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Nintendo Switch is the most popular gaming console of all time

yurinka

yurinka

Member
KingGhidorah said:
Basically it's based on how many units sold per years in production

www.digitaljournal.com

Console wars concluded? Nintendo Switch is the most popular of all-time - Digital Journal

Switch has sold over 90 million units in just four years of production - is it number one?
www.digitaljournal.com

Nintendo Switch: 90.5 millions
Years in prod: 4
Units sold per year: 22.6

no other console comes close

Console / Units sold / years in prod / average

Nintendo DS = 154.9 / 9 / 17.21
PlayStation 4 = 116.44 / 8 / 14.56
PlayStation 5 = 13.4 / 1 / 13.4
PlayStation 2 = 157.68 / 12 / 13.14
PlayStation 3 = 87.41 / 9 / 9.71
Wii = 101.64 / 11 / 9.24

A lot more consoles in the link
Click to expand...
The life cycle of all consoles makes a curve: start selling low and grow to reach a peak a few years after launch and after that starts decreasing during a longer tail until getting discontinued.

PS5 is still on its first year, so the amount of consoles sold per year is small compared to the other ones. All the legacy consoles included there, unlike Switch, included the long tail with smaller sales, which makes the averaga of consoles sold per year smaller.

The Switch it's just after its sales peak, so in a Nintendo fan's biased way it's in the best possible place to make this 'consoles sold per year' comparision.

The best unbiased way to compare them would be once all consoles get discontinued, which isn't the case of PS4, Switch and PS5. Or at least to compare a console to what the other consoles had sold when launch aligned, specially many years after launch. And if possible by years or at least by quarters to reduce the difference of how christmas period is aligned for each case.

teezzy said:
it's a console or a handheld when it's convenient for whoever is condemning or praising it.
Click to expand...
The reality is that it's both things and combined Nintendo's catalog, dev team effors and userbase in both areas.
 
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Cutty Flam

Cutty Flam

Member
Its ultimate form will be selling 50 million more units so that Mario Party Superstars can sell over 30 Million copies 🤝

Can’t wait for BOTW2 either
 
Z

zedinen

Member
PS4 is the largest dedicated video game platform of all time

Software Unit Sales (million)

1.PS4 1600+ (might reach 2 billion)
2.PS2 1537.0
3.PS3 999.4
4.PS1 962.0
5.NDS 948.74
6.Wii 921.85
7.NSW 681.00


NDS vs NSW (First Half)

NDS 11.70 M (14.8%) LTD 113.48 M
NSW 8.28M (33.9%) LTD 92.87 M






Japan (November)

2020 NSW 579,788
2021 NSW 468,135 (19.3%)


Market Reaction (Dec 3)

 
Deerock71

Deerock71

Member
hououinkyouma00 said:
That's completely subjective, and IMO nothing on the Switch compares to games like MGS2 and 3, Silent Hill 2 and 3, Gran Turismo 4, Persona 3 and 4, Fatal Frame 2, and many more.
Click to expand...
That's exactly my point, but it's also tough to argue anything is better on PS2 than The Witcher 3.
 
ethomaz

ethomaz

Banned
zedinen said:
PS4 is the largest dedicated video game platform of all time

Software Unit Sales (million)

1.PS4 1600+ (might reach 2 billion)
2.PS2 1537.0
3.PS3 999.4
4.PS1 962.0
5.NDS 948.74
6.Wii 921.85
7.NSW 681.00


NDS vs NSW (First Half)

NDS 11.70 M (14.8%) LTD 113.48 M
NSW 8.28M (33.9%) LTD 92.87 M






Japan (November)

2020 NSW 579,788
2021 NSW 468,135 (19.3%)


Market Reaction (Dec 3)
Click to expand...
Different market strategy.

Nintendo basically focus in first party games so most of it sales come from there with very small part being 3rd-party.

Sony focus in both 1st and 3rd-parties to the point that 3rd-party sales even surpasses 1st-party.

