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Switch vs PS4 Sales Comparison - August 2021

Switch vs PS4 Sales Comparison - August 2021 - Sales

by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 October 2021 / 4,240 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 PlayStation 4.

The PlayStation 4 launched in November 2013, 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 PS4 Sales Comparison - August 2021

Switch vs PS4 Sales Comparison - August 2021

Switch vs PS4 Sales Comparison - August 2021

Switch Vs. PS4 Global:

Gap change in latest month: 177,136 - Switch

Gap change over last 12 months: 7,021,211 - Switch

Total Lead: 11,700,740 - Switch

Switch Total Sales: 90,244,510

PS4 Total Sales: 78,543,770

August 2021 is the 54th month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the Switch by 177,136 units when compared to the PlayStation 4 during the same timeframe. In the last 12 months, the Switch has outsold the PlayStation 4 by 7.02 million units. The Switch is currently ahead of the PlayStation 4 by 11.70 million units.

The 54th month on sale for the Nintendo Switch is August 2021, while for the PlayStation 4 it is April 2018. The Switch has sold 90.24 million units, while the PlayStation 4 sold 78.54 million units during the same timeframe. The PlayStation 4 did not reach current Switch sales until month 62 where it sold 91.81 million units.

The PlayStation 4 has sold 116.41 million units through August 2021. The Nintendo Switch is currently 26.17 million units behind the lifetime sales of the PlayStation 4.


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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7 Comments
Eagle367 (on 27 September 2021)

So obviously the switch will win this one. Only competition is DS and PS2

  • +9
eddy7eddy Eagle367 (on 27 September 2021)

Then X360+PS3

  • +2
Mnementh (on 27 September 2021)

Sooo, at this point Switch has basically the next holiday season for PS4 in the bag without even it's own holiday. After that PS4 start to seriously slow down. So even if Switch is slowing down as well now, it should sail past PS4 lifetime.

  • +7
Alistair (on 26 September 2021)

Just like to point out that the majority of next gen games work on PC, PS5 or Xbox. So the actual available audience for next gen games is actually much higher than Switch. That's why we need a next gen Nintendo home console, so all my games can be on one device.

  • 0
Greenfox Alistair (on 26 September 2021)

I don't understand the message. All next gen games work on PS5 and XSX, otherwise the concept of next gen games becomes meaningless. I guess you meant PS4 and One.

Apart from that, don't expect a new console from Nintendo just to catch up with next gen games. Stopping prioritizing their exclusive games is an unworkable strategy for the company.

  • +11
eddy7eddy Alistair (on 27 September 2021)

I agree with Greenfox and I can't see a next gen Nintendo home console after Switch success. Only way is a Switch 2 Home Console Edition (something like that).

Good thing is that if we get a Switch 2 around 2024/25, we should se a release of most third party games we've lost on Switch lately.

  • +3
ireadtabloids Alistair (on 27 September 2021)

I feel like there’s going to be potential in a couple of years for there to be a Nintendo tablet that compares very well to the PS4 Pro for GPU performance and RAM capacity. With a 5nm ARM CPU they could get something comparable to Xbox Series S CPU.

I would be confident that most games that run on an Xbox Series S will be able to be ported to a Switch 2 with only small compromises in visual quality.

Obviously a Nintendo home console would be more powerful, but I don’t think sticking with a handheld tablet will have much affect on what games are brought to it.

If anything demand for a new Nintendo home console is so unproven that developers would be hesitant to bring big games to it in case its another system that sells under 20 million.

  • +2