It seems that Canadian gamers have good taste- at the very least, one can conclude that based on their preferences for Nintendo franchises. According to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, Canada is an unusually strong market for The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon games, relatively stronger even compared to the United States (which to begin with is the strongest market for the series).

“There are certain franchises that overperform in the Canadian market,” Fils-Aime said in an interview with Toronto Star. “Legend of Zelda is one. I can’t tell you why but the Canadian consumer loves it. Every single game in the series has done better with the Canadian audience than the U.S. audience, and the U.S. audience does better than Europe or Japan. Another phenomenon, and this is a recent trend, over the last 10 years is Pokémon. Pokémon games do exceptionally well (in Canada).”

As someone who lives in Toronto, I can personally vouch for that- the general presence of Pokemon and especially Zelda in day-to-day Toronto culture is insane. Pokemon merchandize abound, and no nerd store worth its salt will ever be found without a large section dedicated to Zelda trinkets. People walk around with Triforce tattoos, and can be seen on public transit playing Breath of the Wild on their Switch.

So yes, I can definitely see this being true- it seems like my fellow Canadians have good taste when it comes to games, then.

Nintendo has been setting all manner of sales records with the Switch in countries around the world- Japan, the US, France, Spain, Germany. Now, add another one to the list- in Canada, the Nintendo Switch has utterly dominated the gaming market this year. So much so, that it is now the highest selling console of the year in the country so far- in spite of the fact that the PS4 and Xbox One had a two month headstart over it (given the Switch’s launch was in March).

Nintendo in general is having a bumper year up north- the Switch has been the top selling system in the country frequently since launch, including in October when, much like in the US, it topped charts, and, along with the SNES Classic Mini and 3DS, combined to give Nintendo two-thirds of the market.

Of course, the Holiday season is here- and some killer deals on the PS4, the launch of the Xbox One X, and the scarcity of the Switch, might mean that the system loses its lead. But for now, Nintendo can celebrate its quiet victory in the Great White North.

[ResetERA]