Zelda and Super Mario, Nintendo France’s winning duo in 2023

“We had a really fun time in 2023.» Nintendo France general manager Philippe Laveau has trouble suppressing a wry smile. Released in April, the animated film Super Mario Bros.: The Movie was number one at the French box office with 7.3 million admissions. “Who would have believed it? He was crazy. Universal did a great job on the distribution of the film and its communication», it rewinds.

And a month later, the release of the video game Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom became an event. With over 500,000 copies sold in one weekend, it marked the best performance in Nintendo France’s history. “No one thought that it was still possible to sell half a million copies in stores in such a short time.

», Philippe Laveau continues.

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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ended the year with total sales of 968,000, the group announced. And with 747,000 copies of Super Mario Wonder, “The best launch of a Mario game in France», Nintendo claims to have achieved two of the biggest sales of the year in the country.

Nintendo France relies on rankings produced by GfK for video game purchases made in stores and on e-commerce sites. We will have to wait until March for the release of data from the entire French gaming industry to know if the addition of purchases in digital format disrupts this order. Last year, the football game FIFA 24 sold 1.7 million copies, most of which were directly on the integrated stores of the PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

“If we add digital, Zelda has surpassed one million sales. Licensing in France has clearly reached a milestone», refers to Philippe Lavoué. But the manager wouldn’t share the exact figure: Nintendo declined to discuss the performance of its store integrated into the Switch console, the Nintendo eShop.

Sales switch down, but still strong

Besides Super Mario Wonder, other games featuring the Italian plumber also sold well. 383,500 copies for Mario Kart 8, 153,000 for Mario Party Superstars, 132,500 for New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe… In total, the Mario franchise sold 2.7 million copies in France last year.

“The Super Mario Movie helped us bring video games to families who don’t play games. But it is difficult to relate the two events. Super Mario Wonder sells very well because it is a very good game», tempers Philippe Lavoué. In the title “We reached a more diverse audience than we thought, and we realized it From the Paris Games Week show.»

All these games run on the Nintendo Switch console, which will soon celebrate its seventh birthday. “We will cross 8 million sales at the end of January. In 2023 alone, we sold 855,000 units», continues the director of Nintendo France. This falls short of 2022, when the Switch received 987,000 takers. The decline is natural: this hybrid console, released in 2017, is beginning the end of its life cycle.

But when rumors about the presentation of “Switch 2” in 2024 grow, Philip Levo refused to bury the star console of the Japanese group too quickly, which sold 132 million copies worldwide. “A console that sells so much after 7 years is unusual! Demand remains strong, especially at Christmas. And our strength is multi-tool.» It is actually not uncommon to see 2 or even 3 switches in the same house. “Why should it all stop overnight?»

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Nintendo games sales in France in 2023 (Physical versions only, source GFK)

1. Zelda: Tears of the Kindgom: 968,000 sold
2. Super Mario Bros. Wonder: 747,500 sold
3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: 383,500 sold
4. Minecraft: 230,900 sales
5. EA Sports FC 24: 167,500 sold
6. Nintendo Switch Sports: 154,600 sold
7. Mario Party Superstars: 153,800 sold
8. Hogwarts Legacy: 153,300 sold
9. Animal Crossing New Horizons: 153,100 sold
10. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: 132,500 sold