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Sales Data Updated sales numbers for Switch titles: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (20.61M), Splatoon 3 (10.13M), Bayonetta 3 (1.04M), and more

Jbone916 said:
On what planet was Xenoblade 3 not heavily promoted?! It received the coveted “one more thing” slot in a Direct and had pretty much the entire month of July 2022 dedicated to it.
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It didn't get mainstream media promotions like flagship Nintendo franchises usually do. TV & youtube commercials, print or billboard ads etc. Kirby got some this year.

Granted, it's a niche representative of a niche genre but in today's conditions it should be easy to bring such JRPG's into mainstream spotlight and only Nintendo can do this imo.
 
Linkstrikesback said:
And in any case, those legs (90k on one quarter...) are better than 250k in a year, if it holds as consistently as 2 did...
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Same 2nd quarter:
Joseki said:
Xenoblade 2 2nd quarter (Jan-Mar): 250k
Xenoblade 3 2nd quarter (Oct-Dec): 90k




Rex Xenoblade 2

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Can‘t see it’s holding better when it’s already far lower. People said the same thing of how DE was going to outsell 2 and it literally never happened because the legs crashed and XC2 sales stay the same basically every year. Extending its lead… forever.
 
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New Super Mario Bros has over 20 million combined sales now. For all the talk about 3D Mario taking over it, there is still a big demand.
 
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9-Volt said:
It didn't get mainstream media promotions like flagship Nintendo franchises usually do. TV & youtube commercials, print or billboard ads etc. Kirby got some this year.

Granted, it's a niche representative of a niche genre but in today's conditions it should be easy to bring such JRPG's into mainstream spotlight and only Nintendo can do this imo.
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I'm pretty certain I got frequent YouTube ads for it. All depends on the almighty algorithm.
 
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Phendrift said:
Yeah Xenoblade 3 could honestly just could be a case of “sequel on the same system doing worse” we saw of Twilight Princess -> Skyward Sword, Galaxy 1 -> Galaxy 2.

I expect the same for TOTK, though on a much larger scale than Xenoblade obviously.
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It's worse because it's not just one sequel,

2->Torna -> Definitive edition -> 3 (->3 expansion?) Is the kind of retail release slate Nintendo doesn't normally do for a reason, it's some straight Ubisoft channel stuffing of the franchise.

9-Volt said:
It didn't get mainstream media promotions like flagship Nintendo franchises usually do. TV & youtube commercials, print or billboard ads etc. Kirby got some this year.

Granted, it's a niche representative of a niche genre but in today's conditions it should be easy to bring such JRPG's into mainstream spotlight and only Nintendo can do this imo.
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Can't speak for NA but it absolutely did get TV spots and YouTube adverts in Europe.


Nintendo are far from the only company running a ~2m selling JRPG series though, that's a bit of a weird one.
 
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I really loved Xenoblade 3, so, yeah, disappointed. I don't get it, frankly. They made great strides in making the game more approachable while retaining an incredibly high ceiling in terms of mastery.
But then I guess I don't get why jrpgs are such a tiny niche in the first place.
 
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Good lord XC 3, that was HORRIBLE!

What the hell happened? You sold only 90k on your first quarter after release, and on a holiday as well?!?! WTH

You were supposed to be the chosen one!
 
Lord Azrael said:
I think it's ironic to claim this when the same report shows Splatoon 3 and Pokémon SV barreling past their predecessors lol

And on the flipside, you could argue that people who were put off by Xenoblade 2's hypersexualized designs might've been more inclined to pick up 3

But I don't think anyone's worried for the franchise. It's doing very well for what it is and has a bright future ahead of it regardless
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The big difference is Xenoblade is a 100 hour RPG timesink whereas Splatoon 3 is a multiplayer focused game (and Pokemon is Pokemon). It's a bigger commitment to make and a lot of gamers will have had their fill playing through 2. Also, I'm not sure barelling past is the term I'd use. They may get there, but they won't be selling much more than Splatoon 2 or Sw/Sh, especially if a Switch 2 is on the horizon.

I think people - purely speaking from a sales perspective - make a mountain out of a molehill with the hypersexualised designs of 2. I think that game did well by virtue of being a big single player release in the Switch's first holiday period. People wanted something to play on the system and there was less choice at the time. 3 was competing against a much bigger library of games vying for people's time.
 