Without 3rd-party support Nintendo devices will never reach the software sales of PlayStation platforms but if you compare only 1st-party Nintendo sells more than Sony.
 
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KingGhidorah

KingGhidorah

Banned
yurinka said:
The life cycle of all consoles makes a curve: start selling low and grow to reach a peak a few years after launch and after that starts decreasing during a longer tail until getting discontinued.

PS5 is still on its first year, so the amount of consoles sold per year is small compared to the other ones. All the legacy consoles included there, unlike Switch, included the long tail with smaller sales, which makes the averaga of consoles sold per year smaller.

The Switch it's just after its sales peak, so in a Nintendo fan's biased way it's in the best possible place to make this 'consoles sold per year' comparision.

The best unbiased way to compare them would be once all consoles get discontinued, which isn't the case of PS4, Switch and PS5. Or at least to compare a console to what the other consoles had sold when launch aligned, specially many years after launch. And if possible by years or at least by quarters to reduce the difference of how christmas period is aligned for each case.


The reality is that it's both things and combined Nintendo's catalog, dev team effors and userbase in both areas.
Click to expand...

Even if we only compare peak years, the first 4 years, Switch is only trailing DS.....PS5 will not even compare, it's already trailing PS4 right now

 
Cutty Flam

Cutty Flam

Member
Pokémon selling 1.32 million in like four days in Japan. You aren’t wrong OP, Switch is a definitely a monster console with an outstanding library of games

I wouldn’t underestimate Sony though, especially if they implement a better version of GamePass for the PS5 anytime soon. Playing PS1 games alone is fully worth the subscription price imo, whatever they end up charging
 
F

Fully engaged

Member
ethomaz said:
Different market strategy.

Nintendo basically focus in first party games so most of it sales come from there with very small part being 3rd-party.

Sony focus in both 1st and 3rd-parties to the point that 3rd-party sales even surpasses 1st-party.

Without 3rd-party support Nintendo devices will never reach the software sales of PlayStation platforms but if you compare only 1st-party Nintendo sells more than Sony.
Click to expand...
It is not accurate anyway. Nintendo does not report digital sales of third party software. Sony does.
 
F

Fully engaged

Member
zedinen said:
PS4 is the largest dedicated video game platform of all time

Software Unit Sales (million)

1.PS4 1600+ (might reach 2 billion)
2.PS2 1537.0
3.PS3 999.4
4.PS1 962.0
5.NDS 948.74
6.Wii 921.85
7.NSW 681.00


NDS vs NSW (First Half)

NDS 11.70 M (14.8%) LTD 113.48 M
NSW 8.28M (33.9%) LTD 92.87 M






Japan (November)

2020 NSW 579,788
2021 NSW 468,135 (19.3%)


Market Reaction (Dec 3)
Click to expand...

Sony reports total software sales including every $1 game. Nintendo does not.
IR Information : Sales Data - Dedicated Video Game Sales Units (nintendo.co.jp)

You can see they only include the sales of "digital cards" not all software.

But They are probably still a way off the PS4.
 
yurinka

yurinka

Member
KingGhidorah said:
Even if we only compare peak years, the first 4 years, Switch is only trailing DS.....PS5 will not even compare, it's already trailing PS4 right now

Click to expand...
As refrence, the PS5 numbers are:
Q --- shipments --- cumulative
1 --- 4.5 --------------- 4.5 (top 1 were PS4 and PS5)
2 ---- 3.3 --------------- 7.8 (top 1 was PS5)
3 ---- 2.3 ---------------10.1 (top 1 was PS4)
4 ---- 3,3 ---------------13.4 (top 1 was Switch, in the list it has the Christmas quarter 1 position before the PS consoles)

Yes, as of now DS holds the record in hardware sales and if you only count home consoles (since Switch is both a portable and a home console), then Switch is temporally (due to how they have the Christmas period) holds the record because if PS5 achieves Sony's estimated numbers for this FY PS5 will be back to be the best selling console ever launch aligned being again ahead of PS4 and Switch. The lack of chips may prevent it to happen, but Sony said they secured enough resources to achieve their goal.

