The Wii U is well known for being Nintendo’s worst-selling mainline console, while theSwitch continues to break impressive sales records. In light of that, one would think a Wii U game likePikmin 3would see noticeably better sales on the Switch with its newly-launched port,Pikmin 3 Deluxe, but the data suggests this isn’t so.
Pikmin 3was very well received among critics and players when it first debuted in 2013, and the Switch version continued that trend this weekend, withreviews forPikmin 3 Deluxepraising the new content and gameplay improvements Nintendo added to an already-solid base game. Unfortunately, that critical praise doesn’t seem to be translating into equally strong sales, because the Switch version, in some places, has actually failed to outperform the original game in opening weekend sales.
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GamesIndustry.biz reports that physical sales for the game in the UK are down 18.5% compared to the Wii U version. Furthermore, according to sales chart data, the game debuted in seventh place, putting it behind multiple Switch games that have been out for a while now, includingMario Kart 8 Deluxe,Animal Crossing: New Horizons, andSuper Mario 3D All-Stars.
While this data only shows how the game is faring in one region, it’s still an unusual break from convention with Switch ports of Wii U games, which tend to see a growth in popularity within the Switch’s larger install base. This is most evident withMario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is currently the best-selling Switch game of all time with more than 26 million copies sold worldwide, a vast improvement over the Wii U version’s lifetime sales of 8.45 million.
There are a few factors that could be to blame. For one, a real-time strategy game likePikmin 3 Deluxemight not be as enticing to the average consumer as more casual titles likeMario Kart 8andAnimal Crossing. There’s also the frustration among many longtime fans that the long-awaitedPikmingame on the Switch is a port instead of a brand new title, even though it’s been argued thatNintendo made a smart decision portingPikmin 3instead of releasingPikmin 4.
Ultimately, though, the current sales numbers don’t paint the full picture here, since Nintendo has yet to reveal how well the game has sold digitally. This is important since digital sales have been on the rise, spurred on by factors like the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, ifPikmin 3 Deluxe’s digital sales are taken into account, it’s possible that its opening weekend sales might be closer to the original version’s numbers, and might even surpass them in the best case scenario.
