
In a story that you’re likely to see regurgitated all over the web across a multitude of different regions this week, it sounds like the Switch 2 may have absolutely obliterated PS5’s launch record in France.
Now there’s important context to keep in mind here: Sony’s current console launched during the eye of the coronavirus pandemic, and as you’ll recall was supply constrained for years afterwards. From what we’ve read about France, Nintendo’s new console has been readily available right the way through launch, with plentiful stock available even now.
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It’s not massively surprising to start reading reports about the system selling over 200,000 units throughout its opening weekend in France, then, which is almost double the 107,000 or so the PS5 managed during its debut.
It’s estimated that around 95% of early adopters purchased launch game Mario Kart World, either as part of the day one bundle or individually, which is a remarkable but not wholly surprising attach rate for the release.
Like we say, it seems Nintendo has really readied a lot of consoles for launch, so you’re probably going to see similar stories in a number of countries over the next few days. The company is aiming to sell 15 million units in its first year, but we wouldn’t be massively surprised if it’s low-balling that number and comfortably exceeds it.
[source x.com]





Comments 58
Had it pre-ordered with Mario Kart World (MK is a top 5 franchise for me), but cancelled it a week before launch. I still want it, but there are too many games and other things coming up in the next month.
I'll definitely pick it up over the summer though.
Congrats SW2, I don't think it will take over SW1 sales figures but who knows. I shudder to think of the sales in Japan.
Edit: Was I the only who was surprised for the lack of SW2 logo from many of the games shown over the weekend?
Ps5 launched during the pandemic with supply constraints and start of harder economic times. Also pretty sure the switch 2 has been ready and been stacking storage for quite a long time. With how much they had warehoused pretty easy to burst out
Well done to Nintendo, been having a blast with Mario Kart World and Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma. The console also feels great in handheld.
@Oram77 yeah and in Japan they subsidized the price there by $100+ cheaper.
Honestly? I would be surprised if it didn't break any records.
I'm the biggest Nintendo fanboy there is but surely this is just down to the amount of stock that was available?
I feel like the "But the pandemic" angle is a bit disingenuous, given the PS5 still had the launch record regardless of that, so everything that launched outside of a pandemic didnt do that well.
Interesting. I don't really hear anyone talking about it here in the states outside of enthusiasts.
The only chat I've heard anywhere else was some employees at Trader Joe's talking about how cool Mario Kart looked but that they didn't want to pay that much for it.
It was a bit cheaper in france. I heard of people from other countries importing.
So, it's probably a tad inflated.
Are you sure? I feel like there is no hype, no buzz around the Switch 2. I couldnt even tell that it already launched.
The first Switch caused a massive wave of hype that everybody talked about it.
Weirdest console launch ever.
As much as I don't like it, Nintendo is king, and they don't even need amazing graphics to do it.
Wasn't there a huge supply issue during the PS5 launch? I remember people just being completely unable to find one for a year.
@Oram77 Wouldnt be surprised if Nintendo wants to announce those themself in their own Direct like they did with Persona 3,4,5. I mean there is no way a game like Super Meat Boy 3D isn't coming to Switch 2
Or maybe many devs simply haven't gotten devkits early enough
@JAMes-BroWWWn We must travel in different circles. Everyone I know was hyped for it, and there was plenty of buzz where I live.
@L_Bosch covid
@Shepherd_Tallon That’s a good problem to have
I ended up getting one because there’s mutterings of a price increase on the horizon (not to mention it almost certainly won’t go down in a sale), and I’m curious about some of the upgrades as with TOTK. Mario Kart also, already, has some of the best tracks I’ve ever played, and I do NOT like kart racers. You’re in for a treat when you’re ready to jump in.
@Enriesto I'm looking at Free Roam gameplay on the Kit & Krysta channel right now. Looks like such a chill time.
I'm not looking at any gameplay for the new tracks though. I can't wait to try them for the first time. "Hype" is an understatement.
Did you know in France it's illegal for men to wear anything apart from Speedos in a public swimming pool.
My french mate told me he used to get lots of mademoiselles by stuffing a potato down his budgie smugglers.
I tried it once with him but all the French girls screamed and ran away.
