Welcome everyone to the VGChartz Gap Charts March 2021 Discussion Thread. This thread is a place for everyone to discuss the latest VGChartz Gap Charts articles for the month of March 2021. 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
• May 2020
• June 2020
• July 2020
• August 2020
• September 2020
• October 2020
• November 2020
• December 2020
• January 2021
• February 2021

You can read the complete first article and analysis here:

Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Global Lifetime Sales - March 2021

Welcome to the latest edition of the ‘Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Worldwide’ article. This series compares the monthly and lifetime retail sales of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Looking at the total sales of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch through March 2021 shows how the Switch has been consistently gaining on the lifetime PS4 sales and growing its lead over the Xbox One for well over a year now. The PS4 is ahead of the Switch by 32.4 million units and the Xbox One by 65.3 million units. The Switch is ahead of the Xbox One by 32.9 million

The PS4 is 3.38 million units away from outselling the Game Boy, which sold 118.69 million units lifetime. The Switch outsold the PSP in March and is 2.87 million units away from outselling the Xbox 360, which sold 85.80 million units lifetime.

The Switch passed the 82 million mark and the Xbox One the 50 million mark. The PS4 has sold 115.31 million units lifetime, the Switch 82.93 million units, and the Xbox One 50.00 million.

Looking at the marketshare, the PlayStation 4 currently leads. The PlayStation 4 has a 46.5 percent market share, the Switch sits at 33.4 percent, and the Xbox One at 20.1 percent.

PlayStation 4 Total Sales: 115,308,087

Switch Total Sales: 82,927,448

Xbox One Total Sales: 50,000,701

During the month of March 2021, the Switch outsold the PlayStation 4 by 2.35 million units for the month and the Xbox One by 2.46 million units. The PlayStation 4 outsold the Xbox One by 114,808 units.

When you compare monthly sales to a year ago, the Switch is up, while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are down. The Nintendo Switch is up 63,365 units (2.5%), the PlayStation 4 is down 695,034 units (-77.0%) and the Xbox One is down 297,457 units (-76.1%).

Looking at the marketshare, the Switch managed to achieve 89.4 percent of the monthly sales. The PlayStation 4 accounted for 7.3 percent of the consoles sold, and the Xbox One 3.3 percent.

PlayStation 4 Monthly Sales: 208,154

Switch Monthly Sales: 2,557,227

Xbox One Monthly Sales: 93,346

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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Switch vs Wii Sales Comparison - March 2021

This monthly series compares the aligned worldwide sales of the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Wii.

Switch Vs. Wii Global:

Gap change in latest month: 231,249 - Switch

Gap change over last 12 months: 10,146,132 - Switch

Total Lead: 6,736,869 - Switch

Switch Total Sales: 82,927,448

Wii Total Sales: 76,190,579

March 2021 is the 49th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the Switch has grown its lead by 231,249 units when compared to the launch aligned sales of the Wii. In the last 12 months, the Switch has outsold the Wii by 10.15 million units. The Switch is currently ahead of the Wii by 6.74 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 49th month for the Nintendo Switch is February and for the Wii it is November 2010. The Switch has sold 82.93 million units, while the Wii sold 76.19 million units during the same timeframe. The Wii sold current Switch sales in month 51.

The Wii sold 101.63 million units worldwide during its lifetime. The Switch needs to sell another 18.70 million units to outsell the Wii.

Wow, the Switch outsold the Wii this month and it was a November for the Wii. I think Switch is going to always be ahead of the Wii going forward.

Yep, Switch is now ahead of where Wii was at the end of its last big holiday, which is insane considering the former's numbers are for March.

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Switch vs DS Sales Comparison - March 2021

This monthly series compares the aligned worldwide sales of the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo DS.

Switch Vs. DS Global:

Gap change in latest month: 1,371,145 - DS

Gap change over last 12 months: 244,016 - DS

Total Lead: 2,740,022 - DS

Switch Total Sales: 82,927,448

DS Total Sales: 85,667,470

March 2021 is the 49th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the DS by 1.37 million units when compared to the Switch during the same timeframe. In the last 12 months, the DS has outsold the Switch by 244,016 units. The DS is ahead of the Switch by 2.74 million units.

The DS launched in November 2004 in North America, December 2004 in Japan, and March 2005 in Europe, while the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. Therefore, the holiday periods for the two consoles do not lineup, which is why there are big increases and decreases.

The 49th month on sale for the Nintendo Switch is March 2021, while for the DS it is November 2008. The Switch has sold 82.93 million units, while the DS sold 85.67 million units during the same timeframe.

The Nintendo DS sold 154.02 million units lifetime. The Nintendo Switch is currently 71.19 million units behind the lifetime sales of the DS.

This is November for DS, so it is understandable that Switch lost some ground.  It will be interesting to see how they compare 2 months from now.

Next month NDS will be at ~93.4 million units. Seems the lead then will be bigger than ever before.

A month later NDS is at ~95 million units.

Month 54 NDS will cross 100 million, which is August 2021 for NSW.

Yes next month the gap will be ~8 million again, Switch will probably gain 500k-1mil the 2 months after that, then probably hold steady while they both go through non-holiday period.

DS is a tough nut to crack for sure, but month 50 is the end of its peak period, and Switch is just about keeping up with it (only 244k down past 12 months).

You mention DS will cross 100 million in month 54, but Switch won't be too far behind as it might pass 100m in November which is its month 57, and if it doesnt quite manage it in November it will blow past it in month 58 & probably be within 1m of DS again. If Switch can hold some momentum into 2022 then it might be able to mitigate DS's last big holiday (month 61&62 aka this time next year) so the gap never gets back to 8 million.

Just keeping within spitting distance of the second highest selling gaming system of all time is a hell of a feat.

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PS4 and Xbox One vs PS3 and Xbox 360 Sales Comparison - March 2021

This monthly series compares the combined aligned sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with the combined aligned sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Gap change in latest month: 626,965 - PS3 & X360

Gap change over last 12 months: 7,760,350 - PS3 & X360

Total Lead: 5,487,273 - PS4 & XOne

Total Combined PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Sales: 159,821,515

Total Combined PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Sales: 165,308,788

In March  2021, the gap grew in favor of the combined sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 when compared to the aligned launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the last month by 626,965 units. In the last 12 months, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have caught up by 7.76 million units. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One lead by a combined 5.49 million units.

The 89th month for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is March 2021, while for the Xbox 360 it is March 2013 and for the PlayStation 3 it is March 2014. This does mean the holiday periods for all four consoles are lined up.

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in their first 89 months sold a combined 159.82 million units, while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have sold a combined 165.31 million units. It took until month 98 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 to sell as many units as the current PS4 and Xbox One sales.

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sold a combined 173.22 million units lifetime. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are currently 7.91 million units away from surpassing the PS3 and X360.