Nintendo Switch Outsells PS4 Worldwide

The Nintendo Switch has outsold the lifetime sales of the PlayStation 4, according to VGChartz estimates.

[darthv72]

some will argue that VGC numbers arent exact... true, but they are open to adjustments when official numbers show differently. with that said, this should be seen as both encouraging and disappointing at the same time. Encouraging that it shows many are able to forgive the Wiiu debacle. Disappointing that they effectively combined two markets back into one. Gaming is gaming, so it shouldnt matter but to some... it does.

I can personally say that we have three switch units in my house, but I can also say we have 'at least' three PS4 units in my house as well. Each kids has their own set of ps4/switch/xbo to play games for every occasion. I wont even go into my own personal collection... so yeah.

Congrats Nintendo for doing this in less than 6 years. The road to the final two is long and bumpy and I'm not so sure you got anything left in the tank to reach it.

[MrNinosan]

We have 3 Switch in my household aswell, and only the Wii U have disappointed me more.
Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade(s) are amazing, but other than that, they've been collecting dust.

My son pick ups the Switch from time to time when I tell him to turn off his PS5 or Series X, but want to play Fortnite in the bed.

I'm happy that Nintendo is suceeding, but at the same time, I'm as worried as I was with Wii.

The Wii influenced Microsoft and Sony, and we got Kinect and Move, but Wii was never that good, especially not the controllers, and the hardware was one gen behind.

Switch can't even hold upnto Xbox One or Playstation 4, but keep selling like butter, and how will this influence Microsoft and Sony this time? I hope not at all, because I don't want gimmick consoles.

My dream is to play Zelda and Mario with exceptional graphics on hardware like PS5, Series X or a PC, but as long as Nintendo can keep sell old hardware, we'll never see a push in graphics.

I'd love to see a future where Nintendo become a third party developer.

[Knushwood Butt]

I'm interested to see Nintendo's next move.

I think they've backed themselves into a corner where their next hardware has to be another hybrid, and history shows that lightning rarely strikes in the same place for them.

A more expensive Switch 2 is going to be a very hard sell to casuals.

[Neonridr]

@Knushwood - yeah but the Steam Deck isn't expensive when you factor in how much of an upgrade it is. If Nintendo could release something on par to that, I think people would be ok spending the money since it would be able to play AAA games.

[Knushwood Butt]

@Neon

Maybe, but what are the sales of the Steam Deck? Don't think I've seen any data.

[shinoff2183]

Knushwood

I was just writing that yesterday. They have no choice to have a hybrid now, Itll be more of the same which is fine but it shows on the games, and the games not being made for the switch.

[FreeFallFrenzy]

The switch to me is like cable TV. There are a thousand channels but nothing's on. It's been a really long time since I've been excited to play a game that's come out on the Switch. I would've figured that now that Nintendo has cornered both it's console and handheld market into one system that they would have dozens of first party games coming out each year. But, like typical Nintendo, if the gimmick (hybrid design) sells the system, they have no incentive to do more than just the bare minimum in software to keep selling it.

[Neonridr]

I mean, it's all people really have to go by. And based on how well the Switch has sold and continues to sell, it was only a matter of time anyways.

[notachance]

yeah this was inevitable seeing the monthly sales, I myself had bought 2 switch until now.

I really hope this doesn’t make the eventual successor gets delayed though..

[fr0sty]

I have to agree, Switch sells great for now, but I don't see it having the legs PS4 does, so the two might go back and forth on top of sales for a while.

[S2Killinit]

I have bought 3 Switches and 1 PS4 during last gen. Ask me what was my main console, and I will tell you it was the PS4.

1 switch was bought for myself, one was a gift for my gf who wanted something to keep her busy during work breaks, and one was a gift for her niece (if not mistaken) who never had a console in her life.the 3 Switches got less use put together than the PS4.

I PERSONALLY dont think we can/should compare the two as they aimed at different market needs and were used differently by consumers. on the other hand, that would be a slippery slope. For me, the clear “winner” of last gen was the PS4 hands down.

[darthv72]

The winner of last gen is PS4. There is no question about it. PS4 with most units, followed by XBO and then WiiU.

[shinoff2183]

Ive been saying this nintendo discontinued the 3ds and people still like handhelds. Switch being the only portable on the market is a big reason why it has sold so well. I havent even got through all the comments and have seen many posts about having 2 to 3 in some homes. If ps4 came out with a portable(that is capable of playing ps4 games) itd of sold well af to.

[septemberindecember]

Gameboy will also be outsold in the next couple of weeks.