My French friend told me I should actually have stuffed the potato down the front of my Speedos...
@Haruki_NLI I mean not really because demand FAR exceeded supply. PS5 was in huge demand for years before the stock stabilised.
They comfortably could have sold more at launch if they had the units to sell.
I mean, it was the first console in a long time that actually had enough stock to meet demand.
Interestingly, Nintendo only forecast 15m shipped(which would be about 13m sold-through with 2m in the retail chain) upto March 31st 2026. So either they are lowballing their targets or they expect sales to massively drop-off.
@Haruki_NLI all it means is that the ps5 could've launched to a higher number than it did. And possibly wouldn't be a record broken by the s2 if this rumor is even true
But that said I feel like launch records barely even matter and more so the longevity of the console. What does it matter that ps5 broke a lot of launch records in the beginning if its now trailing behind ps4 in some countries even if only by like a million
Anecdotal evidence here lol: practically every one I know has not gotten the new console and don't plan on getting it and it's just weird to me cause we all have switches. I'm curious to see how it does I guess
@mariomaster96 You make very good points to be fair.
Who cares. France isn't even real.
I legitimately didn't even know it launched lol
I still can't believe Mario Kart is 80 bucks. Like, what's the dev cost you greedy *****!?
I mean, it's Nintendo. No one should be surprised by this.
@Scottyy checks notes
Dev cost is whatever 9 years of dev time is.
@Haruki_NLI
I think this is one of the points people really struggle to understand with video games. The cost of a game is not a direct consequence to how “Good” the game looks or how technically accomplished it is, it is simply how many people worked on it for how many years.
A lot of Nintendo games are likely very expensive to make due to the amount of creatives working on them, the amount of playtesting and prototyping to get the highest level of gameplay possible. That’s just as expensive of having dozens of people doing nothing but creating art assets for a 500km open world.
Super Mario Wonder took just under 5 years, ToTK took around 6 years. Those games are just not cheap to make.
Never mind all the PS5 excuses etc.
well done Nintendo for also making an effort to keep the scalpers at bay.
UK seems to have run out of stock now but more is due this week.
This is how to launch a console the right way.
Preordering was very good and some day one stock was held back as well for release day to add to the fun.
@Ooccoo_Jr Exactly this. In 2020 it was a PS/Xbox race but Nintendo does whatever it likes since the Switch so can take its time to have stock ready for a console.launch.
@CielloArc Same here. I think S2 is little overpriced and the $80 game price tags sucks when you have a great turn base game, that's GOTY contender being sold for only $50 plus it's PS5 pro enhanced.
Loathe as I am to admit it, I think Mario Kart World may have beaten Garfield Kart: All You Can Drift.
@Scottyy is there any value with anything in the world right now?
Every company out there is looking to make as much revenue as possible, and in the case of nintendo they have the front to get away with it
It's largely sold out in all the stores around me. People were camping out at my local GameStop days in advance!
Not interested until they have a new zelda. I have PS5 and deck oled (barely played even though i have huge steam games library)
And please not a totk zelda type. I hate those building mechanics.
@Futureshark You also should have made sure the "S" transfer hadn't rubbed off of your trunks also 👍
@UltimateOtaku91 I've been enjoying civ vii mouse controls and went back and replayed Pokémon snap to feel the screen improvements. For me though they need to really sell how much you want protective accessories for the switch 2. This screen is heavy, beautiful but feels so so fragile
Congrats to Nintendo seems they’re off to a good start but like sammy alluded to, they should be seeing as they’re not against a pandemic.
Loving my switch 2 next to my pro. Should keep me going for the next 3 years until the ps6!
Good for them. I do want to see it do well, but I'm not funding their greed anymore. I've owned every Nintendo system minus the WiiU since the original NES. Sorry Nintendo, but my money is in another castle.
@Haruki_NLI
If you really believe they have worked on it for 9 years I have a bridge to sell to you. Let's say it's 9 years for the arguments sake; I'm still having hard time to believe what they "spent" for it justifies "This should be 80" mindset. Definetely can't see it from all the previews for sure.
@Dr-zoidburg
I just hate that Nintendo always gets away with it because of its fanbase.
