AJNShelton on 20 May 2021
Nintendo's Switch sell-through momentum continued in Q1 2021 with sales up 12% compared to Q1 2020 and reaching 5.86 million units. This year-on-year growth trend is likely to come under pressure in Q2 due to the tough comparison with the 2020 pandemic backdrop and the launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons towards the end of March. The game was instrumental in driving very strong Switch sales through Q2 2020 and went on to sell over 30 million units during the year. Switch will keep outselling the new Sony and Microsoft consoles during 2021 - the platform is at the peak of its sales cycle and is performing very strongly.
Both Sony and Microsoft's new consoles are suffering from supply constraints and unpredictable availability. These conditions are expected to continue for the rest of 2021 as competition for components remains high, making it challenging for many CE companies to increase production. Under these conditions, both versions of PlayStation 5 combined outsold both versions of Xbox Series consoles by more than 2 to 1. Sony will be pleased that its PS4 market share is continuing into the new generation but it is very hard to gauge real demand under the current market conditions.
World console hardware sell-through volume, Q1 2021 (m)
PlayStation 5 familyXbox Series X|SSwitch family2.831.315.86
Source: Ampere Games - Console, May 2021
