November 2014 NPD: Nintendo’s response – big Pokemon, Smash, amiibo sales

Nintendo’s response to the November 2014 NPD report is in. Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and amiibo all experienced high sales.

On the portable side, 3DS software sales rose by over 40 percent compared to the same time last year. Wii U hardware and software sales increased by over 10 percent and 90 percent respectively over the same period last year. The week of November 23 was the biggest single week of Wii U hardware sales since the console’s launch in 2012.

Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire have sold almost 1.5 million combined physical and digital units in the U.S. thus far. Total Smash Bros. 3DS sales have surpassed 1.5 million copies while Smash Bros. Wii U sold nearly 710,000 units. Nintendo says amiibo sales “are approximately equal to sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U so far, while Link, Mario and Pikachu (in that order) have been the best-selling figures to date.”

View Nintendo’s full NPD response below.

Overall sales of Nintendo 3DS software in November increased by more than 40 percent over the same month in 2013, thanks in part to three huge games:

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire: The next great Pokémon adventures for Nintendo 3DS launched on Nov. 21 and have already sold nearly 1.5 million combined physical and digital units in the U.S. alone.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS: The best-selling individual portable game in the U.S. so far in 2014, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS has sold more than 1.5 million physical and digital units in the U.S. since it launched on Oct. 3.
November was also a strong month for Nintendo on the console side, as sales of Wii U hardware and software increased by more than 10 percent and more than 90 percent, respectively, over the same period in 2013. In fact, the week of Nov. 23 was the biggest single week of Wii U hardware sales since the system launched in November 2012. Other Wii U highlights for the month include:

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has sold nearly 710,000 combined units since launching on Nov. 21. With a current Metacritic score of 92, the latest iteration in Nintendo’s venerable fighting franchise is one of the best-reviewed games in the current generation of systems.
Nov. 21 also saw the arrival of amiibo, Nintendo’s new platform where gaming’s most recognizable characters can be used in different ways in many compatible games. Sales of amiibo are approximately equal to sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U so far, while Link, Mario and Pikachu (in that order) have been the best-selling figures to date.
“This is a ringing endorsement from families and fans that Nintendo has the best variety, the best value and the best gaming experiences for sale this holiday season,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We’re extremely confident in our holiday proposition and look forward to closing this year strong and starting 2015 with a full head of steam.”

Just a few days ago on Dec. 5, Wii U fans got the one-two punch of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, the intrepid explorer’s first stand-alone adventure, and NES Remix Pack, which combines previous digital-only games NES Remix and NES Remix 2 in one convenient physical package. More great games are coming for Nintendo systems in the first part of 2015, including Splatoon, Yoshi’s Woolly World and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse for Wii U, and Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. for Nintendo 3DS.