Switch vs DS Sales Comparison in Japan - January 2024 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 02 March 2024 / 5,776 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 Japanese sales of the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo DS.
The DS launched in December 2004 in Japan and the Nintendo Switch launched in March 2017. Therefore, the normal holiday periods and the Japanese Golden Week holiday for the two consoles do not lineup.
Switch Vs. DS Japan:
Gap change in latest month: 271,437 - Switch
Gap change over last 12 months: 2,510,755 - Switch
Total Lead: 743,994 - DS
Switch Total Sales: 32,118,765
DS Total Sales: 32,862,759
January 2024 is the 83rd month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for in Japan. During the latest month, the Switch has outsold the DS by 271,437units when you align the launches.
In the last 12 months, the Switch has outsold the DS by 2.51 million units. The DS is currently ahead of the Switch by 0.74 million units.
The 83rd month for the Switch is January 2024, while for the DS it is October 2011. The Switch has sold 32.12 million units, while the DS sold 32.86 million units during the same timeframe. The DS sold current Switch sales in month 73.
The DS has sold 32.99 million units lifetime in Japan. The Switch is currently 0.87 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 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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It's the first time that we don't see a holiday season jump.
Yeah, Just a straight up line, no upward curve
In Jan 2024 the Switch sold 283k. Which is a -10% decline from Jan 2023. Very impressive. In Feb I expect the Switch to sell somewhere near -30% (but I can see -20%). In Feb 2023 the Switch sold 221k with that in mind 2024 Feb should be around 154k.
I predict that the Switch will surpass the DS in sales in June 2024. (It has already surpassed it in shipment).
By June Switch will beat The DS... what a time to be A Ninty fan
Wow da was strong
The golden week in japan will be good enough for The Switch to dethrone the DS.
save this comment
Nintendo 2009: 18.761 Billion dollars of revenue. Nintendo 2023: 12.042 Billion. I want Nintendo to grow and take over the industry again! Another console is required! A home and a portable. I will buy both. Nintendo was 56 percent larger in 2009 than they are now.
DS already won. Look at that chart, the DS is flat because it was already discontinued for the 3DS at this time, years earlier in fact. Switch is going to "beat" the DS 2 years after the DS was replaced by the 3DS.
But we just want to look at the raw number of total sales. In that sense, Switch will beat the DS, you liking it or not
but it doesn't mean anything then, it doesn't imply popularity or revenue or income or anything
Stop diminishing the Switchs success through arbitrary metrics you've concocted. Youre a well known Sony devotee on here but do try and have a lil objectivity.
All we're looking at are sales here.
Not that it matters but the DS wasn't actually discontinued until 2013 2 years after the 3DS launched. If we were to use your logic that a new console "discontinues" its predecessor then we would have to cut PS2 sales off in 2006 when the PS3 launched. Now you really don't want that conversation lol
I don't know why you insist in this idea of "not counting sales numbers after the successor is released", If the product is available for buying, it is worth being counted in the total numbers. TOTAL NUMBERS, see? Every sold units is being considered here.
Your idea is not invalid, though. If you think that looking the numbers of a product when it is the main product of a company is the way to go, create your own website and publish yourself the graphs that represents the criterion that you prefer
because that is how business works
you want to compare the popularity of a device? you compare similar time periods under similar conditions
why not compare PS2+PS3 against Switch if you are going to compare different things
jesus christ this is basic business 101
you can't say "the switch is popular" by comparing against just the ps2 and forgetting the ps3 had also been on the market for SEVERAL years
Your fanaticism is wild. Its got you fabricating business metrics left, right and centre in a case to create a narrative which favours Sony.
In terms of pure individual hardware sales, platform vs platform, Switch is selling better than the PS2 did launch aligned.
In terms of your naive parameter that says only count sales up until their successor launches, PS2 had sold 113.69 after 6 years on the market:
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/06q1_sonypre.pdf (page 7)
and around 115 million by PS3s launch late 2006.
Switch by comparison sold 125.62 after 6 years:
https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-financial-results-may-2023-switch-at-125-62-million-units/
and it has yet to have a successor launch so by your own metrics its increasing sales tally is still relevant in a point of comparison, whilst PS2's has to stay at 115 million the point where PS3 launched.
Not my parameters, theyre all yours and you still lost lol
Don't try and wiggle your way out of that L. This was always about the PS2. Plus you're actually wrong about Switch vs DS as well. Using your metric i.e cutting off sales upon the launch of a successor, given 3DS launched Feb 2011, by that point DS sales were at 146.41 million:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/271775/worldwide-sales-of-the-nintendo-ds-since-2004/
Switch as of Dec 31st 2023 was at 139.36 million. With it forecast to be around 142 million by March 2024. So incorrect. Switch will outsell the DS by the time Switch 2 releases next year.
PS2 defeated. DS defeated. All according to your metrics. Thanks Garrus
COME ON
now you are comparing the short timespan of the DS against the long timespan of the Switch LMAO
compare year versus year, that is where we were at, and you still went the wrong way
god you want the Switch to win, it already lost against the DS, that is what I said over and over again, I'm not wiggling out of anything, I just thought the PS2 was similar, so fine, the DS won, the Switch is second, the PS2 is third
I will state my claim again: Nintendo plans on recalling a million Switch consoles from Japanese markets prior to March 2024 (they overshipped and unfortunately stores can only hold so many Switches). Sales figures will slump, Switch craters, and DS reigns supreme. Switch will only hit 32.2mil lifetime.
you're trolling, right? Are you aware that Nintendo just sold 50k consoles in weeks 5 and 6 in Japan? adding those 100k consoles the total is 32.22M consoles, sending your estimate to the trashcan and we are still missing weeks 7 and 8 from February.
I am being serious. Also, those are fake numbers. Switch is only selling 32.2mil in Japan.
"Fake numbers" jajajajaja ok I got it, you just trolling
I’m not trolling. You made those numbers up. Plus even if they are real, people will start returning their Switch once they realize Switch 2 is coming out next month.
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