@ChrisDeku This is a great point, however, another is that Nintendo made a profit of 11.3 billion dollars last year.
@Steeleye50 The year ending March 31st 2025 Nintendo has an operating profit of ¥282,553m, which is just under $2b at current exchange rates
@ChrisDeku Yeah, that is insane. For me, I've been gaming since 1978. Bought every Nintendo console since the NES minus the WiiU. Owned a few Xbox's, all the Playstations, Intellivision, Colecovision, etc. Bought thousands of games. This is where I jump ship for consoles. $80 is completely ridiculous for a single game, and now Xbox/PS5 just got their first $80 game as well. Besides, I've got an insane backlog and a home arcade I built that has almost every game known to man. I can't support this greed anymore.
Not a surprise, I think it will outsell PS5 across their respective lifetimes.
Sony had zero issue breaking the record in the pandemic against the original Switch/Xbox Series, and any other console launch for that matter, and its almost certain it won't outsell the Switch or PS2. It might not even outsell the PS4.
@ElectricWizard nintendo is the golden child of the video game space so they get coverage everywhere and can get away with every wrongdoing that they do, that M$ & $ony would get chastised for.
+$400 for an outdated handheld being paraded as a competitor to (9th gen) home consoles & $80 for a mario kart game is insane
@Ooccoo_Jr
Yes, you are quite right - it only has to do with how many units they had ready for launch (im sure Xbox also sold out at launch).
Im not really that interested in Switch 2, but I will say I think Nintendo having as many units as they seem to have had ready for launch should be applauded - no one likes to 'miss out' at a console launch, and the more units available, the better, so good on them.
I know Sony did their best with PS5 and were constrained by manufacturing, but Nintendo could have launched earlier with less units.
I got my switch 2 and honestly it feels like the switch 1 pro that should've released years ago, and the battery life sucks it depletes so quickly
@JAMes-BroWWWn there hype for the switch 2 only people moaning about it people who would never buy one anyways because for many reasons but mostly they broke
@Steeleye50 can't we just stop with this nonsense every freaking corporate company is dam greedy it is capitalism lmao
I am loving the Switch 2!
Just a great experience all around, and, for the most part, completely replaces the original Switch (unless you have some obscure non-supported game). I just gave my daughter my original Switch.
I still have yet to actually play anything in handheld.
Having a blast with mine!
@Slayer25c No. I hope people enjoy it, I really do. But I'm pissed. I've been gaming for over 45 years. It's my favorite hobby. But there is no need to be pricing this high. Then you have microtransactions, paid DLC, needing mutliple peripherals that cost a ton also, etc. My biggest issue with the Switch was the drifting controllers. I had 3 sets of joycons. They all drifted. Sent them in to be fixed, and within 6 weeks they were drifting again. Now there are already reports of drifting on the Switch 2, and it hasn't even been a week yet. They did nothing to fix the situation - the new joy con is the same design. Where is the value? The biggest launch game they have is a newer version of a game they've made 17 of. The rest are games you can get on other systems. Just because other companies are greedy, does not mean I have to accept it. I won't.
I don't know that I would say similar stories.... VGC has an article about how in the UK the S2 launch can't even beat XB Series consoles, let alone the PS4 and PS5 launch numbers. It doesn't even feel like a new console is launching. I'm sure it'll sell decently but the idea of signing up to pay $80 a game with most not even on the cartridge is certainly going to loom over the console in the minds of potential buyers. Might as well just buy a Steam Deck at this point.
@Slayer25c Most people I know could buy 5, including myself, if everyone really wanted one. Some of us have principles as consumers though, and Nintendo falls woefully short of them.
@ChrisDeku On the dev cycle comment, that's Nintendo's problem not the consumer's. If they're taking so long and spending so much money on a singular game perhaps they should reconsider their development pipeline. Plenty of games today are of similar quality or better and made with less money and in less time. I understand development cycles well, I'm not someone that doesn't consider these things, and still can find no excuse for Nintendo.
@GamingFan4Lyf
Sounds like Switch 1 Pro.
@Shepherd_Tallon
I want a Switch 2 as well. I am just waiting on a special edition console, and I am REALLY hoping that there will be a Metroid Prime 4 console.
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