By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Sales Discussion - Global Hardware June 27-July 3 - Switch Sales Top 88 Million

TheWalrusCaesar said:

This is a rly interesting time bcuz I rly cannot tell. Xbox Series X & S are much easier to find rn so Idk if its actually the more valued one in the US rn or if its just bcuz of lack of PS5s here

It’s stock. Both consoles sell out quickly in the US. Right now Xbox is sending more stock. 



Around the Network
SKMBlake said:

I guess Switch shippments by 30 June are about 90 million, which is insane. We'll see in 2 weeks.

But that mean, 10+ million being guaratee for the holiday quarter, 100 million is already confirmed for 2021.

So in 2 weeks the PS5 will be the only last-gen console being tracked in Japan?



Jumpin said:

Well, I guess the whole "Switch is only up yoy in 2020 because of COVID" theory has been disproven

Not necessarily. Changes to society and spending patterns didn't stop 12/31/20. People are still vacationing less than they used to, still working from home in industries that can do it, and therefore still more likely to buy smaller entertainment purchases (rather than Disney World trips). The bigger question is if and when that bump will go away. I'm thinking, to a degree, there will be a permanent shift in smaller purchase entertainment (such as video games) going forward because of COVID.



trunkswd said:
Dulfite said:

So in 2 weeks the PS5 will be the only last-gen console being tracked in Japan?

I assume you mean PS4? It is only the Xbox One I will stop tracking in Japan. 3DS is just outside of Japan we will stock tracking, while we will keep reporting numbers out of Japan. At least while Famitsu does. 

Or did I? ;)



Dulfite said:
Jumpin said:

Well, I guess the whole "Switch is only up yoy in 2020 because of COVID" theory has been disproven

Not necessarily. Changes to society and spending patterns didn't stop 12/31/20. People are still vacationing less than they used to, still working from home in industries that can do it, and therefore still more likely to buy smaller entertainment purchases (rather than Disney World trips). The bigger question is if and when that bump will go away. I'm thinking, to a degree, there will be a permanent shift in smaller purchase entertainment (such as video games) going forward because of COVID.

This. Switch sales went through the roof due to COVID and we’re still seeing the effects of Covid (wfh, stimulus etc).



Around the Network
jason1637 said:
Dulfite said:

Not necessarily. Changes to society and spending patterns didn't stop 12/31/20. People are still vacationing less than they used to, still working from home in industries that can do it, and therefore still more likely to buy smaller entertainment purchases (rather than Disney World trips). The bigger question is if and when that bump will go away. I'm thinking, to a degree, there will be a permanent shift in smaller purchase entertainment (such as video games) going forward because of COVID.

This. Switch sales went through the roof due to COVID and we’re still seeing the effects of Covid (wfh, stimulus etc).

I think the word a lot of people are overlooking in  Jumpin's post is "only".

Covid was obviously a factor, but it was not the only one. Switch also got its biggest killer app in 2020, Animal Crossing, which became a pop culture phenomenon and opened up the console to a whole new audience who wouldn't have bought one for Mario or Zelda or Smash.



curl-6 said:
jason1637 said:

This. Switch sales went through the roof due to COVID and we’re still seeing the effects of Covid (wfh, stimulus etc).

I think the word a lot of people are overlooking in  Jumpin's post is "only".

Covid was obviously a factor, but it was not the only one. Switch also got its biggest killer app in 2020, Animal Crossing, which became a pop culture phenomenon and opened up the console to a whole new audience who wouldn't have bought one for Mario or Zelda or Smash.

Animal crossing came out at the same time lockdowns happened. It just happened to be the killer app people got with the Switch due to Covid. 



jason1637 said:
curl-6 said:

I think the word a lot of people are overlooking in  Jumpin's post is "only".

Covid was obviously a factor, but it was not the only one. Switch also got its biggest killer app in 2020, Animal Crossing, which became a pop culture phenomenon and opened up the console to a whole new audience who wouldn't have bought one for Mario or Zelda or Smash.

Animal crossing came out at the same time lockdowns happened. It just happened to be the killer app people got with the Switch due to Covid. 

It would have been a huge killer app with or without covid. It broadened the system's appeal to a huge untapped audience and greatly increased Switch's appeal to women and casuals.



Dulfite said:
Jumpin said:

Well, I guess the whole "Switch is only up yoy in 2020 because of COVID" theory has been disproven

Not necessarily. Changes to society and spending patterns didn't stop 12/31/20. People are still vacationing less than they used to, still working from home in industries that can do it, and therefore still more likely to buy smaller entertainment purchases (rather than Disney World trips). The bigger question is if and when that bump will go away. I'm thinking, to a degree, there will be a permanent shift in smaller purchase entertainment (such as video games) going forward because of COVID.

That doesn't explain why Switch was already up year over year in January or February 2020 over 2019. Or how a killer app like Animal Crossing wouldn't have pushed 2020 over 2019. What makes you think the 2020 baseline would have fallen below 2019? Now that the Animal Crossing bump is on its way down, we see that 2021's baseline is also up over 2020's, how do you explain that? Is there some kind of dark COVID energy causing sales acceleration after the initial inflation period?

Or perhaps there are other things that would have kept Switch momentum on the upswing without COVID. Apart from its killer apps (like Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8D, and Animal Crossing New Horizons), Switch's hybrid form factor offers new types of exposure to potential consumers that extends the Switch's selling period past that of a handheld or a home console. Then of course, the high volume of releases, this week alone has about 40. That would have been even higher if COVID hadn't had been a factor.

What makes you think that without COVID Switch would be down year over year, what's your evidence for that? Because it's certainly wasn't trending that way, before or after COVID.



I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.

Jumpin said:
Dulfite said:

Not necessarily. Changes to society and spending patterns didn't stop 12/31/20. People are still vacationing less than they used to, still working from home in industries that can do it, and therefore still more likely to buy smaller entertainment purchases (rather than Disney World trips). The bigger question is if and when that bump will go away. I'm thinking, to a degree, there will be a permanent shift in smaller purchase entertainment (such as video games) going forward because of COVID.

That doesn't explain why Switch was already up year over year in January or February 2020 over 2019. Or how a killer app like Animal Crossing wouldn't have pushed 2020 over 2019. What makes you think the 2020 baseline would have fallen below 2019? Now that the Animal Crossing bump is on its way down, we see that 2021's baseline is also up over 2020's, how do you explain that? Is there some kind of dark COVID energy causing sales acceleration after the initial inflation period?

Or perhaps there are other things that would have kept Switch momentum on the upswing without COVID. Apart from its killer apps (like Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8D, and Animal Crossing New Horizons), Switch's hybrid form factor offers new types of exposure to potential consumers that extends the Switch's selling period past that of a handheld or a home console. Then of course, the high volume of releases, this week alone has about 40. That would have been even higher if COVID hadn't had been a factor.

What makes you think that without COVID Switch would be down year over year, what's your evidence for that? Because it's certainly wasn't trending that way, before or after COVID.

Weren't there officially reported cases in China back in November of 2019? And I know places in the USA, before we even were thinking Covid, had a high amount of people with worse-than-normal-flu conditions, such as Arkansas, also dating back to November 2019 I believe.

Anyway, my point is that there were probably a decent amount of people that saw the writing on the wall and began isolating more even back to November/December 2019, let alone January/February 2020. Certainly as we got more shut down that helped more for sales, but there were people freaking out about the virus well before the CDC and governments started, and freaked out people staying home a lot more need things to do to keep their sanity.