Nintendo's Comeback Boosts U.S. Video Game Sales

Despite the fact that the Nintendo Switch has been notoriously hard to find for the most time since its release, Nintendo’s new flagship console has been the best-selling video game system of its generation in the United States in seven of the ten months since its debut in March.

Having sold 4.8 million units in its first 10 months on the market in the U.S. alone, the Nintendo Switch is not only the fastest-selling home video game console in Nintendo’s history, it also helped the U.S. video game industry to another record-breaking year. According to NPD Group data cited in a press release by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) on Thursday, the industry’s total revenue grew 18 percent to $36 billion in 2017, of which hardware (excluding accessories and peripherals) accounted for $4.71 billion.

Since the Switch's release in March, video game hardware sales in the U.S. have increased by more than 20 percent in seven out of ten months. In December, total hardware sales amounted to $1.27 billion, up 27 percent from $1.00 billion in December 2016.