed the Prime 1 remake at TGAs/the prior September Direct, that's enough time for people to get excited and start discussions which get new players interested in the game. The problem would be shadowdropping on the eShop same-day.

 

[Johna X]

Same with rhythm heaven but to a lesser extent, it’s Nintendo’s least dead dead franchise.

I really don't think the smash animation (appeals to way beyond RH fandom) and RH Reanimated (rewatches from fans) are great indicators, at this point my hope is just 1.5 mil since Megamix's last given number was a flat 1 mil. Beating DS was once a goal of mine but I feel that ship has sailed.

I hope it is physical cause I would buy it for like everyone I know as a gift lol

 

[Linkstrikesback]

XC2 broke 2m. 3 may not reach that, but "sequel on same device with more frontloaded sales that doesn't hit predecessor's numbers due to worse legs" is a common story

Xenoblade reuses a lot of assets and is on the conservative side with its cutscene animations, it's budgeted a lot lower than its scope might suggest

Since 2. They know 2 did, they meant 1 definitive edition, 3, and 2: Torna the golden country.

 

[Deleted member 1896]

I think you misunderstood my post. 1 million is what I expected for a remaster of a game that's been on every Nintendo console since the GC in a smaller franchise. I do think the game could have sold a bit more (maybe closer to 1.5 mill) if it had a normal marketing cycle, release, and had enough physical stock to meet demand at launch.

Sorry, my bad.

 

[Deleted member 1896]

Kirby formula didn't change besides going into 3d

Well it sure did the trick! Although personally I believe the success is due to the traffic cone and car transformations.

If Retro know what they're doing they'll incorporate similar mechanics in Prime 4.

 

[Apopheniac]

Since 2. They know 2 did, they meant 1 definitive edition, 3, and 2: Torna the golden country.

ok

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

Didn't Return to Dreamland DX just show up in the last 2 Directs? Most 1st party ports/remasters show up in at least 2 Directs, typically one for the reveal and then other with follow-up information. That's been the norm as far as I remember.

Unless the games have new separate modes to announce, like they did with Kirby and Xenoblade, it's a one and done deal. Games like Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, 3D World + Bowser's Fury or Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE only appeared once in the final Direct before their respective release. Captain Toad is an outlier which got a short shoutout in a montage at the E3 2018 Direct but that's mostly a timing thing. If there's a June Direct this year Metroid Prime Remastered is bound to show up in one of their "playable on Switch now" segments. edit: NSMBU was also only in the Sep Direct before releasing in January 2019.

 

[Thunder84]

Wonder how many times we’ll have to see remasters underwhelm in sales for people to accept that they just don’t pull in the same numbers as new entries, regardless of the quality.

Spoiler alert, a Thousand Year Door remaster isn’t going to outsell Origami King.

 

[Mekanos]

The Return to Dreamland Remaster outselling Prime 1 at a higher price point is testament to how poor the marketing was for Metroid

Not only was RTD higher priced, it was a less substantial remastering effort of a much more recent game. But got featured in multiple Directs and was actually marketed, so it sold more.

The Kirby remaster added a lot of value though. New gameplay modes, new graphics, new abilities, and an entirely new single player campaign with Magolor.

Also as touched on Kirby has always been much more popular than Metroid. Kirby outselling Metroid should be expected.

 

[Deleted member 1896]

The Return to Dreamland Remaster outselling Prime 1 at a higher price point is testament to how poor the marketing was for Metroid

Not only was RTD higher priced, it was a less substantial remastering effort of a much more recent game. But got featured in multiple Directs and was actually marketed, so it sold more.

I'd argue it also has a wider appeal than Metroid and it benefited from the momentum created by Forgotten Land.

 

[King_Dodongo]

Happy for Fire Emblem, Kirby and Metroid! Welcome to the club.
Luigis Mansion 3... omg. A movie about the franchise would be greatly recieved.

 

[Johna X]

Happy for Fire Emblem, Kirby and Metroid! Welcome to the club.
Luigis Mansion 3... omg. A movie about the franchise would be greatly recieved.

