By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Global Lifetime Sales - March 2021

Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Global Lifetime Sales - March 2021 - Sales

by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 May 2021 / 4,709 Views

Welcome to the latest edition of the ‘Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Worldwide’ article. This series compares the monthly and lifetime retail sales of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Global Lifetime Sales - March 2021

Looking at the total sales of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch through March 2021 shows how the Switch has been consistently gaining on the lifetime PS4 sales and growing its lead over the Xbox One for well over a year now. The PS4 is ahead of the Switch by 32.4 million units and the Xbox One by 65.3 million units. The Switch is ahead of the Xbox One by 32.9 million

The PS4 is 3.38 million units away from outselling the Game Boy, which sold 118.69 million units lifetime. The Switch outsold the PSP in March and is 2.87 million units away from outselling the Xbox 360, which sold 85.80 million units lifetime.

The Switch passed the 82 million mark and the Xbox One the 50 million mark. The PS4 has sold 115.31 million units lifetime, the Switch 82.93 million units, and the Xbox One 50.00 million.

Looking at the marketshare, the PlayStation 4 currently leads. The PlayStation 4 has a 46.5 percent market share, the Switch sits at 33.4 percent, and the Xbox One at 20.1 percent.

PlayStation 4 Total Sales: 115,308,087

Switch Total Sales: 82,927,448

Xbox One Total Sales: 50,000,701

Switch vs PS4 vs Xbox One Global Lifetime Sales - March 2021

During the month of March 2021, the Switch outsold the PlayStation 4 by 2.35 million units for the month and the Xbox One by 2.46 million units. The PlayStation 4 outsold the Xbox One by 114,808 units.

When you compare monthly sales to a year ago, the Switch is up, while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are down. The Nintendo Switch is up 63,365 units (2.5%), the PlayStation 4 is down 695,034 units (-77.0%) and the Xbox One is down 297,457 units (-76.1%).

Looking at the marketshare, the Switch managed to achieve 89.4 percent of the monthly sales. The PlayStation 4 accounted for 7.3 percent of the consoles sold, and the Xbox One 3.3 percent.

PlayStation 4 Monthly Sales: 208,154

Switch Monthly Sales: 2,557,227

Xbox One Monthly Sales: 93,346

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One launched in November 2013, while the Switch launched three years and four months later in March 2017.

As a reminder, VGChartz tracks consoles sold to consumers and not units shipped.


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

10 Comments
Bofferbrauer2 (on 19 April 2021)

Dat Switch baseline tho

I'm not even sure I want to know how well it will sell when some big titles finally get announced for this year...

  • +6
Kakadu18 Bofferbrauer2 (on 19 April 2021)

Every year it's baseline was higher. Just crazy.

  • +3
Themarioguy Kakadu18 (on 21 April 2021)

I wonder if the PS5 will catch the Switch with a baseline like that? The Switch should be able to maintain its high baseline in 2022 and will probably decline to 20 million in 2023.

  • +1
Kakadu18 Themarioguy (on 21 April 2021)

The minimum I see the Switch end up at is 135 million and it has a good chance of selling up to or even over 160 million units. I don't see the PS5 ever reaching 130 million.

  • 0
Ninhut (on 19 April 2021)

At the end of next year, the Switch will overtake the Ps4

  • +5
SvenTheTurkey Ninhut (on 19 April 2021)

Probably before that. Mid 2022. Should only be 12 million or so away by the end of this year.

  • +1
xMetroid (on 19 April 2021)

I keep expecting Switch do go on a downward trend but it keep increasing. We really thought 2019 was going to be the peak at one point, hilarious

  • +1
Agente42 xMetroid (on 19 April 2021)

we who? Nintendo unified the handheld division and console division. Worst case scenario is 3DS +Wiiu, and the best case scenario is near DS + Wii with adjustment, without the same person who buy the two(140-160).

  • +3
xMetroid Agente42 (on 19 April 2021)

Literally most people, sales were down Jan 2020 from the year before and feb too i think. Y'all scams for liking this lol

  • +1
eddy7eddy xMetroid (on 19 April 2021)

Yeah haha, most people use to say 2019 would be Switch best Year. But he is right about total sales.

  • +4