RolStoppable said:
According to what's listed on VGC: PS1 - 36.91m GB+GBC - 40.05m Important points: 1. Breadth of game library and amount of quality titles has always heavily favored PS home consoles in this comparison, because American and European publishers tend to treat handhelds as an afterthought. 2. Nintendo doesn't officially distribute their consoles themselves in many European countries, so Sony has held a clear advantage in distribution of products outside of the five major European countries. Such expansion is something that Nintendo can work on. 3. The DS demonstrates that Nintendo is capable of competing with the heights of PS consoles. So if a console's lifecycle isn't cut short (happened to the GBA because Nintendo reacted to Sony's entry in the handheld market) and the console is properly executed (doesn't hold true for the 3DS which carried the burden of the rejected 3D), then it is anybody's game. 4. The 3DS wasn't the only console with problems. The PS3 had its own struggles. 5. Switch is properly executed and can pick up third party support that goes beyond the norm for handhelds, so its sales potential is right up there with the DS despite the absence of a selling point that can match the Touch Generations games of the DS (Nintendogs, Brain Training etc.). EDIT: VGC has the DS at ~3.5m for 2005; the handheld launched in March of that year, so that lines up well with Switch for 2017. After the first week of October Switch is at 1.8m for 2017. I still wonder why Switch's Other sales are so high on VGC, but maybe VGC doesn't only count Australia, but also the whole of South America. |
Wow, thanks Rol! I tried to find the breakdown by the site, but I can't find it! I wonder why GBA was so low in Europe, like you said it was cut short, but those sales seem small in comparison to what I imagine the U.S. and Japan did.
I think the Switch matching the DS will be hard WW, especially in Europe. Still, with a few adjustments i'm sure Nintendo can make the Switch one of their most successful generations in Europe!
Is there a link to region break down? Thanks!
Edit: Oh wow you weren't kidding about it lining up well with the DS ... it sold 450k more copies than the DS by October 7th. Probably won't outsell it, but who knows 
