The Nintendo Switch Lite has been out for just over a week now, and while some may question the need to own a smaller version of the popular console, it’s been viewed pretty well so far. This is no more evident in the system’s native Japan where according to Famistu Magazine it sold approximately 177,936 systems within the first week. This statistic was reciprocated by Game Data Library, who tweeted out a graph of the launch sales numbers.
Comparing sales of the Nintendo Switch Lite with other additional hardware SKUs.
It did worse than the 3DS XL but better than every thing else, very good launch for the system.
The DS Lite was heavily supply constrained, hence the softer launch. pic.twitter.com/pegTECvbmz
— Game Data Library (@GameDataLibrary) September 25, 2019
This gives the Lite a rather unique distinction; it had the second best launch for a revision system in Japan. For those who are confused by this, the Nintendo Switch Lite is the second version of the Nintendo Switch, albeit a smaller, more portable iteration. With that many units flying out of retail stores, and online ones, that makes the Lite the second best selling launch revision system in Japan’s history. The reigning king of this is the Nintendo 3DS XL, which dominated these numbers with a staggering 187,480 units sold during it’s launch in 2012.
While this is a great accomplishment, some stockholders were none to impressed by the initial numbers they were receiving. This was thanks to a giant discrepancy in which a report from Citigroup, a financial company, and Media Create, a research company, in which the latter stated that the preliminary figures would be around 114,00 units sold. This was exacerbated by Citigroup when they expected the numbers to be in the 300,000 ballpark by mid-week, a massive difference in sales numbers.
Media Create later changed their number to 160,000, but Nintendo’s stock plummeted 4.6% as a result this error. Regardless of the company’s bad math, it’s still a bit too early to see how well it will handle the portable market, as it is mostly dominated by games on mobile phones. Still, this will be an easy buy this holiday for those looking to play Switch titles on the go, or if you’re a die hard Nintendo fan that wants to add to the collection.