Switch vs DS Sales Comparison - March 2021 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 May 2021 / 3,976 Views
The VGChartz sales comparison series of articles are updated monthly and each one focuses on a different sales comparison using our estimated video game hardware figures. The charts include comparisons between the 7th generation and 8th generation platforms, as well as comparisons within the 8th generation. There are articles based on our worldwide estimates, as well as the US, Europe, and Japan.
This monthly series compares the aligned worldwide sales of the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo DS.
Switch Vs. DS Global:
Gap change in latest month: 1,371,145 - DS
Gap change over last 12 months: 244,016 - DS
Total Lead: 2,740,022 - DS
Switch Total Sales: 82,927,448
DS Total Sales: 85,667,470
March 2021 is the 49th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the DS by 1.37 million units when compared to the Switch during the same timeframe. In the last 12 months, the DS has outsold the Switch by 244,016 units. The DS is ahead of the Switch by 2.74 million units.
The DS launched in November 2004 in North America, December 2004 in Japan, and March 2005 in Europe, while the Nintendo Switch launched worldwide in March 2017. Therefore, the holiday periods for the two consoles do not lineup, which is why there are big increases and decreases.
The 49th month on sale for the Nintendo Switch is March 2021, while for the DS it is November 2008. The Switch has sold 82.93 million units, while the DS sold 85.67 million units during the same timeframe.
The Nintendo DS sold 154.02 million units lifetime. The Nintendo Switch is currently 71.19 million units behind the lifetime sales of the DS.
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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If the Switch continues along its trajectory then we might be looking at the best selling game console of all time. That's nuts.
Just depends on how long until the replacement. If it sells 25 million+ this year, even a 5 million decrease per year in subsequent years would nearly make it.
The odds are low, but the switch is shooting for around 135-140 million on the low end. So we'll have a better idea if it's possible by the end of 2021.
I hope switch ends up being the best in the end
DS will reach 100M first (in 6 months) and most likely be overtaken by Switch 3/4 months later, just to be overtaken by DS again 2 months after that. The tug of war of those two giants will be legendary.
And who ever thought this comparison would be happening 4 years ago?
I see Switch surpassing DS this Holiday for a few months, then DS going up again, after that we will se how strong Switch Legs are.
We are in the Middle of DS peak and Switch is still competitive AF.
All Switch has to do is not dropping like a rock the last years of sales and it'll become the biggest system of all time, having a slighlt disadvantage right now is fine.
I think the Switch will outlast the DS by a year but will still drop extremely quickly after that.
I think the Switch can permanently surpass the DS around month 70, December 2022 and not look back. Maybe even earlier.
I think it will continue to be competitive until the 2011 holiday seasons for the DS which will be in month 85.
It's really really going to depend on when the successor launches. I expect the switch 2 to be backwards compatible. So the current switch sales will dry up when the new one launches.
But 2025 is my guess for the replacement. So you'll probably be correct.
If it launches then it will have a similar lifecycle to the Xbox 360, I am guessing the drop will be close to the DS drop but will still be able to maintain the holiday seasons well which will let it surpass the DS in the 2011 holiday seasons when the DS stopped selling during holiday seasons.
To be honest, at this rate. I'm surprised it has not been compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360 combined. I made a video about it and it is extremely close.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udMTaw1eJfg
I just see them stopping production of the current switch very soon after the replacement. And especially if it's fully backwards compatible.
I expected this, thank you. I shared the article a lot.
Pretentious they are I believe those who can say which one will win.
Did you maybe mean presumptuous?
I thought pretentious was a correct English word here. But yours sounds better.
what games generated such a peak in sales for the DS during the next few weeks? Specifically 46 to 51.
Even though the Switch sales are amazing I don't think it can compete with the DS's.
Why is that ? Switch has only 71.2 millions units to sell to outsell the DS and still has yet to have a price cut for both of it's models + there is a revision on the way. Knowing it is currently outpacing last year, let's say it ends up performing around the same 28 million units, leaving like 46 millions units to be sold in 3-4 years. Let's say it has a big drop next year and ends up selling 20 millions, it would need to sell only 26 in 2-3 years. I honestly have little faith it won't become the best selling console of all time if Nintendo nails Botw 2, Metroid Prime 4, Bayo 3, the next Pokemon and Mario games and if the revision is well received to make sure it keeps a great momentum.
Yes, you're right, I guess it's not impossible. I would be happy if that happens because I love Nintendo.
Same, I feel like after this year we will know how likely it is to happen. Going from the Wii u to maybe the best selling console of all time is hilarious to me.
