The Nintendo Switch is trailing PS2 sales by just 1.1 million units in the USA, while Xbox Series consoles are approaching Xbox 360 sales.
Matt Piscatella, Executive Director and Video Game Industry Advisor at Circana (NPD), took to Twitter/X to respond to the doom and gloom surrounding the console market. He assured that the console market isn’t doomed, and offered sales stats to back his claim.
Piscatella revealed that, In the US, the Nintendo Switch is only 1.1 million units behind the PS2 in terms of lifetime sales. Furthermore, he mentioned that the PS5 is still 7% ahead of PS4 in terms of Life To Date sales. Even the Xbox Series consoles, despite the platform’s known challenges, are holding close to the Xbox 360 Life To Date pace. He also confirmed that the Xbox Series consoles have passed the original Xbox’s lifetime sales.
It’s worth remembering that these stats are only for the USA, and the PS2 has a bigger lead over the Nintendo Switch in terms of global sales. That said, it’s still highly impressive that Nintendo’s hybrid console/handheld is on the verge of surpassing the PS2 in the biggest gaming market.
As the Switch nears the end of its lifecycle, Nintendo is preparing to launch its successor. Previously, a report from Nikkei had stated that the console maker has prioritized streamlining the initial sales of the Nintendo Switch 2, and giving more time to game developers to create popular first party launch titles. It also mentioned that Nintendo will attempt to expand sales of the Switch successor, by aligning marketing for its popular intellectual properties across mediums, including its games and movies. According to the report, Nintendo Switch launched in 2017 with an insufficient initial shipment, resulting in shortage and widespread reselling. There was also a shortage of software for the new console, with only three Nintendo-developed titles. As per Nikkei, these are obstacles that the company is aiming to avoid with the Switch 2 launch.
