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Forums - Sales Discussion - Global Hardware June 27-July 3 - Switch Sales Top 88 Million

Dulfite on 15 July 2021
curl-6 said:
jason1637 said:

Animal crossing came out at the same time lockdowns happened. It just happened to be the killer app people got with the Switch due to Covid. 

It would have been a huge killer app with or without covid. It broadened the system's appeal to a huge untapped audience and greatly increased Switch's appeal to women and casuals.

I think it would have sold great either way, but the main reason it reached the level it did is because you've got a bunch of people stressed out over the virus and isolating and suddenly you have this super chill game taking place on a tropical island with a beautiful art style. Oh and you can play with a bunch of people online and chill together. My family literally had our sister-in law's birthday party on our island over the internet (we decorated and everything). Covid helped Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing helped people get through the shutdowns. How much it helped, who knows, but I'm inclined to think AC would have sold 5-10 million less (lifetime) had Covid not happened.



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Eagle367 on 15 July 2021

The whole Covid being why switch sold bonkers theory will never die I guess. It's always gotta be some outside factory that helps ninty consoles sell so much. It can never be the intrinsic appeal of the consoles themselves



Just a guy who doesn't want to be bored. Also

curl-6 on 15 July 2021
Dulfite said:
curl-6 said:

It would have been a huge killer app with or without covid. It broadened the system's appeal to a huge untapped audience and greatly increased Switch's appeal to women and casuals.

I think it would have sold great either way, but the main reason it reached the level it did is because you've got a bunch of people stressed out over the virus and isolating and suddenly you have this super chill game taking place on a tropical island with a beautiful art style. Oh and you can play with a bunch of people online and chill together. My family literally had our sister-in law's birthday party on our island over the internet (we decorated and everything). Covid helped Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing helped people get through the shutdowns. How much it helped, who knows, but I'm inclined to think AC would have sold 5-10 million less (lifetime) had Covid not happened.

Covid did help, but Animal Crossing has an intrinsic appeal all its own and even besides covid there was more than enough stressful and depressing shit going down in the modern world by 2020 for it to be a hugely enticing dose of escapism. It still would've been a massive killer app had there not been a pandemic.

Last edited by curl-6 - on 15 July 2021

Dulfite on 16 July 2021
Eagle367 said:

The whole Covid being why switch sold bonkers theory will never die I guess. It's always gotta be some outside factory that helps ninty consoles sell so much. It can never be the intrinsic appeal of the consoles themselves

No one is saying Covid alone dude. At least I'm not. I think regardless of Covid, Switch would have sold at least 80 million plus units (so PS3/360 level if I recall). But there is no denying the covid bump and no reason to think that bump has disappeared since society hasn't returned to normal at all. I just read recently LA county (one of the most populated areas in USA) is requiring indoor masks again. If we have another shutdown, or period where everyone has to where masks indoors regardless of health/vaccine, then that is only going to incentivize people to stay home again and once again invest in smaller, at home purchases for entertainment.



Dulfite on 16 July 2021
curl-6 said:
Dulfite said:

I think it would have sold great either way, but the main reason it reached the level it did is because you've got a bunch of people stressed out over the virus and isolating and suddenly you have this super chill game taking place on a tropical island with a beautiful art style. Oh and you can play with a bunch of people online and chill together. My family literally had our sister-in law's birthday party on our island over the internet (we decorated and everything). Covid helped Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing helped people get through the shutdowns. How much it helped, who knows, but I'm inclined to think AC would have sold 5-10 million less (lifetime) had Covid not happened.

Covid did help, but Animal Crossing has an intrinsic appeal all its own and even besides covid there was more than enough stressful and depressing shit going down in the modern world by 2020 for it to be a hugely enticing dose of escapism. It still would've been a massive killer app had there not been a pandemic.