Lord Azrael said:
And on the flipside, you could argue that people who were put off by Xenoblade 2's hypersexualized designs might've been more inclined to pick up 3
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Is there any evidence for this? I think it's safe to say that people in Japan don't really care about that and the game isn't selling there either.

Lack of advertising seems more logical
 
Michie said:
Zero advertising in Japan. Not a single store that sells video games had any promotion
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Do you mean at Christmas? Because in general, there was in store advertising e.g.



As well as banners,
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I get that this is something terrible but I'm sort of happy to see that no Xenoblade games have sold more than Metroid Dread.

AngryAlchemist said:
I know it has nothing to do with sales figures and everything to do with developer availability, but seeing Xenoblade's sales makes me wish we got Metroid games more often lol
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This.
 
Linkstrikesback said:
Do you mean at Christmas? Because in general, there was in store advertising e.g.



As well as banners,
physical-ad-spotted-in-japan-v0-np2upels65a91.jpg
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Yeah, i came in Japan around October and didn't notice anything. Pokemon was dominating everything and Sonic frontiers also had lots of promotion material.

Currently Atelier Ryza 3 and Pokemon are the big games being advertised
 
Michie said:
Yeah, i came in Japan around October and didn't notice anything. Pokemon was dominating everything and Sonic frontiers also had lots of promotion material.

Currently Atelier Ryza 3 and Pokemon are the big games being advertised
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Why would Xenoblade get a big promotional push three months after it was already out? It sounds like your evidence is entirely anecdotal, and you're comparing it to juggernauts like Pokémon or advertising for upcoming games. Like ain't no way in hell you're gonna see storefront advertisement for Atelier Ryza 3 three months after launch either lol
 
Call me a weirdo, but I'm just happy that Metroid and Xenoblade seem to be in decent nick.
 
Lord Azrael said:
Why would Xenoblade get a big promotional push three months after it was already out? It sounds like your evidence is entirely anecdotal, and you're comparing it to juggernauts like Pokémon or advertising for upcoming games. Like ain't no way in hell you're gonna see storefront advertisement for Atelier Ryza 3 three months after launch either lol
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It just felt the game didn't exist anymore. It came and went. You had to search the RPG section of stores knowing X3 exists
 
Michie said:
It just felt the game didn't exist anymore. It came and went. You had to search the RPG section of stores knowing X3 exists
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That's generally how things go for these smaller, more "hardcore" oriented games.

In July and August there was plenty of XB3 advertising. I saw store displays at places other than what was posted above. It had a decent section in Nintendo's promotion "Nintendo Magazine" (you can often pick these up for free at retailers!), and I recall seeing video ads on JR train lines and Tokyo Metro trains. Seemed to get a decent push to me.

Of course they weren't going to keep that up through October. They had other, bigger things to promote.
 
Clov said:
That's generally how things go for these smaller, more "hardcore" oriented games.

In July and August there was plenty of XB3 advertising. I saw store displays at places other than what was posted above. It had a decent section in Nintendo's promotion "Nintendo Magazine" (you can often pick these up for free at retailers!), and I recall seeing video ads on JR train lines and Tokyo Metro trains. Seemed to get a decent push to me.

Of course they weren't going to keep that up through October. They had other, bigger things to promote.
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It was my first time in Japan so I wasn't aware of that, sorry. Shame since X3 is a good game
 
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DecoReturns said:
Xenoblade 2 had way better legs then most JRPGs.

It was divisive at reveal and launch sure. But I say minimal, a game that “disliked” doesn’t keep selling long after it’s been released.

But I can’t say for sure. I have notice a lot of the hate towards that game is from folks who never played it. And a decent amount is from folks who have played it. But it also brought in a lot of new audiences too. Just one of those games where it gets a lot of attention lol
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Xenoblade 2 hate was very overblown on some video game forums yeah. From what I've seen, it's actually a very popular game. In a few years, when all the kids who played it at launch will be adults, it will get the same cult statut that the first one has.
I honestly think it might be the most popular game of the series even. People really like the cast of that game.
 
Nintenbro said:
I feel like people don't give enough credit for the sales of forgotten land it's probably the biggest platformer (not named mario) right now.
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Yeah I'm so happy about it, it deserves it so much. It's straight up one of the best 3D platformer ever. You just know they're cranking it all up for the sequel right now, it's going to be crazy good.
 
