Nintendo reveals Switch OLED and Metroid Dread sales data for the US

Nintendo has revealed more information about its sales performance in the United States last month for Switch as well as Metroid Dread.

Yesterday, it was reported that Nintendo’s console was the best-selling system in the industry for October for both units and dollars. Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser confirmed to The Verge that the Switch family of systems sold 710,000 units, and 314,000 of those were for the new OLED model.

While October was a strong month for Nintendo, sales are down 3 percent year-over-year, partially due to current chip shortages. Regarding the production challenges the company has been facing, Bowser noted:

“These challenges have been facing many industries, and they’ve been going on for quite some time. But we’re working to meet demand for our holiday products, including Nintendo Switch OLED model. I will say things are constantly changing, but we’ve been working across the supply chain – from production to overseas transport to local distribution channels – to make sure we have a steady flow of hardware and games through the holiday cycle. Now, despite all of our efforts, I’d say there’s still a high level of uncertainty. I’d certainly recommend if you see it, buy it this holiday season.

As you know, in our last earnings report, we did reflect a reduction in our overall number for this year; we took it down about 1.5 million units to 24 million units globally. And that does reflect the outlook and the visibility that we have into the rest of the fiscal year. I will say, the semiconductor components are in short supply, and the future is uncertain. There are no major improvements that we’ve seen on the horizon. So I think the challenges will continue into 2022. We’re going to continue to do our best working with our suppliers to make sure we have the best supply possible.

Bowser also confirmed that Metroid Dread sold 854,000 units in the US last month, which is “the best start for any Metroid game ever.”

Finally, it’s worth noting that following the final free update and Happy Home Paradise DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the game saw “a significant spike in people buying the game”.