And obviusly demand is there to continue selling out the console in minutes. Clearly the chips shortage is preventing PS5 from selling a shit ton more. I assume once they solve the chips issue in 2023 or so PS5 sales will skyrocket destroying all previous records.

Regarding software sales, PS4 continues as the distant top 1.
 
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S0ULZB0URNE

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Bernd Lauert said:
You stole this cope from S0ULZB0URNE S0ULZB0URNE , at least give him credit.

The Switch is a console btw. The entire industry agrees.
Click to expand...
Portable gaming success is a non factor/issue to ME.
If switch is a portable or console I already discussed with my arguments and am not going down the road again at this time.

You do need to cope with me living rent free in your head though.
 
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Deerock71

Deerock71

Member
leo-j said:
The console has fallen behind DS LTD sales. Meaning during the same period of its life cycle switch is selling less than the DS.
Click to expand...
I'm hoping that's sarcasm and/or tongue-in-cheek; how many price cuts, bundles, and special editions had BOTH the DS and PS2 undergone at this point, nearly five years into their life cycle? It is hard to fathom what a Switch will do at permanent price cuts to 249 and, eventually, 199. Nintendo still holds those cards for when momentum slows down.
 
kyliethicc

kyliethicc

Member
Coolwhhip said:
popular
/ˈpɒpjʊlə/

adjective
adjective: popular

liked or admired by many people or by a particular person or group.

high quality GIF
Click to expand...
Most liked console of all time? Purely subjective.

OP claims sales / lifetime = popularity. That has no basis in fact. Its laughable.

A sale doesn't guarantee the user liked the hardware. Some people may buy it, find they dislike it over time, and sell it or stop using it. Sales don't show that. Judging popularity by units sold? Why not dollar sales? Higher dollars spent could indicate higher degree of popularity? Do we weight by world population at the time?

Sales figures are objective. Which hardware is liked the most is not. Its not quantifiable. Do we judge by quantity of people who like it? What meets the threshold of liking the hardware? How do we know someone liked the hardware? Do we judge by the strength or passion, the degree to which those who like, feel about it? Etc. Its like asking what are the most liked games? Who knows.
 
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O

Ozzie666

Member
Can we change it to 'Family' of devices, because the Lite vs OG/OLED are two different things and products. It's great for marketing and spin, but the original DS and PS2 still are the kings in their respective categories.

But good on Nintendo, they managed to capture and hold onto the WII level of hype.
 
Deerock71

Deerock71

Member
kyliethicc said:
Most liked console of all time? Purely subjective.

OP claims sales / lifetime = popularity. That has no basis in fact. Its laughable.

A sale doesn't guarantee the user liked the hardware. Some people may buy it, find they dislike it over time, and sell it or stop using it. Sales don't show that. Judging popularity by units sold? Why not dollar sales? Higher dollars spent could indicate higher degree of popularity? Do we weight by world population at the time?

Sales figures are objective. Which hardware is liked the most is not. Its not quantifiable. Do we judge by quantity of people who like it? What meets the threshold of liking the hardware? How do we know someone liked the hardware? Do we judge by the strength or passion, the degree to which those who like, feel about it? Etc. Its like asking what are the most liked games? Who knows.
Click to expand...
I think what triggered some folks was the "most popular" choice of words, for sure.
 
MrFunSocks

MrFunSocks

Banned
DenchDeckard said:
Why do people get so upset over Nintendo?
they literally invented a lot of this shit and everyone’s copied them from day dot. Let them live lol.
Click to expand...
7 years of crowing about the BEAST that was the PS4 sales numbers every month, only to have it be absolutely obliterated by the Switch, the console most on here said would absolutely bomb, in like 2 years less time will do that.

