Switch 2 Dominates as Sales Top 4M - Japan Hardware Estimates for December 2025 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 15 January 2026 / 13,788 Views
The Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling console in Japan with 1,032,351 units sold for December 2025, according to VGChartz estimates. The Nintendo Switch 2 has now sold an estimated 4.02 million units lifetime.
The Nintendo Switch 1 sold an estimated 184,308 units to bring its lifetime sales to 36.50 million units. The PlayStation 5 sold an estimated 113,837 units to bring its lifetime sales to 7.33 million units. The Xbox Series X|S sold 1,067 units to bring their lifetime sales to 0.69 million units.
Switch 2 sales compared to the same month for the Switch 1 in 2017 are up by nearly 109,000 units as the Switch 1 sold 923,608 units in Japan in December 2017.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2018 are down by nearly 219,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 1,000 units. PS4 sold 332,643 units for the month of December 2018 and Xbox One sales were at 2,369 units.
Nintendo Switch 1 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 285,991 units (-60.8%). PlayStation 5 sales are down by 56,605 (-33.2%) and Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 9,540 units (-89.9%).
Looking at sales month-on-month, Nintendo Switch 2 sales are up by nearly 616,000 units, Nintendo Switch 1 sales are up by nearly 73,000 units, PlayStation 5 sales are up by over 27,000 units, and Xbox Series X|S sales are down by over 500 units.
2025 year-to-date, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold an estimated 4.02 million units, the Nintendo Switch 1 has sold 1.44 million units, the PlayStation 5 has sold 0.86 million units, and the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.03 million units.
Monthly Sales:
Japan hardware estimates for December 2025 (Followed by lifetime sales):
- Switch 2 - 1,032,351 (4,018,320)
- Switch 1 - 184,308 (36,500,483)
- PlayStation 5 - 113,837 (7,331,881)
- Xbox Series X|S - 1,067 (690,309)
Weekly Sales:
Japan December 6, 2025 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 203,441
- Switch 1 - 51,338
- PlayStation 5 - 25,263
- Xbox Series X|S - 234
Japan December 13, 2025 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 190,978
- Switch 1 - 31,367
- PlayStation 5 - 18,929
- Xbox Series X|S - 186
Japan December 20, 2025 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 221,059
- Switch 1 - 38,201
- PlayStation 5 - 19,325
- Xbox Series X|S - 351
Japan December 27, 2025 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 200,294
- Switch 1 - 32,791
- PlayStation 5 - 19,249
- Xbox Series X|S - 300
Japan January 3, 2026 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 216,579
- PlayStation 5 - 31,071
- Switch 1 - 30,611
- Xbox Series X|S - 160
VGChartz Methodology: Hardware estimates are based on retail sampling and trends in individual countries, which are then extrapolated to represent the wider region. This typically allows us to produce figures that end up being within 10% of the actual totals.
This data is regularly compared against official shipment figures released by the console manufacturers and figures estimated by regional trackers with greater market coverage than ourselves. We then update our own estimates to bring them into line with those figures. This can result in frequent changes often within a short space of time, but we feel it's important to prioritise accuracy over consistency.
Note that our estimates are based on sell-through data (units sold to consumers). In almost all cases the figures released by console manufacturers are based on shipment data (sell-in), where as soon as a device has left the factory and entered the supply chain for delivery it is considered a sale. This is why there is always a difference between the companies’ figures (sell-in) and VGChartz estimates (sell-through), even after we’ve made adjustments. The one exception to that is when a console has been discontinued and the remaining stock has finally sold out – at that point the figures will match.
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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That's nearly 10:1 over PS5.
expected
NS2 didn't DOMINATE enough... NS2 is Doomed
DOOOOOOOOOOOOMED
The Switch 1 should be hitting the Cliff® any day now…
The contrast between the numbers in Japan and the west proves how different Japan's taste in gaming/gaming platforms is.
More like ''Millions of people in Japan don't buy a PS5 just to play FIFA'' which is what happens in Europe.
Going to start that BS again eh? So you're saying that PS5 is only successful in Europe because of a third party multiplat FIFA/FC game?
PS has only been succesful for 30 years because of third party games, just a console version of Steam.
And who was it that invested billions into PS hardware to get them into this position where they are the target platform for all major developers? You're acting like Sony just lucked into it's success
Considering Nintendo Never gave a damn about 3rd party games and they ran them all off with the N64 cartridge debacle, they kinds did.
Like I said the Playstation brand is always in themercy of 3rd party sales. 10:1 is what you call domination. And a new PS5 SKU? Pathetic. Facts.
Sony's position in the market is so strong that I don't even need to reply to you thankfully
Facts!
Japan loves pokemon and handhelds
FYI
Sales under (Japan December 27, 2025 hardware estimates) week are missing the commas
Not that its a big deal lol
