Nintendo Switch sales reach 2.74m within 2 months

As part of a regular financial statement, console manufacturer Nintendo has revealed that its new hybrid home and portable console, the Switch, has sold 2.74 million units, and is maintaining an ambitious target going into 2018.

By the end of April 2018, Nintendo anticipates having sold a total of 12.74m Switch consoles, the company announced as part of its latest earnings report.

That figure includes the total number of Switches sold worldwide to date over the nearly eight weeks it's been available since launching on March 3, 2017.

An additional 10 million Switch sales make up the company's forecast for the following year, a number which puts the Switch on comparable footing to first-year performances from the PlayStation 4 (14.4m) and Xbox One (10m.) in 2013/14.

Nintendo's forecast continues to maintain a positive perspective, in marked contrast to its previous home console, the Wii U.

By the end of 2012, the Wii U had achieved 3 million sales in six weeks. After the initial rush subsided, it took nearly 4 years to add 10 million more.

So why the bullishness over Switch prospects?

Where the Wii U was launched during the commercially appealing holiday season, the Switch stepped in during a much quieter period, allowing its reputation to build in the lead up to bigger November and December spends.

By the time Holiday 2017 rolls around, titles like "Super Mario Odyssey," "Splatoon 2," "Xenoblade Chronicles X" and April 28's "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" will have had the chance to become essentials, just like March's "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild"; the Wii U took years to build a library of similar quality.

As far as "Breath of the Wild" is concerned, Nintendo confirmed that Switch editions of its tentpole March release had soared to 2.76m sales, an astonishing figure given that it even exceeds the official number for the Switch itself.