This is the Japan Console Showdown comparison thread for 2026.

It will be only for the Japan region, and will be the only sales thread from me, that will be updated weekly since the site is updating the worldwide numbers monthly instead of weekly. Just to clarify, my data is strictly adjusted with the VGChartz data. I fill up the data from Famitsu when it comes out, and when the given month data is out on VGChartz, I adjust that with those slightly different numbers. They are slightly different from the Famitsu ones, because there is 1 day difference in the weeks. That 1 day difference is there because the weeks are adjusted in order to be the same days they are with the NPD/Circana weeks (and Europe too). For that reason, the week ending January 4th from Famitsu, is actually ending January 3rd, when aligned with NPD/Circana. VGChartz will have that week for December, and that's why that week will be counted towards 2025 (and be added to my 2025 thread too), therefore this thread starts with the week ending January 11th from Famitsu. However in the end, all of this evens out pretty much, because the first week of the next year from Famitsu is added to this one, just like last year, where the first week of this year was added back to 2025.

The battles are as follows:

• Switch 2 vs Switch 1 2018 (3.5M)
• Nintendo Switch 1 vs DS 2011 (640K)
  
• PlayStation 5 vs Wii U 2014 (590K)

For comparisons worldwide you can check the Ultimate Consoles Showdown 2026 thread, or the Lifetime ones for Worldwide and Regional which are all updated monthly. You want to see how a console compares to it's previous years ? Year on Year Charts Showdown thread is the place.

The target for all of the comparisons is to be as close as possible and to give us better perspective where the given console is going this year and having good chance of finishing close in the end. Therefore if some of the contenders go way too far one from another then, the contender's year, or even the contender itself may change, so that it suits better to the given console's performance. Other thing is also I would not repeat main competitor (on the tables) from the year prior, so even if it's a good fit, I would always look for a different one, so it's always new, fresh and interesting.

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NSW 2018 vs Switch 2 Comparison

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Nintendo DS 2011 vs Switch 1 Comparison

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Wii U 2014 vs PlayStation 5 Comparison

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Following.
Also, gotta shout you out for calling Switch 1's Famitsu numbers dead on last year. Iirc you got 1.5M all the way back in January.

in my prediction
NS2 5.1M
PS5 550k
NS 480k

Seeing the Switch 2's first full year will be fun. After learning that stock for it still hasn't quite fully fulfilled demand in Japan yet it'll likely do better there this year than I was expecting a couple weeks ago but I'll stick to my 4m prediction since it's still early enough that I wanna commit to that for now. The Switch 1 I expect around 500k and the PS5 around 600k.

In Japan, if it's not a handheld, it has no chance to come out on top or anywhere close, and it's been that way for years.

Bump
Nintendo Switch 1 73k for the the first thee week of this year.

Is the reason of comparison among NS1 nd NDS because of 657k figure were its last year sales, (the 8th) regardless if NS will outlast another extra year?

I didn't got your question. DS's had 2 years of selling after that 646k year of sales in Japan.

Yeah, I mean with the time frame of both aligned.

Sorry, i don't know how to word it better. 

NS has outlasted it.

Also, i suggest you to tweak a bit the title. 

I feel Most members don't get what is about and it's an interesting battle. 

If you've read the information in the original post, where I explain why my comparisons are the way they are you will find out.

My target is the closest possible battle, with which by the way it's not only interesting to watch, but everyone can get idea of how the given console might finish the year in the end and therefore be easy for everyone to make predictions. Because of this, I don't follow rules as generations, console makers or whatever. Of course if it's possible I will put contender that is the same type or manufacturer. But If not, I don't put such borders, and sometime I go out of the way with that, such as comparing last year's Switch performance with the PS3's one from 2010 of 1.5M year. In the perfect case scenario, I would put another competitor, which finishes at 1M, but has the same pace as the DS had for the given year - a way higher in the start but flattens more and more when we go near the end of the year, since the Switch pace should be similar (maybe not flat in the end, but the start of the year will be for sure way stronger, since that is the typical performance of dying console), but I didn't find such. If you can point me one, I will review it and put it in the chart.

Also whoever is interested in the thread can enter and read what is all about. Most people knows by this time, since I am making them each year since 2021. And the title has always been the same (except in the beginning until I figure out this one). There is no need to change that 5 years later.

Yeah, I just noticed the other one.

A great shift between just 3 years and half for our community then..

Are late predictions acceptable? 😜