Nintendo says Switch outselling Wii

Japanese gamers line-up to buy the new video game Nintendo Switch games console by Nintendo Co. during the first day of sales worldwide. Photo / Getty

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime claims their latest console, the Switch, is their best selling console of all time, surpassing the hugely successful Wii.

A New York Times reporter said this morning that Fils-Aime told him the first two days of sales in North America, South America and Europe are the best in the companies history.

Nintendo's share price rose 1.86 per cent morning from a previous close of 24,240 Yen (NZ$305) reaching a high of 24,920 Yen.

The console's launch title Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is reportedly the best selling standalone launch game in the companies history, beating Super Mario 64.

2. Fri-Sat sales for Nintendo Switch exceeded first 2-day sales in Americas for any system in Nintendo history. Next biggest was Wii.

— Nick Wingfield (@nickwingfield) March 6, 2017

Long a stable of the Nintendo brand, the latest Zelda outing has received overwhelmingly positive reviews since release, with some critics touting it as one of the best games of all time.

While official world-wide sale reports are not yet available, the claims from Nintendo of America point to a major success for the company whos previous console, the Wii U, was widely considered a failure and sold little compared to other competitors PS4 and Xbox One.

The figures are also notable given the console was launched in March, rather than the holiday season.

Nintendo Switch is a portable/home console hybrid which launched on Friday. Rather than competing with graphical powerhouses such as the Xbox One and PS4, Nintendo took their patently innovative strategy of re-imaging how games could be played. The Switch can be "docked" and played on a television, or used as a portable console with detachable controllers.