I’m just happy that XC3 sold well enough for Nintendo to warrant continuing the franchise. Not that there was really any doubt, but I’m content nonetheless.

I wonder if they try to change the gameplay up in the next entry, to the point where they can drop the “4” outright and just call it “Xenoblade: Subtitle” or something else along those lines. Would probably help in propelling sales, especially since it’ll be on new hardware.
 
Also, NSMBU DX at almost 15 million copies is incredible. It's not the best 2D platformer on the Switch, but it's the best of the NSMBU games I'm happy to see that people still want to play 2D Mario. Hope we can get a new entry (with or without the NSMB name) soon enough.
 
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Excellent result for Bayo3. Switch is saving Platinum.

XC3 definitely deserves more. Hopefully the constant great word of mouth (including the nomination at the Game Awards) brings more people in.
 
Michie said:
Is there any evidence for this? I think it's safe to say that people in Japan don't really care about that and the game isn't selling there either.

Lack of advertising seems more logical
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Game hard the largest launch in series history, what are you talking about? Sales threads often feel like people use moon logic to try and discredit obvious sales successes because they didn't reach an unrealistic sales expectation day 1. Not everything can be an open world Pokemon title.
 
Some massive numbers here, especially Splatoon and Pokémon of course. It's crazy that the Switch will soon reach the billion mark in software sales.

I expected a bit more of XC3 sales, but it's good to see it has done well and in par with the previous games, even having a better launch. The games have a dedicated fanbase, the franchise has room to grow and still reaches respectable numbers for jRPGs. It will get one last marketing push with the expansion, and i'm dying to see what Monolithsoft will come up with next
 
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Evergreens JP vs Overseas by Fiscal Year


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JP
-SV instantly blows past MK8D and SSBU. Excited to see if has the legs for 8M+
-MK8D/SSBU on the verge of 7M and will leg it out to 8M (8.5M for MK8D I think, depends on successor)
-BOTW based on Chris's post in MC thread, has exceed 3.4M (3.6M w/Wii U) and will have another year in the 450-500K range once the FY wraps. 4M in sight for NSW version alone

Overseas

-BOTW now catching up to ACNH's yearly totals. 2023 CY should be strong as it gets boosted alongside hype for TOTK. I think it crosses 30M outside of JP easily with another 2 years, but won't catch ACNH and will have to settle for 3rd best selling title.
-MK8D has slowed quite a bit outside of JP this FY. It'll still close around 7.5M, but in JP it will likely be up YoY so the decline is evident.
-SV's lead vs PLA is far more stark in JP than outside JP. On the flipside, PLA is legging much better outside of JP than within it.
-SMO I think will crawl past 25M in OS markets. SSBU will blow past and get up to 27.5M, maybe higher.
-3D World/BF will cross 10M this summer.
 
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BassForever said:
Game hard the largest launch in series history, what are you talking about? Sales threads often feel like people use moon logic to try and discredit obvious sales successes because they didn't reach an unrealistic sales expectation day 1. Not everything can be an open world Pokemon title.
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Maybe I didn't articulated it well. Wasn't familiar with this. I just don't buy the reasoning that certain X2 character design choices had any impact on the X3 sale data. It certainly wouldn't impact Japanese sales
 
Linkstrikesback said:
No. Xeno3 is a better game, there's a reason it's got better critical reception, as well as from those who played it, it's just not nearly as favourable conditions for it.

Xenoblade 2 got released in a time where the switch market was way less crowded. It wasn't the fourth similar styled game released on the system*. Most iterative sequels do worse on the same hardware, I swear, some of you are going to have absolute implosions where TOTK does better out the gate but then have apparently worse legs long term.

The only argument that they did something wrong in making the game is that, on top of being iterative in gameplay, Xenoblade 2 was advertised as a completely separate game with no need to have played the first, while 3 was explicitly described as the future of the world's of 1/2. Regardless of whether that's true or not, you're already limiting your audience by doing that to people that have played the previous games, which can hurt growth.

And in any case, those legs (90k on one quarter...) are better than 250k in a year, if it holds as consistently as 2 did...

*No, Pokémon is not the same case, because if ScarVio was just SwSh 2 it'd have done way worse than it did. That series finally got the shakeup people expected out of the game on switch in the first place.
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The irony is that 3 is probably the friendliest game in the series from a UX/mechanics standpoint and requires essentially no knowledge of the previous games to enjoy on a narrative level. It’s a great entry point.
 
