Just under ten months after its release,Nintendo Switch Sportshas surpassed a significant sales milestone previously met by other notable first-party Switch games. While it did not meet the same level of prestige as its predecessor on the Wii,Nintendo Switch Sportsexperienced good commercial success as one of the most prominent sports offerings on Switch.
Nintendo Switch Sportswas announced in the February 2022 Nintendo Direct and released later that April. It was billed as the next game in theWii Sportsseries that started in 2006. While it received a relatively lukewarm critical reception,Nintendo Switch Sportssold well upon launch and gained enough traction among players and critics to be one of thenominees for Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2022. It continued to be supported through a number of updates which added a new sport, quality of life changes, and better optimization.
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This added support helped the game maintain its sales enough to have it reach an important sales milestone. According to Famitsu,Nintendo Switch Sportswas the seventh best-selling game in Japan for the week of February 6 to February 12. During this week, it sold over 7,000 copies which pushed it to over 1 million total units sold in Japan, the same milestone previously reached by other prominent Switch games likeMario Party Superstars,Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, andSplatoon 3. Its placement on these rankings also put it in the top ten games sold that week alongsideMario Kart 8 DeluxeandAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, which are both nowavailable in DLC bundles on the Switch eShop.
Gematsu states that this sales chart accounts for physical game sales which is relevant toNintendo Switch Sportsas its physical version came with a leg strap accessory. This accessory was first used for the 2019 Switch gameRing Fit Adventurebut adapted to work with Soccer inNintendo Switch Sports.Ring Fit Adventurealso sold well upon release and was ranked second on thelist of best-selling Switch games of 2020 in Japan.
In the eyes of many,Nintendo Switch Sportsdid not live up to the legacy ofWii Sports. This can be chalked up to it releasing later in the Switch’s life, not having the same built-in audience a game gets by being bundled in with a console, or players having to wait several months to getGolf added toNintendo Switch Sportsthrough an update. Regardless of howNintendo Switch Sportswas received, its continued sales success gives some hope that Nintendo still sees the value in this series and will continue to support it in the future.
