Switch vs PS4 – VGChartz Gap Charts – October 2019 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 18 November 2019 / 4,538 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. PS4 Global:
Gap change in latest month: 330,761 – Switch
Gap change over last 12 months: 1,794,077 – Switch
Total Lead: 641,721 – PS4
Switch Total Sales: 40,736,064
PS4 Total Sales: 41,377,785
October 2019 is the 32nd month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month the gap grew in favor of the Switch by 330,761 units when compared to the PlayStation 4 during the same timeframe. In the last 12 months the Switch has outsold the PlayStation 4 by 1.79 million units. The PlayStation 4 is currently ahead of the Switch by 641,721 units.
The PlayStation 4 launched in November 2013, while the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. The Switch has sold 40.74 million units, while the PlayStation 4 sold 41.38 million units during the same timeframe.
The 32nd month on sale for the Nintendo Switch is October 2019, while for the PlayStation 4 it is June 2016.
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.
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PS4 only has a 640k lead and we haven't even entered Nov-Dec yet. You can also compare month 32 and month 20 (12 months prior) to see that Switch is competing a lot better against the PS4 vs. the same time last year. There is a decent possibility that red Switch curve will cross above the blue PS4 curve and then they never cross back. Switch is in a very good position to take a permanent lead.
If Switch keeps up this uptick in momentum in the new year, then it may have built a lead as PS4 reaches it#s next holiday, so Switch stays atop. May be close though. We'll see.
I definitely think it will be close during the next several months, whether Switch takes a permanent lead or not. It basically needs to make it past month 38, which I believe is December for the PS4.
I can't really see the switch maintaining the lead permanently. Pokemon and Animal crossing will definitely keep it ahead for the next year, but I can't see the Switch being supported for as long as the PS4 was, in the wake of a new gen of consoles coming out.
Long term is a different question. I can see it as possible that Switch sprints ahead for now. Long term development depends on how the Switch stays afloat, once the next generation of competitors consoles are out (PS5 and Scarlett). So the interesting thing will be how momentum develops 2021. So far Switch is the home console experience on the go. With the new gen the understanding of home console experience may evolve. That may affect the sales, but Nintendo could reposition the Switch (which possibly already happened with the Lite), as a mobile console and the second half of it's life Switch follows the 3DS. If that transition happens, I can see Switch outselling Wii and PS4.
Now it will be really interesting if after it's next holiday season the PS4 will be able to regain the lead or not. Really a close duel so far.
Even though the PS4 has a slight lead over the Switch by less than 1 million after 32 months. The Switch's sales are likely better because the PS4 had 3 Holiday seasons over 32 months while the Switch only had 2 holiday seasons but the Switch is still barely behind the PS4, after the 2019 holiday season for the Switch occurs the Switch will probably have a pretty big lead on the PS4 in sales. Which is impressive since the PS4 is so far the fastest selling game system in history and the Switch is still more popular than it. I see the Switch surpassing 100 million cause of this.
Actually the Wii is the fastest selling game system in history until month 65. In month 32 the Wii has sold about 50M units, while the PS4 has sold about 42M.
This is neck and neck and let's face it, the Switch will power into the lead in the next couple of months. I do however doubt it can hold that lead long term. The PS4 has such long legs and still sells well to this day it will be hard to beat...
True, but once the PS5 and Xbox 2 come out Switch will by far be the cheaper option making it easy for people to purchase one as an impulse buy