Those thinking that 140M is the max are going to be in for a surprise. Switch shipments should be around 126-127M by March 2023. 13-14M for the rest of it's life would be no problem. PS4 sold that much in a similar timeframe (e.g. after Nov 2019), and, clearly, Switch is selling at a faster rate than that console did.

[darthv72]

It's already on the downward trend though. If we use black friday (the biggest shopping weekend) as a gauge, we can see they hit a high point in 2019.
2017 - 847,754
2018 - 1,380,280
2019 - 1,855,859
2020 - 1,673,741
2021 - 1,459,157
2022 - 1,298,185
Throughout the rest of the year it is in the hundred of thousands, 300k on average but sometimes less and sometimes more. The games they still have to come out will help move some but will most likely sell in to those already vested. I know themed systems seem to spark interest in double dipping (or more). And price cuts also boost sales but usually in situations where sales have been slumping. We just have to wait and see but 140m is nothing to be ashamed about. If it can crack the top two then great but if not then that's okay too.

[septemberindecember]

I don't know why you are singling out a single week in the year. Here are the fiscal years (FY 2018 ended March 2018, keep that in mind)

FY 2018: 15.05M
FY 2019: 16.95M
FY 2020: 21.03M
FY 2021: 28.83M
FY 2022: 23.06M
FY 2023: 19M projected

They aren't going to go from 19M in one year to less than 13M for the rest of it's life. FY 2024 will probably be 13-14M alone at minimum.

[MrNinosan]

So 9-10 million more in 4 months, that'd be around 5-6 million minimum in December. Do you really believe that?

[septemberindecember]

I'm referencing shipments, not sold through. Sold through would be 1-2 million off, depending. That is, by the end of March the shipments will be 126-127M but sold through (what VGChartz looks for) will be around 124-126M.

Anyway, Nintendo routinely sells almost half their yearly total in the holiday period.

[mkis007]

With a new switch successor coming out, the drop off will be huge.

[septemberindecember]

Switch will still sell more than 13M units between March 2023 and the end of it's life. A Switch successor hasn't been announced yet. From the time the 3DS was announced to the end of the DS's life the DS still sold almost 26M units. Selling half of that when the successor isnt even announced yet should be definitely doable for the Switch

[shinoff2183]

because its a console and being sold for its portability

[septemberindecember]

Okay? It's not like all portable consoles have sold as much as the Switch has. Not really sure what your point is here

[FallenAngel1984]

This was inevitable

[Duke19]

That’s actually insane. That’s a lot of switches

[darkrider]

They are going to beat the ds and reach more then 154 millions

[gerbintosh]

I would think so since this is a hybrid console that cannibalized their handhelds. I would be more impressive if the switch got these numbers with a separate handheld being sold

[darkrider]

The switch is primarily a portable console, that can be used like a home console. Its a big diference, that's why nobody care that their games look like from the ps3 gen...

[ocelot07]

Really need to start thinking about releasing a Switch Pro or a Switch 2 though it's showing its age.

[Jin_Sakai]

It will be Switch 2 at this point. If it even is a Switch. Who knows what Nintendo will do.

[Crows90]

Congrats to Nintendo...can we get some more game variety now? They're clearly successful enough to have more IP coming out

[darthv72]

this is me being selfish, and I know switch became successful without them but... where the F is metroid 4 and a new f-zero game? i agree that there needs to be more IP coming out and they are sitting on some major hits from the past. It just sucks that they have done virtually nothing with titles that fans have been begging for. I get that mario and zelda are huge... but relying on them so much is like xb relying on halo forza and gears.

Shits getting old.

[Crows90]

They did release Metroid dread. But yes I'd like a new fps Metroid...also i really liked that starfox adventure game ...and yes an Fzero would be nice.

[Asplundh]

MetroId Prime 4 has a place holder date for next year, hopefully it happens.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

They've released tons of games outside of Mario and Zelda, this is far and away a different situation than Microsoft had with the Xbox brand.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