I've been skeptical whenever that's suggested but I do think perhaps the sales show it'd do okay, but I expect Mario to be more prominent then in the normal games, perhaps even called like "Super Mario Bros:Luigi's Mansion"

I might be associating its GameCube and even 3ds era rep too much, Dark Moon sold 6 mil which is p good but it never felt like that big of a splash, maybe due to fan rep, but 3 is a different story

 

[Djehuty]

I really don't think the smash animation (appeals to way beyond RH fandom) and RH Reanimated (rewatches from fans) are great indicators, at this point my hope is just 1.5 mil since Megamix's last given number was a flat 1 mil. Beating DS was once a goal of mine but I feel that ship has sailed.

I hope it is physical cause I would buy it for like everyone I know as a gift lol

Nah I’m talking about the rhythm heaven fever play throguh and speedruns blowing up.

It started with rtgames longplay.

 

[Lord Azrael]

As a general point, I think a lot of people also forget how multiple games of a series sell on the same console since game development time is so long now that typically you only get one installment per generation.

Take Final Fantasy on PS1. 8 sold significantly less than 7, and 9 sold significantly less 8. Maybe there were a lot of hot takes on early internet sites over 20 years ago about the downfall of Final Fantasy, but sales bounced back for 10 on the PS2.

Yeah. Sequels on the same system generally sell less than their predecessors. This has been true throughout history. Switch kinda blinded people to that fact for a bit, but now towards the end of its life we are seeing that effect fade away for most franchises. Hope people don't expect TotK to outsell BotW for example

 

[LuckyNumber69]

I really hope the FE4 remake is crossgen. In a lot of ways it is effectively "Three Houses 2", and I think it has potential to do what Engage won't be able to do and perform around the level of 3H if not higher. But, this can only happen if the game is crossgen imo. Releasing it solely on Switch this late in its life will hurt it imo. Having a Switch 2 version released during the launch window could really benefit from new hardware hype, especially if the story, characters, mechanics, QoL features, graphics/presentation, and artstyle are really good and have wide appeal and good WoM.

Regardless though, to look at the positives of Engage's sales, 1.6M in two months being seen as "disappointing" really goes to show how much the FE IP has grown, and how good of a position it's in right now. I just hope IS can really knock it out of the park with FE4R in terms of critical and commercial success, and continue to grow FE even further with the next original game, which will surely be the first Switch 2 exclusive FE and probably the next realistic chance FE has to show significant growth over its current sales peak.

 

[ILikeFeet]

I really hope the FE4 remake is crossgen. In a lot of ways it is effectively "Three Houses 2", and I think it has potential to do what Engage won't be able to do and perform around the level of 3H if not higher. But, this can only happen if the game is crossgen imo. Releasing it solely on Switch this late in its life will hurt it imo. Having a Switch 2 version released during the launch window could really benefit from new hardware hype, especially if the story, characters, mechanics, QoL features, graphics/presentation, and artstyle are really good and have wide appeal and good WoM.

Regardless though, to look at the positives of Engage's sales, 1.6M in two months being seen as "disappointing" really goes to show how much the FE IP has grown, and how good of a position it's in right now. I just hope IS can really knock it out of the park with FE4R in terms of critical and commercial success, and continue to grow FE even further with the next original game, which will surely be the first Switch 2 exclusive FE and probably the next realistic chance FE has to show significant growth over its current sales peak.

FE4 using HDRP pls

 

[MrBones]

Unless the games have new separate modes to announce, like they did with Kirby and Xenoblade, it's a one and done deal. Games like Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, 3D World + Bowser's Fury or Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE only appeared once in the final Direct before their respective release. Captain Toad is an outlier which got a short shoutout in a montage at the E3 2018 Direct but that's mostly a timing thing. If there's a June Direct this year Metroid Prime Remastered is bound to show up in one of their "playable on Switch now" segments. edit: NSMBU was also only in the Sep Direct before releasing in January 2019.

Appearing in one Direct/reveal event can be fine, especially if there's not anything to reveal past an announcement. It's just better to let discussion and hype stew for a bit, having a few months of marketing, no matter the case.

