Switch vs DS Sales Comparison - August 2025 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 16 October 2025 / 5,184 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: 183,269 - Switch
Gap change over last 12 months: 5,965,242 - Switch
Total Lead: 1,860,366 - DS
Switch Total Sales: 151,621,030
DS Total Sales: 153,481,396
August 2025 is the 102nd month that the Nintendo Switch has been available for. During the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the Switch by 0.18 million units when compared to the DS during the same timeframe.
In the last 12 months, the Switch has outsold the DS by 5.97 million units. The DS is ahead of the Switch by 1.86 million units.
The 102nd month on sale for the Nintendo Switch is August 2025, while for the DS it is April 2013. The Switch has sold 151.62 million units, while the DS sold 153.48 million units during the same timeframe.
The Nintendo DS sold 154.02 million units lifetime. The Nintendo Switch is currently 2.40 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 follow the author on Bluesky.
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i think i can, i think i can
At this sales rate, the Switch will only surpass the DS next year.
You don’t think NSW will move more than a little over 2mil during the holiday quarter? That’s all it’ll need.
i think it will be close
Trunks, this Global Monthly Gap chart is the same one from the July article
September is a 5-week month, October has Pokémon Legends ZA and November and December are holiday season. The Switch still have some cards under its sleeves. Also, it is still holding up quite well in Japan. The only major rock on the Switch's path until the end of the year is the price increase in the US market, imo.
This is the last holiday season where Switch will be a big factor, as I don't think it could crack much more than a million units in the Holiday 2026 season.
Switch is all but guaranteed to surpass DS launch-aligned by the end of the fiscal year, and it might even surpass DS lifetime sales by then. But with price increases and such in some areas of the world, we'll see.