They've had plenty on Switch tbh.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + 48 Tracks for DLC
Paper Mario
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Awakening HD/NecroDancer/Warriors/Age of Calamity/Skyward Sword HD + Tears of the Kingdom
Luigi's Mansion 3
Metroid Dread + Prime 4 (eventually)
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive/2/2: Torna/3
Mario Golf/Tennis/Soccer
Daemon X Machina
Bayonetta 1/2/3
Super Mario Odyssey/Maker 2/U Deluxe/3D World/3D All-Stars
Kirby Star Allies/Forgotten Land + Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Fire Emblem Warriors/Three Houses/Three Hopes + Engage
Pokémon Lets GO!/Pokken Tournament DX/Sword and Shield/Mystery Dungeon/Snap/Legends: Arceus/Diamond and Pearl/Scarlet and Violet
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle/Sparks of Hope
Yoshi's Crafted World
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
Pikmin 3 Deluxe + 4
No More Heroes 3
Super Mario Party/Mario Party Superstars
Ultimate Alliance 3
Clubhouse Games
ARMS
Splatoon 2/3
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
WarioWare: Get It Together
Miitopia
Astral Chain
Ring Fit Adventure
Advanced Wars 1+2

That's 63 different titles released since March of 2017 to November of 2022

I'd say throughout the Switch's life cycle, they've had plenty of first party game variety and even more variety within certain franchises. For example, franchises like Pokémon, Kirby, and Zelda have never gotten this many released on one console before.

It's missing new games from popular franchises like F-Zero, Star Fox, Golden Sun, Mario and Luigi, etc., but otherwise most people are very happy with what's been offered.

[darthv72]

Now do one without wiiu titles. I know there reasoning for using wiiu ports was to give them a 2nd chance but in doing so they also neglect the plethora of other games that have been dormant for years.

I like my switch but im not going to pretend that Nintendo hasnt ignored major franchises that fans have been clamoring for in favor of already available titles that were easier to move from one platform to another.

[VariantAEC]

@darthv72
Ooh ooh...

Paper Mario
Legend of Zelda: Awakening HD
Luigi's Mansion 3
Metroid Dread
Torna/3
Mario Soccer
Daemon X Machina
Bayonetta 3
Super Mario Odyssey/Maker 2
Kirby Star Allies/Forgotten Land + Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Fire Emblem Warriors/Three Houses/Three Hopes
Pokémon Lets GO!/Pokken Tournament DX/Sword and Shield/Mystery Dungeon/Snap/Legends: Arceus/Diamond and Pearl/Scarlet and Violet
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle/Sparks of Hope
Yoshi's Crafted World
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
Pikmin 4
No More Heroes 3
Mario Party Superstars
Ultimate Alliance 3
Clubhouse Games
ARMS
Splatoon 2/3
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
WarioWare: Get It Together
Miitopia
Astral Chain
Ring Fit Adventure

That's with the games I remember off the top of my head existed on other Nintendo and non-Nintendo platforms not just Wii U to Switch ports.
To be fair there's still a large number of games in this list over 35 games there. So about half his listed total also removing unreleased games from his bogus list. I did keep in massively overhauled games like TLoZ: Awakening HD which is a Game Boy or NES title that was completely rebuilt for Nintendo's latest console. We're not arguing that it is visually identical to those 30+ year old titles. But I dod skip games that were re-released more than once or saw only minor improvements on Switch from Wii/U/3DS or other consoles to Switch.

Even so if we add those games back in the list only increases from about 37 to 41... since 2017 into the foreseeable future (holiday 2023 or so).

[TheCaptainKuchiki]

Well it's cheaper

[Kakashi Hatake]

Sony stopped selling PS4 two years ago. Look at this as amazing if you want.

[darthv72]

They only recently halted production after making 1m more units during the PS5 production issues over this past year. Units continue to sell weekly in other areas.

[MadLad]

Well, that's not true. They actually bumped production of them during the chip shortage. They, themselves, confirmed that they'll continue production until the end of the year, at least.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Don't see them in stores at all. They could've lowered the price to 200 bucks and still sold them for a bit. They all but dropped it after PS5 released. Actually very uncharacteristic of them.

[darthv72]

What you should have said is YOU dont see them in stores. That just means in your area things changed but in other parts of the world they are still in retail. They seem to average a few thousand a week but Sony is no longer making them.

Whatever is left will still only be part of that 1m they produced before halting. All totaled it will be no more than 118m and Switch will just keep going until Nintendo stops it.

[DOMination-]

Why is that relevant?

Didn't the PS4 also launch several years before Switch ?

[DarkZane]

You're comparing a home console and a portable console, I wouldn't even put them in the same category.

[MadLad]

We're comparing sales of the current hardware of the big 3 in gaming (excluding PC). Trying to label the Switch as simply just a handheld will always just be a copout for people to devalue its popularity.

[Nismo458]

Exactly

[CrimsonWing69]

Well I'd assume PS4 sales were on the downward with the PS5 being out for 2 years.

[Father__Merrin]

Not surprising its a handheld toy console that appears to kids

[Aloymetal]

It also outsold the xbone like ages ago...

