Welcome everyone to the VGChartz Gap Charts May 2020 Discussion Thread. This thread is a place for everyone to discuss the latest VGChartz Gap Charts articles for the month of May 2020. Everyone is welcome to post Gap Charts articles I haven't done so yet.  You can view the ones currently posted here. 

Previous months:

• September 2019
• October 2019
• November 2019
• December 2019
• January 2020
• February 2020
• March 2020
• April 2020

You can read the complete first article and analysis here:

Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Global Lifetime Sales – May 2020

Looking at the total sales of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch through May 2020 shows the Nintendo Switch continuing its climb and is nearly 10 million units ahead of the Xbox One after surpassing it in December 2019. The PS4 is currently ahead of the Switch by 53.52 million units, however, that gap has been slowly, but steadily shrinking.

The PlayStation 4 passed the 111 million mark and the Switch passed the 57 million mark. The PS4 has sold 111.04 million units lifetime, the Switch 57.52 million units, and the Xbox One 47.77 million units.

Looking at the marketshare, the PlayStation 4 currently leads. The PlayStation 4 has a 51.33 percent market share, the Switch sits at 26.6 percent, and the Xbox One at 22.1 percent.

PlayStation 4 Total Sales: 111,037,586

Switch Total Sales: 57,517,946

Xbox One Total Sales: 47,774,968

During the month of May 2020, the Switch outsold the PlayStation 4 by 622,182 units for the month and the Xbox One by 1.33 million units. The PlayStation 4 outsold the Xbox One by 703,607 units.

When you compare monthly sales to a year ago, all three consoles are up. The Nintendo Switch is up 810,335 units (+90.81%), the PlayStation 4 is up 75,382 units (7.50%) and the Xbox One is up 156,143 units (70.73%).

Looking at the marketshare, the Switch managed to achieve 53.9 percent of the monthly sales. The PlayStation 4 accounted for 34.2 percent of the consoles sold, and the Xbox One 11.9 percent.

PlayStation 4 Monthly Sales: 1,080,519

Switch Monthly Sales: 1,702,701

Xbox One Monthly Sales: 376,912

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launched in November 2013, while the Switch launched three years and four months later in March 2017.

As a reminder VGChartz tracks consoles sold to consumers and not units shipped.

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PS4 and Xbox One vs PS3 and Xbox 360 - VGChartz Gap Charts - May 2020

Gap change in latest month: 644,058 – PS4 & XOne

Gap change over last 12 months: 4,997,396 – PS3 & X360

Total Lead: 14,478,304 – PS4 & XOne

Total Combined PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Sales: 144,334,250

Total Combined PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Sales: 158,812,554

In May 2020, the gap grew in favor of the combined sales PlayStation 4 and Xbox One when compared to the aligned launch of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the last month by 644,058 units. In the last 12 months the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have caught up by 5.00 million units. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One lead by a combined 14.48 million units.

The 79th month for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is May 2020, while for the Xbox 360 it is May 2012 and for the PlayStation 3 it is May 2013. This does mean the holiday periods for all four consoles are lined up.

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in their first 79 months sold a combined 144.33 million units, while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have sold a combined 158.81 million units.

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sold a combined 173.22 million units lifetime. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are currently 14.41 million units away from surpassing the PS3 and X360.

This is still the same old Gap Charts I've been doing for years. However, talking with some of the staff we've come up with a new title that isn't as long and is more likely to bring in new readers.

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Switch vs Wii Sales Comparison - Switch Closes the Gap in May 2020 

Switch Vs. Wii Global:

Gap change in latest month: 180,194 - Switch

Gap change over last 12 months: 2,099,144 - Switch

Total Lead: 8,652,720 - Wii

Switch Total Sales: 57,517,946

Wii Total Sales: 66,170,666

May 2020 is the 39th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the Switch closed the gap by 180,194 units when you align the launches of the two consoles. In the last 12 months the Switch has outsold the Wii by just 2,099,144 units. The Wii is currently ahead of the Switch by 8.65 million units.

The Wii launched in November 2006, while the Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017. Therefore, the holiday periods for the two consoles do not lineup, which is why there are big increases and decreases.

The 39th month for the Nintendo Switch is May 2020 and for the Wii it is January 2010. The Switch has sold 57.52 million units, while the Wii sold 66.17 million units during the same timeframe.

The Wii sold 101.63 million units worldwide during its lifetime. The Switch needs to sell another 44.11 million units to outsell the Wii.

When you look at it that way, in terms of the total gap left, it really seems quite easily achievable, given Switch sold 21 million, or nearly half the remaining amount, in the last FY alone.

I must admit I am glad I listened to suggestions of adding another graph that shows the lifetime sales of the older console. 

Hence why I keep telling you that your lifetime sales prediction is too low.

And I will adjust it up if Switch keeps this momentum, I guess I've just seen too many systems quickly losing steam in the second half of their life, especially from Nintendo. 

I am absolutely confident it will outsell the Wii. It's how far beyond that it goes that I'm unsure of.

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Switch vs 3DS Sales Comparison – Switch Lead Explodes in May 2020 

Switch Vs. 3DS Global:

Gap change in latest month: 1,337,189 – Switch

Gap change over last 12 months: 10,376,575 - Switch

Total Lead: 15,400,667 – Switch

Switch Total Sales: 57,517,946

3DS Total Sales: 42,117,279

May 2020 is the 39th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the Switch by 1.34 million units when compared to the 3DS during the same timeframe and by 10.38 million units in favor of the Switch in the last 12 months. The Switch is currently ahead of the 3DS by 15.40 million units.

The 3DS launched in February 2011 (however, 3DS sales have been aligned to March 2011, since it only launched at the end of February in Japan), while the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. This does mean the holidays for the two platforms do lineup.

The 39th month for the Nintendo Switch is May 2020 and for the Nintendo 3DS it is May 2014. The Switch has sold 57.52 million units, while the 3DS sold 42.12 million units during the same timeframe.

The Nintendo 3DS has sold 75.22 million units to date. The Nintendo Switch is currently 17.70 million units behind the lifetime sales of the 3DS.

The not uncommon "Switch will sell on par with 3DS" claim, which I still saw crop up as recently as late last year, is ageing like milk in a greenhouse.

Should outsell it lifetime before the FY is out.

By the end of FY? So by March 31, 2021. If demand stays high enough and Nintendo can ship enough consoles, it wouldn't be impossible for the Switch to surpass it by the end of the year. Slim chance, but not impossible now with how well the first half of 2020 has been.