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Forums - Sales - PS4 VS Switch lifetime sales, which console will sell the most?

 

What do you expect?

NSW will win by a huge margin 53 16.06%
 
NSW will win by a small margin 75 22.73%
 
PS4 will win by a small margin 75 22.73%
 
PS4 will win by a huge margin 117 35.45%
 
Sorry, no troll XB1 option. :P Oh wait... 10 3.03%
 
Total:330

If Nintendo wants to win this fight they have to sell way more units in Europe and the rest of the PAL region. Because selling better Japan and the USA will only get the Switch so far. Since I doubt China is going to be a huge market for the Switch.



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Qwark said:

If Nintendo wants to win this fight they have to sell way more units in Europe and the rest of the PAL region. Because selling better Japan and the USA will only get the Switch so far. Since I doubt China is going to be a huge market for the Switch.

To add some context, the Switch isn't doing bad in the other regions (not US and Japan). When compared to the 3DS, the Switch is up life to date. Historically, Nintendo has not done well in Europe as the company never gained a foothold there (Sega did better in Europe, for instance). The DS actually did really well in Europe and other regions (it sold worse in the US IIRC). At the same time, the Switch may be like the DS and have a surge starting in the second year (which is possible as numerous Japanese third parties are pledging exclusives for the Switch and the system has been able to get a lot of software). 

As an aside, I would look at the number of games being released on the Switch. We are over 200 now (for a system that launched with 6-7). The second year will have a bigger pipeline



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VideoGameAccountant said:
Qwark said:

If Nintendo wants to win this fight they have to sell way more units in Europe and the rest of the PAL region. Because selling better Japan and the USA will only get the Switch so far. Since I doubt China is going to be a huge market for the Switch.

To add some context, the Switch isn't doing bad in the other regions (not US and Japan). When compared to the 3DS, the Switch is up life to date. Historically, Nintendo has not done well in Europe as the company never gained a foothold there (Sega did better in Europe, for instance). The DS actually did really well in Europe and other regions (it sold worse in the US IIRC). At the same time, the Switch may be like the DS and have a surge starting in the second year (which is possible as numerous Japanese third parties are pledging exclusives for the Switch and the system has been able to get a lot of software). 

As an aside, I would look at the number of games being released on the Switch. We are over 200 now (for a system that launched with 6-7). The second year will have a bigger pipeline

But we are not comparing the Switch to the 3DS (which will get outsold this year by the PS4) we are comparing the Switch with the PS4. As of now Switch sells decent in Europe,but the baseline needs to go to 65k in Europe to dominate the world market and beat the PS4. The Wii and the DS both did well in Europe and Nintendo needs numbers comparable to the Wii in Europe to actually beat the PS4 WW. The number of games (that matter for sales) released for Switch is still on the low side compared to the PS4. The line-up for PS4 games 2018 is very promising and third parties aren't very asleep either (except when it comes to Switch support). Now I am not saying Nintendo can't beat the PS4, although I give Sony the edge for now. But whether they will or not will for a huge part be decided by how well they do in Europe. 



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Shadow1980 said:
quickrick said:

 I agree with you. In the end its better to start comparing monthly sales starting this year for switch november vs ps4 november 2014. my issue was people comparing ps4 holiday WW shipments vs switch holiday post launch. we look at all the holiday launches with very successful consoles, and holiday launches have pathetic shipments for the quarter compared to regular holidays because of stock issues. while  launches in march even with way less days, are very close to shipments of holidays launches so advantages go both ways with numbers going back in fourth.

As for october i already explained, you make it seem like it's one of the best october's ever. many people don't find the numbers impressive, considering  the context. stock fully available, for a console that had limited stock for most of the whole year, mario bundle, and the biggest mario title since mario 64. i'm not seeing why the first October's matters. a console in its first year could the biggest month ever the whole generation depending the game released.

Moving this back to the proper thread.

Well, at least we're finding some common ground. LTD sales are never going to be a proper measuring stick for systems that launched way far apart on the calendar. That was the entire point I was trying to make. I think that by ignoring launch numbers altogether and finding common monthly/quarterly sales basis for comparison, we can gather a more accurate assessment of how the Switch stacks up against other systems. I think the Switch out to sell between 1900k and 2150k, for a total of 4.5M to 4.75M for the year. By eliminating March out of the equation and focusing on Q2-Q4, that gives us 3.6 to 3.85 million Switches sold in the April-December period. In the same period in 2014, the PS4 sold a bit over 3.78M (it probably would have done better, but Sony chose to not issue a price cut and left the PS4 at $400, while MS dropped the XBO's price to $350, giving it an advantage during the holidays that year). The XBO sold 3.66M that period. Only two systems sold over 4 million in the U.S. their first full Q2-Q4 period: the PS2 and Wii, which both handily cleared the 5 million mark.

