Switch Closes 2021 at the Top, PS5 Takes 2nd - Worldwide Hardware Estimates for Dec 26-Jan 1 - Sales

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The Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console with 553,748 units sold for the week ending January 1, 2022, according to VGChartz estimates. The Switch has now sold an estimated 102.35 million units lifetime.

The PlayStation 5 sold an estimated 378,143 units to bring its lifetime sales to 17.51 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 255,136 units to bring their lifetime sales to 11.67 million units.

PS5 sales compared to the same week for the PS4 in 2014 are up by nearly 178,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same week for the Xbox One are up by over 167,000 units. PS4 sold 200,399 units for the week ending January 3, 2015 and Xbox One sales were at 87,898 units.

The PlayStation 4 sold an estimated 16,854 units, the Xbox One sold 6,281 units, and the Nintendo 3DS sold 274 units.

Nintendo Switch sales compared to the same week a year ago are down by 127,593 units (-18.7%), while the PlayStation 5 is up 173,642 (84.9%) and the Xbox Series X|S is up 67,179 units (35.7%).

The PlayStation 4 is down 84,644 (-83.4%), the Xbox One is down 30,233 units (-82.8%), and the 3DS is down 2,047 units (-88.2%).

Looking at sales week-on-week, Nintendo Switch sales are down by nearly 600,000 units, PlayStation 5 sales are down by over 160,000 units, while Xbox Series X|S sales are down by nearly 211,000 units.

Global hardware estimates (Followed by lifetime sales):

1. Switch - 553,748 (102,353,098)
2. PlayStation 5 - 378,143 (17,509,478)
3. Xbox Series X|S - 255,136 (11,669,441)
4. PlayStation 4 - 16,854 (116,813,388)
5. Xbox One - 6,281 (50,542,053)
6. 3DS - 274 (75,943,702)

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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38 Comments

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darthv72 (on 12 January 2022)

Wow... Switch will pass PS1 in half the time the PS1 was on the market. It is the fastest selling platform in history to reach 100m. It did it in less than 5 years where as the previous fastest sellers were the PS4 (5yr 7mo), PS2 (5yr 9mo). Switch did it in 4yr 10mo

• +7

Kakadu18 darthv72 (on 12 January 2022)

DS was faster.

• +5

darthv72 Kakadu18 (on 12 January 2022)

That's impressive, especially for the price point of the switch compared to the DS.

• +1

Alistair darthv72 (on 12 January 2022)

Remember the Switch has multiple versions, there are cheap Switche Lites included in the numbers.

• -9

darthv72 Alistair (on 12 January 2022)

News flash... ALL of the top selling platforms have multiple revisions in varying prices. Where you been?

• +11

Alistair darthv72 (on 13 January 2022)

news flash, you were commenting about the Switch versus the DS, I was not talking about PS5 or Xbox, i'm just pointing out that the Switch price is not a barrier

• -3

scrapking Alistair (on 13 January 2022)

The DS also had multiple versions in it's first 5 years:

• 2004 original DS
• 2006 DS Lite
• 2008 DSi
• 2009 DSi XL

• +5

Greenfox darthv72 (on 12 January 2022)

The fastest home console. DS achieved it a few weeks earlier.
Still, almost catching DS is already a stunning success.

• +4

Kakadu18 Greenfox (on 12 January 2022)

The DS was 5 months faster.

• +3

javi741 Greenfox (on 13 January 2022)

We also have to keep in mind that the DS was alot cheaper than the Switch is now, the DS even accounting for inflation was around 180$ while the base Switch model is still at the same 300$ price point. The 200$ Switch lite does exist but as proven by the sales numbers nobody really wants it as the main appeal is the base Switch model and even the Oled. Its amazing that the Switch is nearly toe to toe with a the fastest selling system thats nearly half its price point.

• 0

Alistair darthv72 (on 12 January 2022)

The Switch is not a home console, it is a portable with a dock that can connect to a TV. It is selling very well but it is also not popular in Europe or the rest of the world outside the US and Japan, so don't expect it to catch up to the PS2. The Switch is selling in Japan just like all of Nintendo's previous portables, remember even the 3DS outsold the PS2 in Japan (which definitely surprised me after the disastrous launch, the 3DS was VERY popular in Japan, just like the Switch).

