PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S vs Switch Sales Comparison Charts Through May 15 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 28 May 2021 / 2,100 Views
Here we see data representing the global sales through to consumers and change in sales performance of the three current platforms (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch) and three legacy platforms (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo 3DS) over comparable periods for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Also shown is the market share for each of the consoles over the same periods.
Year to Date Sales Comparison (Same Periods Covered)
Market Share (Same Periods Covered)
2018 – (Week ending January 13 to May 19)
2019 – (Week ending January 12 to May 18)
2020 – (Week ending January 11 to May 16)
2021 – (Week ending January 9 to May 15)
"Year to date" sales for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 sales are shown in series at the top of the table and then just below a comparison of 2021 versus 2020 and 2021 versus 2019 is displayed. This provides an easy-to-view summary of all the data.
Total Sales and Market Share for Each Year
Microsoft
- Xbox One – Down Year-on-Year 1,140,150 (-75.5%)
- Xbox Series X|S – n/a
Nintendo
- Nintendo Switch - Up Year-on-Year 377,077 (4.6%)
- Nintendo 3DS – Down Year-on-Year 214,813 (-89.9%)
Sony
- PlayStation 4 – Down Year-on-Year 3,081,913 (-76.6%)
- PlayStation 5 – n/a
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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Boy, the Switch just keeps going up and up every year, when was the last time it was down YoY?
Before its release
And with it already being this far into the year, I can't see it slipping behind last year. Originally I thought it would not be able to keep up with the pandemic surge. It should match or beat last year though. 29-30 million.
It is up 4 percent this year vs. last year. I feel like people are reading different numbers than I am, even though it is right at the top in the chart. 4.6%. It is going up, but it definitely plateaued this year. If we could actually buy Xbox and PS it might not have increased this year.
But on the other hand, people are buying the new consoles. The ps5 is the fastest selling console at launch so far. 8 million is a lot already. 6 million for microsoft and Sony combined for the year. They're difficult to find, but this is the typical time for early adopters anyway.
So most people buying a ps5 or series now are not the same audience as current switch buyers regardless of scarcity. To clarify, the switch is in the mainstream phase of its life where the other consoles are in the enthusiasts phase.
You said you can't see it slipping behind last year, but it is only 4 percent ahead at the moment, hardly a large lead
It's a small lead, but the biggest hurdle has already been cleared. The only way I see it falling behind last year is if the sales really start dropping in the summer. If that were going to happen, I think it should have already started happening.
Originally I would have thought this was going to be a 25 million year for the switch due to the vaccine and people wanting to do things they couldn't do last year. However, the sales are not really dropping in the US, and places like Japan are still very slow with their vaccine rollout. Demand should stay high in Japan for the time being. And if the return to normalcy isn't affecting the sales much, it just seems like demand for video games in general will stay high this year.
So regardless of which system, I think demand is going to stay strong this year. More accurately, consumer electronics demand will likely stay high.
But you're right that it's plateaued. 29-30 million for the year at most compared to 28.8 or whatever last year. Just to be clear, I might have misspoke. It's definitely possible the switch could fall behind last year, but only by a very small margin. 28+ is the minimum which I would consider nearly the same as last year. I could see some better bundles for the holidays though which could buoy sales at the end of the year.
Allllllll that being said, a revision announcement at any time during the year could change everything depending on the features. If it's something people want to wait for, it will hurt switch sales this year.
The biggest hurdle has definitely not been cleared. We're just getting into pandemic time comps.
