Nintendo Labo Only Sold Through 30 Percent of Its Initial Shipment in Japan

The numbers for Nintendo Labo sales in Japan and the UK are out. While we don't know what the long-term plans for Labo look like, we know that in Japan at least, Labo only sold 30 percent of its initial shipments.

The news comes from Media Create which posts a weekly analysis of Japan's video game sales. On the week of Labo's launch, the Variety Kit sold nearly 90,500 units and came in first place. Meanwhile, the Robot Kit (which cost more) sold nearly 29,000 units for third place. However, Media Create elaborated that despite taking the top spots, the units sold only amounted to 30 percent of what Nintendo shipped to retailers.

This doesn't mean Labo is a failure by any means. It simply makes it hard to determine whether Nintendo expected higher demand on the product, or if the company simply shipped an excess amount of units to come ahead of any potential shortages, or for a more long-term sale window.

It should be noted also that the release of Labo didn't exactly make the Nintendo Switch a system-seller as sales for the Nintendo console actually decreased week-on-week during the Labo launch. However, Media Create notes that the educational tone of the product makes Labo a more interesting product to track.

In the UK, the Nintendo Labo Variety Kit took the third place spot behind the new God of War and Far Cry 5. The more expensive Robot Kit placed 20th. The UK market has always been more hardcore, and barring any new football game, the Labo sales track with what typically does well in the UK market.

For more on Nintendo Labo you can check out our complete Labo guide for all the latest details and info.

(h/t: DualShockers)