[coolbeans]

Outsold the Xbone too? That can't be right, can it?

[MadLad]

Weren't you the same person saying this would never be the case in the first place?

Continue as you always do, and just deflect and find a way to say you don't like Xbox lol.

[Aloymetal]

Deflect? nah. Maybe you got confused with the PS2 so I never said that, that'd be like me saying the series will sell more than PS5. I'm not that delusional;)

[generic-user-name]

Congrats to Nintendo on bouncing back from the Wii U so well. There is the caveat that they used to have two successful platforms (a home console and a handheld) and now have those both rolled into one so they've got a bigger pool to sell to, but still, if the Switch went south, Nintendo could have been in some trouble.

[mkis007]

Nintendos portables always sell well. Without even including the new switch model with the better battery, they released both a cheaper $200 lite model and a more techy oled model. The double dipping is real with consoles.

[MadLad]

And people were saying it wasn't going to happen lol

[Kakashi Hatake]

No one said that lmao. Want a cookie for it happening?

[MadLad]

There's several people on here who posted just that every time system sales were posted, actually.

Keep the cookie. Not a snack food person.

[Elda]

Nintendo's handhelds always sell bonkers. I never bought the Switch, not my cup of tea when it comes to their exclusives but congrats on the outsell.

[ChasterMies]

Nintendo Switch is a handheld. You wouldn’t compare DS sales to PS2 sales!

[Binarycode]

Not surprising tbh, It's a Hybrid. Last gen graphics, cheap and mainly a first party system.

It's ok to downvote me, I collect downvotes like souls.

It's a youngsters machine.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 48.41 million
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 40.17 million
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 29.53 million
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 27.79 million
Pokemon Sword / Pokemon Shield – 25.37 million
Super Mario Odyssey – 24.40 million
Super Mario Party – 18.35 million
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Pokemon Shining Pearl – 14.92 million
Ring Fit Adventure – 14.87 million
Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! – 14.81 million

Only two games on that list I have played on PC, lol

Mario kart and BOTW.

Next switch will produce PS4 graphics.

[MadLad]

I'm not even a Switch fan, but all you're doing is showing Nintendo sells insane amounts with their IP.
And you could call it a youngster machine if you wish. We both know there are giant amounts of Nintendo "youngsters" who are still Nintendo adults.

[Nitode]

36 year old, and i prefer Nintendo. Loved Nintendo as a kid. in my youth and early 20s i loved more bang bang and mmos, in my 30s im almost all Nintendo again.. why ? Nintendo gives a chill, cozy, toxic free, positive, relaxing, happy, colorfull enviroment and gamestyle. When you get out of your 20s, maybe started a family, Nintendo is a fantastic go to. This old Brain and daily life needs a woohoooooo! 😊

[Nitode]

Well deserved. Hopefully switch 2 will carry the torch in the same way or better. Im using the switch 80% of the time when gaming, so many awesome SP games and a great bunch of online games to enjoy. And just love the possibility to use it in handheld mode. Crossing my fingers that switch 2 will be so powerfull that it can run harrry Potter, rocket league and COD in a fairly good way. Rocket league is a good example of a game that just dosent work good enough on switch, need more power.

[thesoftware730]

Lol, why do people keep saying you can't compare the Switch sales to the PS4 or other home consoles?

You can absolutely compare it, every sale reporting media does. NPD, VG charts and Famutsa.

On every list of top-selling consoles, all of Nintendo's systems are listed, effectively comparing them.

Lets look at the facts:
The main purpose of a Switch is to play games, AAA, AA, Indie, first-party, and 3rd party games.
The main purpose of a PS4 or PS5 is to play games, AAA, AA, Indie, first-party, and 3rd party games.
The main purpose of an Xbox is to play games, AAA, AA, Indie, first-party, and 3rd party games.

They all have online play and have controllers with essentially the same layouts, they all have gaming sub-services, and they all appear at every gaming event, E3, Directs, Gamescom, TGS, and VGA. The System even shares 100s of the same big-name games and franchises...it is in fact a dedicated gaming console.

I understand that some people might not like the Switch or the graphics, but 100% they can be compared, that is why in this very same thread we are discussing it passing PS4 and moving onto the DS and PS2 spot...comparing them...we always have and always will, its the silliest thing to pretend Nintendo is not in the console race.

[shinoff2183]

Nintendo was able to sell to two markets with the switch . genius on them but it shows in the games. It reached that by selling to console and handheld gamers. Far as I know they stopped doing 3ds so they opened up the market for themselves being the only handheld out there. With out that they dont sell past 100 million. IMO