Ozzie666 said:
Can we change it to 'Family' of devices, because the Lite vs OG/OLED are two different things and products. It's great for marketing and spin, but the original DS and PS2 still are the kings in their respective categories.

But good on Nintendo, they managed to capture and hold onto the WII level of hype.
Click to expand...
lol are you serious? The PS2 had like 4 different revisions lol. The original PS2 didn't sell even close to 100 million units. The super cheap PS2 Slim and Super Slim were the ones that shifted the most units. They sold like over 50 million of those after the PS3 had released lol.
 
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Kenpachii

Kenpachii

Member
Joelenheimer said:
...a $300 handheld that has never gone down in price
Click to expand...

Pretty sure they have a cheaper lite version, that can't even connect towards a TV. people pretending its a console just to throw numbers around that don't make much sense is just on them.

The legit comparison would be handheld for this very reason.

And if u do want to place it in handheld + console category, then u can cut the number in half while at it.
 
O

Ozzie666

Member
MrFunSocks said:
7 years of crowing about the BEAST that was the PS4 sales numbers every month, only to have it be absolutely obliterated by the Switch, the console most on here said would absolutely bomb, in like 2 years less time will do that.


lol are you serious? The PS4 had like 4 different revisions lol. The original PS2 didn't sell even close to 100 million units. The super cheap PS2 Slim and Super Slim were the ones that shifted the most units. They sold like over 50 million of those after the PS3 had released lol.
Click to expand...

Ps2 had the same features across the board, from what I recall? I don't really care how much any of the revisions they sold, my point was it was the same hardware.

Just to be clear, I am not against Switch or it's success, complete opposite. The Switch Lite taints things in terms of sales, as it doesn't fall into the Switch concept. At the end of the day, it's a beast, either way. With Nintendo's 3DS history, it's bound to keep happening.

We will see what the next Switch revision does or doesn't do, if it fractures the system and separates the market. But it's definitely turning into a line of systems, or a Family more than the PS2, that's for sure. I find it silly to lump Ps4 and Ps4 pro together, to me, they are different. But, there were no official exclusive games for the Pro.
 
M

MrA

Member
richyque said:
I would love to know how much the very cheap handheld only switch is padding these numbers, im sure its about half.
Click to expand...
Switch lite is about 20% of units.
zedinen said:
PS4 is the largest dedicated video game platform of all time

Software Unit Sales (million)

1.PS4 1600+ (might reach 2 billion)
2.PS2 1537.0
3.PS3 999.4
4.PS1 962.0
5.NDS 948.74
6.Wii 921.85
7.NSW 681.00


NDS vs NSW (First Half)

NDS 11.70 M (14.8%) LTD 113.48 M
NSW 8.28M (33.9%) LTD 92.87 M






Japan (November)

2020 NSW 579,788
2021 NSW 468,135 (19.3%)


Market Reaction (Dec 3)
Click to expand...
Switch software doesn't include download only games, unfortunately that creates a huge unknown
Also worth mentioning the ps4 was basically even for software with the switch after 4.5 years

Also for most popular console of all time, we all know that's dendy, in all seriousness how many famiclones have been sold over the years?
 
M

MrA

Member
ethomaz said:
Let’s hope nVidia shows anything Tegra related in the future to that happen.

Right now there is nothing to do even think in a Switch Pro.
Click to expand...
In theory orin should be able to hit ps4 or better performance and an atlan system would be nuts but will nvidia play ball now that they have smarts cars as a market is the question.
 
Hezekiah

Hezekiah

Member
MrFunSocks said:
7 years of crowing about the BEAST that was the PS4 sales numbers every month, only to have it be absolutely obliterated by the Switch, the console most on here said would absolutely bomb, in like 2 years less time will do that.
Click to expand...
Funny how this individual constantly complains about warring then posts this - on multiple occasions no less 😅.
 
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