Switch vs 3DS – VGChartz Gap Charts – August 2019 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 24 September 2019 / 3,463 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: 375,674 - Switch
Gap change over last 12 months: 4,694,989 - Switch
Total Lead: 5,857,878 – Switch
Switch Total Sales: 37,200,939
3DS Total Sales: 31,343,061
August 2019 is the 30th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month the gap grew in favor of the Switch by 375,674 units when compared to the 3DS during the same timeframe and by 5.86 million units in favor of the Switch in the last 12 months. The Switch is currently ahead of the 3DS by 5.86 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), while the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. The Switch has sold 37.20 million units, while the 3DS sold 31.34 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
Well, Switch has clearly the better momentum, and things will not get better for 3DS with the Switch Lite and Pokemon releasing. So at this point I don't believe Switch will ever fall back behind 3DS again, which means Switch will reach at least about 80M lifetime, probably more.
Now with the Lite coming out, the real slaughtering will begin
Next year is when the biggest gap is going to happen. 2014 vs 2020. In 2014 3DS only sold 9.7m, it was this year that the 3DS had a big drop off. While I actually expect 2020 to be the Switch's peak year. The gap will widen by over 10m in 2020. When all is said and done the Switch will have a lead of 35m over the 3DS. (110m LTD sales).
Crazy that Nintendo managed to sell almost 80 million 3DS tbh, it really needed several huge marketing push while Switch has been getting distant by 6 million already with no help. Now that they are pushing it harder, like honestly i can't see it not breaking the 100 million copies.
Never understood those who even until quite recently insisted Switch would sell on par with 3DS
Switch is half of the 3DS total install base already. That's kinda crazy
3DS had to receive a very significant price cut to get to those numbers. Switch probably won't get one at least until Holiday 2020, and even then it'll likely just be a pack in title. Depending on where Microsoft and Sony position their price points there might not be too much pressure even then to push much further.
With the 3DS they tried to sell a machine that cost them $100 to produce for $250, it's not surprising it needed a significant price cut to sell. Meanwhile the Switch has been priced appropriately. So I wouldn't hold the 3DS's price cut against it's sales.
"Following a teardown of Nintendo's new handheld machine and an analysis of the components therein, iSuppli has pegged the cost of manufacturing each 3DS, including packaging, at $103.25."
Obviously Switch will sell more than 3DS, it's just a matter of how much. At the rate the 3DS momentum went, and the way Switch momentum is going right now, I'm not so sure the current gap will ever stop increasing until the end of the Switch's life. 3DS had very good longevity for a Nintendo system, but really only has 2 good holidays left before its momentum stalls on the chart, and if Switch can keep going past that, that curve might only get steeper.
It was a close fight for 20 months, but the 3DS will be eating the Switch's dust from here on.