If Nintendo reveal TTYD/GX HD in a Summer Direct for releases in the Fall, allowing for a couple months of marketing and anticipation generate, that's going to result in more sales than shadowdropping on the eShop.

 

[TheQuietone]

I was thinking. I think Xenoblade might sell more if there was a demo. I've seen so many people dismiss the game because they think the combat is too difficult to understand, especially 3's combat.

 

[meatbag]

Btw, over one billion sold in software? That’s big

And to think Switch doesn’t even have a lot of the big third party games. No CoD, GTA V, etc. but it still cracked a billion

 

[Tbone5189]

@Tbone5189 do I still have you down for Prime 4 selling 7 million

Why so low? BotW didnt stop at only double the previous best seller. 10mil Prime and ready sales coming

 

[Mr Doggo]

I'd argue it also has a wider appeal than Metroid and it benefited from the momentum created by Forgotten Land.

while that wasnt your point you brought an interesting one. Perhaps if MPR had released after MP4 it would have done considerably more.

 

[MrBones]

Why so low? BotW didnt stop at only double the previous best seller. 10mil Prime and ready sales coming

this but unironically

I will avatarbet anyone here against my honest beliefs that

• 1. Prime 4 sells 10+ million LTD
• 2. TTYD HD will outsell TOK

fight me

 

[Mr Doggo]

this but unironically

I will avatarbet anyone here against my honest beliefs that

• 1. Prime 4 sells 10+ million LTD
• 2. TTYD HD will outsells TOK

fight me

no for real i will agree to this and go full unhinged.

Jokes aside, i think it will be easy to tell whether MP4 is a revolution to the series or if its more of the same, if its more of the same i wont be doing some unhinged business because yeah.

 

[Hailinel]

Predicting Prime 4 will sell 10 million LTD is insanity.

 

[Johna X]

this but unironically

I will avatarbet anyone here against my honest beliefs that

• 1. Prime 4 sells 10+ million LTD
• 2. TTYD HD will outsells TOK

fight me

TTYD outselling MAAAAAYBE, like I don't think Arlo's brigade is such a bubble when the devs have actually acknowledged them
Still doubt but ok

But 10 million? Prime 4?

I mean we'll see I guess

 

[meatbag]

TTYD HD will outsells TOK

I misread this as "TTYD will outsell Tears of the Kingdom" and was laughing at the size of your cojones

 

[LuckyNumber69]

Gigachad Prediction: TTYD HD will outsell Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. You heard it here first folks.

 

[Tentacle-tropes]

TTYD outselling MAAAAAYBE, like I don't think Arlo's brigade is such a bubble when the devs have actually acknowledged them
Still doubt but ok

But 10 million? Prime 4?

I mean we'll see I guess

I would say that the bubble is quite loud. I’m not sure if there are enough of them to get a remaster past 3mil considering what we see from other remasters of the same tier.

 

[Johna X]

I would say that the bubble is quite loud. I’m not sure if there are enough of them to get a remaster past 3mil considering what we see from other remasters of the same tier.

Yeah I'm hesitant I just don't think its gonna be a total misfire and it turns out barely anyone actually cares, it will sell 2.2 mil at least is what im guessing i guess, like not "oh less then a million people bought ttyd no one actually cares" (though it is quite possible the RPG fans are less then a million, some sales will be from people who dont have a preference really or even do prefer the new style but like both)

 

[Tbone5189]

Predicting Prime 4 will sell 10 million LTD is insanity.

I've seen more insane predictions come true

 

[Tentacle-tropes]

Yeah I'm hesitant I just don't think its gonna be a total misfire and it turns out barely anyone actually cares, it will sell 2.2 mil at least is what im guessing i guess, like not "oh less then a million people bought ttyd no one actually cares" (though it is quite possible the RPG fans are less then a million, some sales will be from people who dont have a preference really or even do prefer the new style but like both)

I don’t think it would be a total misfire but I could see it more within the 1-1.5mil with some small legs to take it a little further. Something along the lines of XCDE-which is another game which was proclaimed as surpassing the latest mainline game.