Regarding the Switch sales predictions, most people were grossly overestimating what the Switch would sell. We were already given both a lower and upper limit on the Switch's potential sales range in October. The Switch was at a bit over 2.3M in the U.S. at the end of September, and a news article from a couple of weeks ago stated that the Switch's sales had grown to "over 2.6 million" by the end of October, meaning "more than 2.6M and less than 2.7M." That means the Switch had to have sold more than 275k but less than 375k in October. The actual result was at the lower end of that range. Everybody who predicted 400k or more either wasn't aware of that bit of news, or they forgot what the Switch had sold by the end of September.

well nintendo did announce 2 million sold, when they were at 2.3 million, but always looked at that as a mile stone.



Qwark said:
VideoGameAccountant said:

To add some context, the Switch isn't doing bad in the other regions (not US and Japan). When compared to the 3DS, the Switch is up life to date. Historically, Nintendo has not done well in Europe as the company never gained a foothold there (Sega did better in Europe, for instance). The DS actually did really well in Europe and other regions (it sold worse in the US IIRC). At the same time, the Switch may be like the DS and have a surge starting in the second year (which is possible as numerous Japanese third parties are pledging exclusives for the Switch and the system has been able to get a lot of software). 

As an aside, I would look at the number of games being released on the Switch. We are over 200 now (for a system that launched with 6-7). The second year will have a bigger pipeline

But we are not comparing the Switch to the 3DS (which will get outsold this year by the PS4) we are comparing the Switch with the PS4. As of now Switch sells decent in Europe,but the baseline needs to go to 65k in Europe to dominate the world market and beat the PS4. The Wii and the DS both did well in Europe and Nintendo needs numbers comparable to the Wii in Europe to actually beat the PS4 WW. The number of games (that matter for sales) released for Switch is still on the low side compared to the PS4. The line-up for PS4 games 2018 is very promising and third parties aren't very asleep either (except when it comes to Switch support). Now I am not saying Nintendo can't beat the PS4, although I give Sony the edge for now. But whether they will or not will for a huge part be decided by how well they do in Europe. 

The reason I compare it if that in their first full fiscal years, the PS4 and 3DS each shipped 14 million (3DS is to customers, but its irrelevant for this point). 

I don't think one region is a make or break. For instance, Sony does poorly in Japan compared to Nintendo's handhelds and the PS4 only has a 3 million lead over the XBox One in the US. Europe is Sony's major region for Sony, but Japan isn't. Conversely, Japan is a major region for Nintendo and not Sony. No one is saying Sony needs to dominate Japan in order to sell 100 million. Right now, the Switch is selling above the pace of the 3DS in "Other". SInce the Switch is projected to do as well as Sony did in it's first full fiscal year, I don't think the current European sales are that much of an issue. 

And of course, sales will likely improve in the next few years. I've made the comparisons to the DS because it followed a similar trajectory. It had a moderate first year and exploded in the second. The Switch is starting to get the pipeline of software it needs to do that.  Again, we don't know if that will happen, but the reports of Nintendo producing 25 million Switch units for 2018 speaks to that. 



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Lots of disagreement in here but I think 1 thing we can all agree on - the PS4 will sell more than the Switch.



Lawlight said:
Lots of disagreement in here but I think 1 thing we can all agree on - the PS4 will sell more than the Switch.

Depends, most likely but it isnt 100% yet. Many factors can happen



DonFerrari said:
AlfredoTurkey said:

..apart from different markets, eras and consumers.

So if you don't think any comparison between consoles is fair, what are you doing here in this thread and site?

I think comparing consoles of the same gen and relative launch window is fair but not different eras since there's too many variables. As for why I'm here? I am here for the conversations. It's not easy to find good video game message boards anymore.



If they had the same kind of lifespan, I could see the Switch selling more. But, it's hard to think of a scenario in which that will happen. Sony tends to support their consoles longer in general, and Nintendo is launching 3.5ish year into the gen anyway.



If nintendo doesn't release a 3DS replacement and supports the Switch for a long time (with new models that have better battery life and are cheaper) then I could see the Switch outselling the PS4, assuming they eventually release a PS5. But that's a lot of ifs, so I'll stick with PS4.



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