The numbers are, quite literally, historic.
The stars aligned for one of Nintendo's biggest months of US sales in years for March.
All data is based on dollar sales for the period of March 1 to April 4, unless otherwise noted.
The Switch was the highest selling console of March, as hardware sales jumped 63% compared to last year for all platforms. The Switch's March month sales outsold its launch month (the highest March in the system's history), and more than doubled over the same period in 2019.
In software, Animal Crossing: New Horizons dominated the charts in March, becoming the third best selling Nintendo exclusive ever in its launch month behind Smash Bros Ultimate (Dec 2018) and Smash Bros Brawl (March 2008). This sets an upper bound for AC physical sales of 2.7 million copies. It is instantly the biggest moneymaking Animal Crossing game ever (due to a $59.99 MSRP) and the second best selling game of the year.
Other Nintendo software in the overall top 20 include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (10th), Super Smash Bros Ultimate (14th), and debutant Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX (15th): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild missed the top 20 for only the second time in three full years of release. Third party games NBA 2k20 (5th), FIFA 20 (13th), Just Dance 2020 (17th), and Mortal Kombat 11 (19th) are also in the top 20.
The top 10 Switch games by sales are as follows:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX
- Just Dance 2020
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Super Mario Party
- Luigi's Mansion 3
- New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe
- Pokémon Sword
