7th Gen vs 8th Gen - Aligned Sales Comparison - December 2014 Update - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 18 January 2015 / 9,410 Views
Welcome to a series of monthly articles. This series will be comparing combined aligned sales of the 7th generation platforms with the 8th generation platforms. The two charts compare the home consoles, as well as handhelds.
This first chart is comparing aligned home console sales between the 7th and 8th generations. That is the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii combined sales aligned, versus the combined aligned sales of the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Wii U.
The 8th generation has struggled to keep up with the 7th generation. However, December was a good month and the gap did shrink by nearly 600,000 units. The poor Wii U sales compared to the Wii is the reason the 8th gen is behind.
The 7th generation handhelds in its first 14 months have sold 38.14 million units, while the 8th generation has sold 34.79 million units. The gap shrink by 577,922 units in favor of the 8th generation and the 7th gen currently leads by 3.36 million units.
7th Generation Total Combined Home Console Sales: 38,143,887
8th Generation Total Combined Home Console Sales: 34,785,593
Total Lead: 3,358,294 – 7th Generation
This second chart is comparing aligned handheld sales between the 7th and 8th generations. That is the DS and PSP combined sales aligned, versus the combined aligned sales of the 3DS and PlayStation Vita.
The gap between the two generation of handhelds has grown in favor of the 7th generation almost every month since the 11th month. Handheld sales have continued to plummet compared to the previous generation.
The 7th generation handhelds in its first 37 month have sold 88,723,676 million units, while the 8th generation has sold 51.15 million units. The 7th generation grew its lead by 5,171,342 units and currently leads by 37.58 million units.
7th Generation Total Combined Handheld Sales: 88,723,676
8th Generation Total Combined Handheld Sales: 51,146,933
Total Lead: 37,576,743 – 7th Generation
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A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. Outside, in the real world, he has a passion for the outdoors which includes everything from hiking to having received his B.A. in Environmental Studies. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Some people may find this startling, but I honestly think it was inevitable. The seventh gen didn't grow due to a growing gamer demographic but rather due to the interests of a neighboring demographic, which has since moved on to other devices. The sheer rate of growth should have clued people in. I mean, we jumped from ~200mil to ~260mil in consoles and from ~80mil to ~220mil in handhelds. Both of those are absurd leaps that scream unnatural growth rates.
Wii U and Vita are doing poorly compared to their successful predeccessors
Making comparisons like that seem pointless to me. Gen 7 will be in favor because Nintendo lost its casual audience, some people might look at it and claim "consulz is the dying!" while the traditional market has never been stronger with PS4 and Xbone.
The handheld market has a steeper curve and much more negative than positive values.
The console market is also declining but for the first time and in regards to a generation that has appealed to a broader audience (with the Wii).
