Switch vs DS Sales Comparison - May 2021 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 July 2021 / 2,752 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 PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, as well as with older platforms. 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.
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.
Switch Vs. DS Global:
Gap change in latest month: 22,644 - DS
Gap change over last 12 months: 1,103,062 - DS
Total Lead: 8,677,177 - DS
Switch Total Sales: 86,323,860
DS Total Sales: 95,001,037
May 2021 is the 51st month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the DS by 22,644 units when compared to the Switch during the same timeframe. In the last 12 months, the DS has outsold the Switch by 1.10 million units. The DS is ahead of the Switch by 8.68 million units.
The 51st month on sale for the Nintendo Switch is May 2021, while for the DS it is January 2009. The Switch has sold 86.32 million units, while the DS sold 95.00 million units during the same timeframe.
The Nintendo DS sold 154.02 million units lifetime. The Nintendo Switch is currently 67.70 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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Now knowing 2022 will be FILLED with games, i feel like there is a good change Switch won't drop too much next year. It will have a long lifecycle if their output is that strong in year 6 and they probably will give it one more 3D Mario game too and MP4 and Bayo 3 aren't on the radar.
Without the holiday seasons aligned, it's hard to say who's really in the lead here.
Switch might well pull ahead again over the next six months.
Ds is definitely still in the lead. I'm guessing the switch will be at around 103 million by the end of the year. It will fall just short of passing the ds.
The long term will be interesting if Nintendo follows through with the "halfway through its lifespan" claims.
Two more holiday seasons as their flagship and it really could make it beyond the 150 mark, even if a replacement system was to arrive and coexists with the Switch during its final years.
I think this 2021 is decisive for Switch. The 5th year confirmed the decline of DS in sales. If Switch also starts the decline in sales, it will surely finish around 135. If it manages to match or overtake 2020, it has a chance to finish close to 150 or surpass it.
I can't see it beating last year, but it's possible. The most likely outcome will be an almost duplicate of 2020 before the sales start to decline. However, if it drops 5 million per year each year, we're looking at 150+. I'm under the assumption that the replacement will be holiday 2024/march 2025.
Totally agree with the replacement prediction. I don't see the Switch 2 (or whatever comes next) before 2014, not with the sales that the 1st currently has. However, I do think that 2021 could be the peak of Switch sales. I continue to believe that December is missing a game to be announced, otherwise I can't explain why Pokemon Legends is coming out in January, such a disastrous month for game sales, and not in December. I think that in December there will be a big production game that will be released with the tiring Switch Pro, and this duet can boost sales at the end of the year.Otherwise I can't explain why they abandon a game that can perfectly sell 20M in such a disastrous month.
