Switch vs 3DS and Wii U – VGChartz Gap Charts – March 2019 Update - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 May 2019 / 4,148 Views
The VGChartz Gap charts are updated monthly and each article focuses on a different gap chart. The charts include comparisons between the 7th generation and 8th generation platforms, as well as comparisons within the 8th generation. All sales are worldwide, unless otherwise stated.
Switch Vs. 3DS Global:
Gap change in latest month: 33,826 – 3DS and Wii U
Gap change over last 12 months: 292,252 – Switch
Total Lead: 3,052,110 – 3DS and Wii U
Switch Total Sales: 32,937,511
3DS and Wii U Total Sales: 35,989,621
March 2019 is the 25th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month the gap grew in favor of the 3DS and Wii U by 33,826 units when compared to the Switch during the same timeframe. In the last 12 months the gap has grown in favor of the Switch by 292,252 units. The 3DS and Wii U is currently ahead of the Switch by 3.05 million units.
The 3DS launched in February 2011 (however, 3DS sales have been aligned to March 2011, since it only launched at the end of February in Japan), the Wii U launched in November 2012, and the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. The Switch has sold 32.94 million units, while the 3DS and Wii U have sold 35.99 million units during the same timeframe.
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. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
So, Switch is already selling on par with 3DS+Wii U despite 3DS still selling very well at that point? Doesn't look like they're going to be able to fend off the Switch for long anymore.
Impressive! Bravo switch!
It's all downhill for Wii U from here, and next year it'll be downhill for 3DS as well. At that point Switch will likely have well over 50 million and still have a year before it peaks.
And that's not even mentioning the pricecuts of 3DS and Wii U, while the Switch didn't have any permanent one, yet.
People believe that Switch won't sell more than 100m, because they haven't really thought about it in any sort of objective manner. The biggest mistake people make is they think Switch is a home console only. These people actually have no clue why the Switch is selling well, and they think the PS5 is somehow going to diminish Switch sales. When you think about Switch as a handheld, then 100m seems very reasonable.
Even the guy that made this chart doesn't really get it though. Analyzing Switch vs. 3DS + Vita makes a lot more sense than Switch vs. 3DS + Wii U. Switch vs. 3DS + Vita is actually analyzing the handheld market. This guy seems to be analyzing the "Nintendo" market. But there is no Nintendo market or Sony market or anything like that. That sort of analysis doesn't make sense for any generation. Analyzing the home market or handheld market...that actually makes sense.
The type of chart a person makes determines what kind of analysis you can do. Someone could make a Switch vs. Atari 2600 + Sega Game Gear chart, but it wouldn't be terribly helpful because that's just a bunch of random data thrown together. This chart is not much better. (At least the two consoles are from the same generation.)
Secondly, if these charts actually were doing a "comprehensive analysis", then there would also be a Switch vs. Vita + PS4 chart, and a Switch vs. Vita + 3DS + PS4 chart, and so on. But there is only a Switch vs. 3DS + Wii U chart. This suggests whoever makes this chart thinks this is the only valid comparison. Some people seem to think there is a "Nintendo market", that Nintendo only sells to the same people it sold to last generation. This thinking is nonsense. There is no "Nintendo market" or "Sony market". There is a home market and a handheld market. People can choose a different console going into a new generation.
They don't believe that the Switch will sell over 100M because they think sales will drop down like those of the Wii or the 3DS, that the console would be frontloaded, or that the next gen consoles would cut off the Switch's legs, neither of which seem logical to me.
About the chart here, I'd say they could throw in the Vita for good measure, since Sony doesn't bring out a successor to it. As such, the Switch is de facto a successor to all 3 of those devices.