Let's not let the narrative take hold that Xenoblade 3 was a disappointment because it didn't meet people's hopes for it to surpass 3 million sold. It had a great launch, sold in line with previous games and still has DLC to come. Aside from sales it was a critical success with very high engagement from Nintendo fans and even managed to muscle into the GOTY conversation with nominations alongside the likes of God of War and Elden Ring. Nintendo will be happy with its performance.
 
m051293 said:
Evergreens JP vs Overseas by Fiscal Year

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(forthcoming)
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Those Splatoon 3 numbers are staggering. No other game on the list sold better in Japan compared to everywhere else, while Splatoon 3’s JP sales are damn near double.

I remember having doubts about Splatoon 3’s sales, and it seems like I was correct in regards to the western side of things. I just never expected the Japanese side to be that absurd. Wonder if they make a bigger push in the west for Splatoon 4 next time, or if they just stick with what works.
 
Galgavias said:
Let's not let the narrative take hold that Xenoblade 3 was a disappointment because it didn't meet people's hopes for it to surpass 3 million sold. It had a great launch, sold in line with previous games and still has DLC to come. Aside from sales it was a critical success with very high engagement from Nintendo fans and even managed to muscle into the GOTY conversation with nominations alongside the likes of God of War and Elden Ring. Nintendo will be happy with its performance.
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xeno 3 doing 3 million in its first 3 months was an absurd take in any case.
 
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Metroid and Xenoblade don't have anything to do with each other. Yes, Metroid should definitely get more releases, Dread was awesome. Go knock on Retro's door. Or Tanabe's, Sakamoto's, Mercury Steam's doors. Monolithsoft won't start developing 2d adventure games all of a sudden, and they're pretty good at what they're currently doing, so that's that.
 
Bayo 3’s numbers seem a bit low honestly considering it was a well reviewed, well advertised Switch exclusive. I hope it does well enough for Nintendo to see the franchise as worth continuing.
 
Kingpin Rogers said:
Bayo 3’s numbers seem a bit low honestly considering it was a well reviewed, well advertised Switch exclusive. I hope it does well enough for Nintendo to see the franchise as worth continuing.
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Nah this is about one of the better results for an action game series like this. Not every series is going to have a massive "Switch effect" regarding higher sales.
 
Kingpin Rogers said:
Bayo 3’s numbers seem a bit low honestly considering it was a well reviewed, well advertised Switch exclusive. I hope it does well enough for Nintendo to see the franchise as worth continuing.
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it's the fastest selling Bayonetta yet. if they wanted much larger growth, I think they're on the delusional side.

that said, I feel like we're getting to the end of the Nintendo era of Bayonetta. it being a licensed title might have something to do with that, and with 3 titles under their belt, it's a damn good run.
 
Xenoblade 3 undoubtedly started off well, but it doesn't look like it's going to have really strong legs unfortunately.

DLC will help, as it did with Xenoblade 2, but they've released just one relatively small add-on in six months. I don't think it really kick-started any momentum and I do think, for better or worse, the game isn't discussed nearly as much as it's predecessor.

I do hope we see some of the story DLC next time we get a glimpse of the game though - another piecemeal hero addition and a few challenges won't be enough to draw me back. Unless the second wave comes with some goodies we don't know about, it looks a bit limp.

Intrigued to see if it's trajectory looks more like Definitive Edition or Xenoblade 2 when the dust settles. It's too early to say anything for sure.

I hope, for the sake of the franchise, it continues to sell and eventually catches up to and even surpasses Xenoblade 2 - even if I didn't like Xenoblade 3 nearly as much myself.

I'm sure Nintendo are happy with their wider sales though. The Switch keeps delivering.
 
Mario Kart 8 selling 50 million and Animal Crossing selling 40 million… I could definitely see both of these games hitting 60/50 before their next iterations release. Insane.
 
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ILikeFeet said:
it's the fastest selling Bayonetta yet. if they wanted much larger growth, I think they're on the delusional side.

that said, I feel like we're getting to the end of the Nintendo era of Bayonetta. it being a licensed title might have something to do with that, and with 3 titles under their belt, it's a damn good run.
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Bayonetta 3 literally has a to be continued screen, and it's unlikely to have been about the upcoming Cereza game
 
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