Switch vs 3DS in Japan – VGChartz Gap Charts – January 2020 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 23 February 2020 / 3,236 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 Japan:
Gap change in latest month: 309,063 – 3DS
Gap change over last 12 months: 354,932 – 3DS
Total Lead: 2,873,744 – 3DS
Switch Total Sales: 12,027,627
3DS Total Sales: 14,901,371
January 2019 is the 35th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for in Japan. During the latest month the Switch closed the gap to the 3DS by 309,063 units. In the last 12 months, the 3DS has outsold the Switch by 354,932 units. The 3DS is currently ahead of the Switch by 2.87 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) and the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. The Switch in its first 35 months has sold 12.03 million units, while the 3DS sold 14.90 million units.
The 3DS has sold 24.59 million units lifetime in Japan through December 2019. The Switch is currently 12.56 million units behind the lifetime sales of the 3DS.
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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Kind of figure 3DS will win this comparison easily. While Switch is technically a portable, it’s not nearly as portable as 3DS, and the Japanese will always prefer the more mobile system.
3DS will still be ahead over the next two years. Long term it really depends on whether or not Switch sells better than 3DS later in the life cycle.
I think if switch gets animal Crossing and a legitimate monhun game, it can outsell 3ds. Right now, this is one of the closes races going on for the switch
I wonder why the Switch isn't keeping up with the 3DS in Japan, my theory is that more Japanese Players in 2020 are onto smartphone gaming more now more than in 2014 or maybe it's just that the 3DS was cheaper to begin with than the Switch, nearly half the price until the Switch Lite released.
3DS got the early big pricecut that helped it a lot early on. Without it, Switch would have been leading a long time by now.
Within the next 12 Month 3DS will sell about 3.1 million units, the 12 month after 2.2 million units, so in total 5.3 million units in 24 months. Its very likely the switch will catch up quite a bit. To surpass 3DS Switch needs about 8.2 million in 24 months. I dont think Switch will do these numbers, but the gap should be very small then unless something very strange happens.
