Despite the PlayStation 4 having another strong year and beating out every other console most months, the Nintendo Switch had one hell of a December and has taken the crown for the best selling console in 2018 in the US.
This is according to the December 2018 NPD report (via IGN), who also note that Nintendo’s home console/handheld hybrid boasts the highest annual sales for any hardware platform since the PS4 originally broke that record back in 2015.
The NPD’s monthly reports had continually pegged the PS4 as the best selling system, though Nintendo beat Sony’s machine in November, likely thanks to the release of Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee/Pikachu.
From there, Nintendo dominated the holiday period, securing the top spot for 2018 overall. December was likely also helped by the release of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, which was the best selling title of December, and the fifth best selling game of 2018.
The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella put these remarkable numbers into perspective, comparing them to Nintendo’s last juggernaut console, the Wii:
In October 2018, Nintendo revealed that the Switch had sold over 22 million units, with launch title and game of the year The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild shifting 10.3 million units, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has over 11 million under its belt.
After the unfortunate flop that was the Wii U, Nintendo needed to come out swinging with a strong home console and an even stronger library of games. As we approach the two year mark, the Switch really isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
With Metroid Prime 4, Animal Crossing, and a core Pokemon RPG all still to come, the future is looking very bright indeed for Nintendo.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.