And I'm not arguing against that. I just said it would have sold 5-10 million less, which means it still would have sold 20-30 million copies (lifetime, my prediction) had Covid not happened, which still makes it a killer app. New Leaf sold like 20 million didn't it? That would be the basement for what New Horizons could do then in a normal market.



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newwil7l on 16 July 2021
Dulfite said:
curl-6 said:

Covid did help, but Animal Crossing has an intrinsic appeal all its own and even besides covid there was more than enough stressful and depressing shit going down in the modern world by 2020 for it to be a hugely enticing dose of escapism. It still would've been a massive killer app had there not been a pandemic.

And I'm not arguing against that. I just said it would have sold 5-10 million less, which means it still would have sold 20-30 million copies (lifetime, my prediction) had Covid not happened, which still makes it a killer app. New Leaf sold like 20 million didn't it? That would be the basement for what New Horizons could do then in a normal market.

You are talking nonsense



Jumpin on 16 July 2021
Dulfite said:
Jumpin said:

That doesn't explain why Switch was already up year over year in January or February 2020 over 2019. Or how a killer app like Animal Crossing wouldn't have pushed 2020 over 2019. What makes you think the 2020 baseline would have fallen below 2019? Now that the Animal Crossing bump is on its way down, we see that 2021's baseline is also up over 2020's, how do you explain that? Is there some kind of dark COVID energy causing sales acceleration after the initial inflation period?

Or perhaps there are other things that would have kept Switch momentum on the upswing without COVID. Apart from its killer apps (like Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8D, and Animal Crossing New Horizons), Switch's hybrid form factor offers new types of exposure to potential consumers that extends the Switch's selling period past that of a handheld or a home console. Then of course, the high volume of releases, this week alone has about 40. That would have been even higher if COVID hadn't had been a factor.

What makes you think that without COVID Switch would be down year over year, what's your evidence for that? Because it's certainly wasn't trending that way, before or after COVID.

Weren't there officially reported cases in China back in November of 2019? And I know places in the USA, before we even were thinking Covid, had a high amount of people with worse-than-normal-flu conditions, such as Arkansas, also dating back to November 2019 I believe.

Anyway, my point is that there were probably a decent amount of people that saw the writing on the wall and began isolating more even back to November/December 2019, let alone January/February 2020. Certainly as we got more shut down that helped more for sales, but there were people freaking out about the virus well before the CDC and governments started, and freaked out people staying home a lot more need things to do to keep their sanity.

Let's forget that you still have zero explanation for why a killer app like Animal Crossing would otherwise fail to drive up sales yoy, and the rising baseline going into 2021... your explanation for the Switch being up yoy in Jan and Feb is because the COVID panic actually began in November 2019, it was just in Arkansas... and they knew about the lockdowns and decided by the hundreds of thousands "Gotta get a Nintendo Switch!" I didn't realize Arkansas was the most cautious place on planet Earth and the one Southern US state not listening to Trump's "There's only 15 cases of Cheeyaina flu, and soon there'll be none."

Come on! Do you really expect anyone with functioning braincells to buy that crap?



I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.

curl-6 on 16 July 2021
Dulfite said:
curl-6 said:

Covid did help, but Animal Crossing has an intrinsic appeal all its own and even besides covid there was more than enough stressful and depressing shit going down in the modern world by 2020 for it to be a hugely enticing dose of escapism. It still would've been a massive killer app had there not been a pandemic.

And I'm not arguing against that. I just said it would have sold 5-10 million less, which means it still would have sold 20-30 million copies (lifetime, my prediction) had Covid not happened, which still makes it a killer app. New Leaf sold like 20 million didn't it? That would be the basement for what New Horizons could do then in a normal market.

No way it would've sold even close to 10 million less. But I'm talking less software sales and more hardware sales. AC still would've moved a fuckton of Switches had 2020 simply carried on from 2019 with all the malignant politics, environmental destruction, rampant injustice, stressful lifestyles, and all the other associated bleakness the world was already experiencing pre-covid. Pandemic or not, people were already desperate for the kind of escape it offered.