 

[Marce-chan]

Oh wow. Luigi's Mansion 3 has outsold Super Mario Galaxy?!?

Would have never conceived of such a thing being possible just a couple years ago. I wonder if it can get all the way to 13 mil at this rate? maybe?

It's really interesting to me how Nintendo currently have these two polar opposite success stories living in the same general range that used to be the ceiling for Animal Crossing and 3D Mario games pre-Switch era, with both Splatoon(Totally new IP, celebrated primarily for it's multiplayer focus but also has a single-player campaign, over night success story, bigger in Japan but still a global success) and Luigi's Mansion(spin-off of a long running existing Nintendo brand, celebrated primarily for it's single-player focus but also has multiplayer, took a decade for them to invest in it seriously, bigger hit globally but still a success in Japan).

Both of which also happen to be totally unique takes on genres not traditionally associated with Nintendo at all, one a third-person shooter and the other a survival horror.

All this and they are also both only on their third main entry, with plenty of untapped potential to grow and change with time.

I have no idea who greenlit the original Splatoon or the revival of the Luigi's Mansion series, but kudos to them. They were absolutely right, and honestly, they have earned the right to be extremely smug about it.

Now add the Professor and Polterpup to Mario Kart and King Boo to Smash already dagnabbit!

The growth of like, all of those franchises and more, is absolutely insane.
Zelda roof: just short of 9M;
Zelda's average: 5,6M(lower MM at 3, 36 higher TP at 8, 55
3D Mario's roof: 12,80M
Animal Crossing roof: just less than 12M by the time(or just less than 13? Idk)
2D Mario, Mario Kart and Wii series being the only ones to make 20M or more constantly

Then Switch comes:
Metroid, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem: I think with enough marketing and franchise growth, our best selling entry might reach what Zelda did before BotW, like that 5m average. FE: besties Three Houses is very near that and actually outsold MM and SS . In the end were grown to be constant million sellers, and did 2-4M with our entries, maybe MP4 can get past 5M depending on the circumstances.
Kirby: oh I think I might just enter the average of what 3D Zelda's did before BotW... Nvm I just outsold all of them lmao.
Luigi's Mansion, Splatoon, Ring Fit Adventure: hey besties how about we 3 that only had 1 title(Splatoon when 2 came out), 2(LM when 3 came out) and this new queen here(RFA) and go on to outsell every 3D Mario, Animal Crossing and Zelda ever before their Switch entries? <3
Mario Party: I'm gonna outsell every 3D Mario ever and come close to the 20M ballpark almost nobody entered!! Also more than double my best selling entry.
3D Mario: hell yeah I'm right in the middle of Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros Wii, entered 2D Mario territory!!
3D Zelda: holy hell I'm bigger than 3D Mario and just overtook New Super Mario Bros and every Mario Kart except Wii and 8DX
Animal Crossing: y'know what fuck y'all I just outsold the original Super Mario Bros., which was the best selling game of all time until Wii Sports, and did 4 times what I used to do before
Mario Kart: can y'all just shut the fuck up???? I just sold 50m, 60m if you do the Zelda trick and count my Wii U forgotten version. I'm the best selling non "almost all consoles bundled" Nintendo game of all time and did so maintaining 60$ and only being bundled on Black Friday. Also my development time was just 6-12 months porting, gonna be the proportionally most rentable game of all time lmao.

 

[YoboD]

I misread this as "TTYD will outsell Tears of the Kingdom" and was laughing at the size of your cojones

I read it the exact same way and wondered just how much I was underestimating the demand for classic Paper Mario.

 

[Aurc]

Even 5 mil for Prime 4 would be amazing. I don't think there's a chance in Hell it sells 10 mil, lol. I'd love to be proven wrong, of course.