• -20

darthv72 Alistair (on 12 January 2022)

It seems to be popular in EU. Maybe not as popular as the DS (2nd) and GB (4th) or even the Wii (6th) but it has been more popular than others like the 360 (9th), PSP (10th) and the GBA (11th). It is the 8th best selling platform in EU. Just behind the PS1 (which is 7th)

• +4

Kakadu18 darthv72 (on 12 January 2022)

It's definitely going to top the PS1, Wii and PS3. How much did the GB sell in Europe?

• 0

Alistair darthv72 (on 13 January 2022)

This website has the info, the 3DS outsold the PS2, and yet the PS2 is the top selling console of all time. Switch sales in Europe are half compared to other consoles.

• -2

Kakadu18 Alistair (on 13 January 2022)

Half of the DS and PS2 doesn't mean it's not popular, i.e. unpopular. Instead it's been the best selling console in most European countries most of the time since 2019.

• 0

Sonmakodo Alistair (on 13 January 2022)

It is a home console. Nintendo decides that, not you. It is the successor to the Wii U that has portable functionality.

• +2

siebensus4 Alistair (on 13 January 2022)

Switch outsold DS in rest of the world, so it is very popular there. It will be at least the 3rd best selling system after PS2 and PS4 in rest of the world. PSP is only 1.2m ahead and should be easy to be outsold by Switch.

• +1

Torpoleon (on 12 January 2022)

Switch just barely misses PS1, but should surpass it week 1 in 2022. I imagine Nintendo's official shipment estimates for the end of the year might have it surpass PS1 though.

• +3

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Kakadu18 Torpoleon (on 12 January 2022)

Shipments should be at least 103mil.

• 0

Sonmakodo Kakadu18 (on 13 January 2022)

Switch ended the year with over 103 no doubt

• 0

sboy11es (on 12 January 2022)

Why are Switch numbers that low? Stock problems?

• +2

aTokenYeti sboy11es (on 12 January 2022)

Post Christmas sales are generally expected to fall off pretty hard for all consumer electronics

• +5

sboy11es aTokenYeti (on 12 January 2022)

ok thanks PD why so many dislikes?

• +2

CourageTCD sboy11es (on 12 January 2022)

I just liked your comment so you can have less dislikes

• +2

SanAndreasX sboy11es (on 16 January 2022)

It’s the Cliff.

• +1

Helloplite (on 13 January 2022)

Like seriously, is the 3DS even stocked anymore? Where do these few sales come from if the system is no longer produced? Is that all old stock?

• +1

CourageTCD (on 12 January 2022)

PS1 survived Switch in 2021 after all. Very well, it gained just one more week at the top

• +1

Kakadu18 (on 12 January 2022)

Wow, I thought Switch would be easily high enough to top the PS1. Will have to wait another week then.

• 0

Blood_Tears (on 12 January 2022)

Are the Switch and PS5 Europe numbers "switched"?

• 0

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aTokenYeti (on 12 January 2022)

I wonder how far sales are going to go down post holidays. I think it’s still an open question because demand is still so high.

A bit surprised the X|S outsold the Switch and PS5 in the Americas for the week. The brand really does seem to be experiencing a renaissance in that market.

• 0

AJNShelton (on 12 January 2022)

So close, def ain't bad, but would've been fantastic. Now it's just incredible

• 0

jvmkdg (on 12 January 2022)

i believe that january and february will be very good for the ps5 we have great games about to launch like horizon forbiden west and gran turismo 7. Sony will want to give a little boost to shipments.

• -2

shonii33 (on 12 January 2022)

every week instead of adding xbox, subtract already seems strange to me

• -2

jvmkdg shonii33 (on 12 January 2022)

according to Daniel Ahmad and other sources, Microsoft shipped just over 12 million Xboxes by the end of the year. so the estimates are correct. it's even a little above I would say

• +1

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