Sony’s PlayStation 4 became an instant blockbuster when it was released in November 2013. The PS4 was launched in time for the holiday shopping season, which helped it hit 10 million unit sales in just 8 months and 29 days. In contrast, Nintendo Switch launched in March, which is not the best time for console launches. The Switch is yet to reap the benefits of the Christmas shopping spree. Nevertheless, Nintendo has announced that Switch sales have topped ten million units.
Can Nintendo Switch outsell Sony’s PS4 in the long run?
It took Nintendo Switch just 9 months and 7 days to surpass the 10 million unit mark. That’s a little more than the time taken by PS4, but it’s still impressive. The success of Switch has more than made up for the mistakes Nintendo made with the Wii U, which sold only 13.5 million units in its lifetime. Nintendo of America COO Reggie Fils-Aime said in a statement that the consumer response had been great and the company was doing its best to meet the holiday demand.
Up until recently, Nintendo was struggling to produce enough units to meet the demand. The sales could have been even higher had Nintendo been able to make more units. The company has doubled its production. It was originally expecting to sell 10 million units during the first year of launch. Nintendo has revised its estimate to 14 million units by March 2018. The holiday season isn’t complete yet, so its goal looks realistic and achievable.
Nintendo is reportedly planning to produce 25-30 million Switch units in the next fiscal year (April 2018 to March 2019). It indicates that the Japanese company expects strong demand to continue through the second year of launch. Nintendo’s top-selling console of all time, the Wii, had also sold 10 million units in roughly nine months. It went on to sell 101 million units in its lifetime.
By comparison, the Wii U had taken 2 years and 7 months to sell 10 million units. Nintendo Switch is on track to outsell the Wii U’s lifetime sales in its very first year. Before the Switch launch, industry experts did not have high expectations from the console because it was succeeding Wii U, one of the biggest flops in Nintendo’s history.
The PS4 has sold more than 70 million units worldwide since its launch. Can Nintendo Switch outsell the PS4 and Wii (101 million units) in the long run? It’s quite possible, says Forbes. Nintendo Switch is the most popular hybrid console with no rivals close behind. Sony has no plans to launch a hybrid console to take on the Switch. Also, Nintendo has an impressive lineup of first-party games that you’ll not find on other consoles.
Two factors behind Nintendo Switch’s runaway success
Two things that made the Switch so popular are its hybrid design and blockbuster exclusive titles. You can connect it to a TV for living room gameplay, or you could play it on the go. Data from Nintendo has shown that most people play in both modes. They don’t ignore one mode for another. It is a simple but well-executed concept that gamers have fallen in love with.
Nintendo launched The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with the Switch, and the game has been a runaway success. Almost every customer who bought the console also bought the Legend of Zelda. The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 kept the momentum going. Then came the Super Mario Odyssey that sold more than two million copies in just three days of launch.
The Super Mario Odyssey won the Best Family Game award at The Game Awards in Los Angeles, while the Legend of Zelda was named the Game of the Year. These titles are not available on other consoles. If you want to enjoy any of these games, you have to buy the Nintendo Switch. The Japanese company also has big plans for the next year to keep the momentum going.
The Switch will get the next Pokemon game in the coming months, which could be as big a sales driver as Mario or Zelda. Other titles coming to the Switch include Bayonetta, Kirby Star Allies, Bayonetta 2 as well as a new game in the Yoshi franchise. The upcoming third-party games include Runner 3 from Choice Provisions, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus from Bethesda, and Mega Man 11 from Capcom.
