The Switch can be removed from the dock and the Joy-Cons latched on to the side for on-the-go gaming. (Nintendo Photo)

Sales of the Nintendo Switch console doubled year-over-year in March, according to the latest U.S. numbers from The NPD Group.

The data confirms spiking interest and time spent playing with Nintendo’s latest hit device. It’s been near-impossible to find a Nintendo Switch to purchase in recent months amid stay-at-home orders, as Nintendo looks to increase production. The latest Animal Crossing game, meanwhile, has turned into a cultural phenomenon and a “Coronavirus Therapy.”

The Switch set an all-time record for hardware unit sales in a March month, NPD reported, eclipsing Switch sales during its launch in March 2017. The console also set another record for highest first quarter unit sales for any hardware platform since the Nintendo DS in 2010.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the popular animated community-based game that lets users build lives on islands with a virtual society, launched March 20 and was the best-selling game in the U.S. for March. It’s already the second best-selling game of 2020 and the best-selling Animal Crossing title ever.

NPD said the game “achieved the third highest launch month physical dollar and unit sales of any Nintendo published game in tracked history.”

“Practicing social distancing and observing stay at home orders have motivated many people to play more video games in order to find connection,” NPD’s Mat Piscatella wrote in a blog post. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a game designed around developing communities and forging connections, was certainly the right game at the right time.”

He added: “There is a synthesis between this game and this time in history that will leave the two forever connected in the world of video games.”

Overall hardware spending was up 63% last month to $461 million, NPD said. PS4 and Xbox One unit sales, which have been dropping as Sony and Microsoft plan to release new consoles this holiday season, grew by more than 25%.

Spending across all U.S. video game hardware, software, accessories and game cards reached $1.6 billion, up 35% from last year, and the highest reported spend for a March month since 2008.

We’ll get a better idea of Nintendo’s financials when the company reports earnings May 7. Shares were up 5% Tuesday. Lifetime Switch sales reached 52.48 million as of January.

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