 

[Johna X]

The FE and Xeno numbers show how much timing matters, which makes me hope they save the next RH for next system or at least crossgen

RHDS sold 3 million, more then many series that have way more online prestige (in best seller, not total but like no Pikmin has beat Rhythm Heaven DS)

but the next 2 were last 2 years of console and sold 950k and just barely hit 1 mil for 3ds

Admittedly 2009 in US was last 2 years but I believe like 2/3rds of total sales were Japan anyway

I believe with the right timing this series can at least match its late 2000s high, if not exceed it

 

[Mekanos]

Why so low? BotW didnt stop at only double the previous best seller. 10mil Prime and ready sales coming

Where is 10 million coming from, because it’s sure as hell not Japan

 

[Tbone5189]

Where is 10 million coming from, because it’s sure as hell not Japan

You dont need Japan to sell 10mil copies, just ask BotW

 

[Mekanos]

You dont need Japan to sell 10mil copies, just ask BotW

Gonna call it now, it will sell nothing like BOTW

 

[E.Gadd]

The growth of like, all of those franchises and more, is absolutely insane.
Zelda roof: just short of 9M;
Zelda's average: 5,6M(lower MM at 3, 36 higher TP at 8, 55
3D Mario's roof: 12,80M
Animal Crossing roof: just less than 12M by the time(or just less than 13? Idk)
2D Mario, Mario Kart and Wii series being the only ones to make 20M or more constantly

Then Switch comes:
Metroid, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem: I think with enough marketing and franchise growth, our best selling entry might reach what Zelda did before BotW, like that 5m average. FE: besties Three Houses is very near that and actually outsold MM and SS . In the end were grown to be constant million sellers, and did 2-4M with our entries, maybe MP4 can get past 5M depending on the circumstances.
Kirby: oh I think I might just enter the average of what 3D Zelda's did before BotW... Nvm I just outsold all of them lmao.
Luigi's Mansion, Splatoon, Ring Fit Adventure: hey besties how about we 3 that only had 1 title(Splatoon when 2 came out), 2(LM when 3 came out) and this new queen here(RFA) and go on to outsell every 3D Mario, Animal Crossing and Zelda ever before their Switch entries? <3
Mario Party: I'm gonna outsell every 3D Mario ever and come close to the 20M ballpark almost nobody entered!! Also more than double my best selling entry.
3D Mario: hell yeah I'm right in the middle of Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros Wii, entered 2D Mario territory!!
3D Zelda: holy hell I'm bigger than 3D Mario and just overtook New Super Mario Bros and every Mario Kart except Wii and 8DX
Animal Crossing: y'know what fuck y'all I just outsold the original Super Mario Bros., which was the best selling game of all time until Wii Sports, and did 4 times what I used to do before
Mario Kart: can y'all just shut the fuck up???? I just sold 50m, 60m if you do the Zelda trick and count my Wii U forgotten version. I'm the best selling non "almost all consoles bundled" Nintendo game of all time and did so maintaining 60$ and only being bundled on Black Friday. Also my development time was just 6-12 months porting, gonna be the proportionally most rentable game of all time lmao.

lol the way this escalated tho!

Switch is wacky. And there's a big general audience heavily invested in it. They better not screw up with that follow up device.

 

[brainchild]

Last I recall, Skyward Sword HD sold 3.6 million units by July of 2021. I wonder why it isn't on the million seller list. It would give me an idea of how big of an appetite there is for 3D traditional Zelda games in this day and age.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Predicting Prime 4 will sell 10 million LTD is insanity.

I was thinking 5 but even that seems pretty optimistic.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

Last I recall, Skyward Sword HD sold 3.6 million units by July of 2021. I wonder why it isn't on the million seller list. It would give me an idea of how big of an appetite there is for 3D traditional Zelda games in this day and age.

If was at 3.6m up to August 2021 and then it was only at 3.91m by the end of March 2022, despite including the games first holiday period.

Now, of course part of this is because, well, skyward sword doesn't have the best reputation, and maybe Ocarina or Twilight Princess as the previous best sellers would have done a little better, but the other reason it's not on this list is because there really is no appetite for a traditional 3d Zelda, even with BOTW massively expanding the series, barely any of that audience is willing to look back.