Towards the end of every financial quarter, we always get some fascinating sales into publishing companies and the games that drive them. This is especially true for the oft-secret Kyoto-based Nintendo — who reveled in the early success of Nintendo Switch, boasting 7.63 million units shipped as of September 2017 and an increased prediction that the Nintendo Switch will surpass Wii U sales by the end of March 2018. That said — what about the software, namely the recently-launched Super Mario Odyssey?
In the Six Months Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ending March 2018, Nintendo gave a staggering number. The breakaway critical success Super Mario Odyssey is also an overnight financial success, boasting 2 million units sold-through within the first three days.
Worth noting, we see terms like “shipped” and “sell through” often used in these metrics without specific explanations to the meaning. Whereas the “shipped” term (7.63 million Nintendo Switch units shipped) refers to products shipped to suppliers, “sell-through” (3 million copies of Super Mario Odyssey) were sold by retailers. In that sense, “sell-through” is considered a much better accomplishment and more indicative of attach rate.
Worth noting, this isn’t just standalone or physical copies. It also includes digital copies, and copies packed in with the Super Mario Odyssey Nintendo Switch bundle.
Super Mario Odyssey launched last Thursday, October 26, 2017, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.