Nintendo Loses #1 a Day After Zelda Launch as Steam Jumps 69.9 Points

Nintendo lost first place on the Console Wars board less than a day after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time launched. Its Console Vibe Score fell from 93.0 to 58.9 between our November 5, 12:00 UTC and November 6, 01:00 UTC snapshots, a 34.1-point drop that took it from #1 to #3, while part of the Nintendo talk on X turned to falling Switch 2 sales.

The Vibe Score tracks fan mood on X, not sales. Nintendo's conversation in this snapshot was still mostly positive (71% positive, 29% negative), led by Stellar Blade's arrival on Switch 2 and the Ocarina of Time remake. The negative part was about money: Nintendo's latest results. Xbox took the top spot without gaining a point, and Steam, which sat near the bottom at 7.1, shot past Nintendo into second.

Switch 2 sales fell 41% in Nintendo's latest quarter

On November 5, the same day Ocarina of Time launched, Nintendo reported its results for July to September. The Switch 2 sold 2.67 million units in the quarter, down 41% from the same three months a year earlier, when the console had just launched.

Shacknews looked at the half-year picture: Switch 2 unit sales for April to September are down 37% on the same period last year.

The remake launched on November 5 on Switch 2, and Nintendo hit 93.0 and #1 on the board that day. Thirteen hours later, the crown was gone.

What people on X are saying about Nintendo

The Nintendo posts in this snapshot were split between excitement about new games and reactions to the sales numbers. Games reporter Stephen Totilo called Nintendo "the world champion of selling old games", usually at full price.

Others were more pointed about the hardware and profit numbers, but we couldn't confirm every figure fans quoted, so we're not repeating them here. You can follow how the conversation moves on the Nintendo topic page.

The rest of the board

Steam jumped 69.9 points to #2 (7.1 → 77.0), the biggest move on the board. Steam's top topic was the new SteamVR beta. Version 2.19.1, reported on November 3, improves streamed image quality, and Valve's patch notes raise the default encoded video size on Steam Frame, its VR headset, from 1152 to 1216. VR fans and outlets on X praised the sharper streaming.

Xbox dropped 5.0 points (89.0 → 84.0) and still took #1. Nintendo fell further, so Xbox moved up without gaining a point. Its conversation was about a redesigned Xbox PC app, now in testing with Xbox Insiders, and a steady run of Game Pass releases.

PlayStation climbed 44.3 points (6.0 → 50.3) and is still dead last. Its conversation centered on Sony's quarterly results and PS5 shipments, plus the Stellar Blade x Bayonetta collaboration.

What we couldn't verify

• That the sales news caused Nintendo's fall. It was part of what Nintendo fans were talking about while the score dropped. The Vibe Score measures mood, not causes.
• Some fan claims about Nintendo's profit and hardware numbers. Posts quoted different figures, and we only use numbers we could match to a solid source.
• That the SteamVR beta caused Steam's jump. It was the biggest Steam topic, not a proven cause.

We also left out fan-made PC ports of console games that came up in Steam's conversation. They're unofficial projects.

What's next for Nintendo on the board

Nintendo's crown lasted one snapshot this time, and the score refreshes twice a day. Vote for who won today's console war on the Console Wars dashboard and check back after the next snapshot to see whether Zelda can win it back.