PS5 Best-Seller, NS1 Tops DS - Worldwide Hardware Estimates for February 2026 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 21 March 2026 / 15,328 Views
The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console worldwide with 840,179 units sold for February 2026, according to VGChartz estimates. The PS5 has sold 91.04 million units lifetime.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was the second best-selling console, with an estimated 811,435 units sold, to bring lifetime sales to 17.16 million units. The Nintendo Switch 1 was the third best-selling console, with an estimated 194,736 units sold, to bring lifetime sales to 154.16 million units. The Xbox Series X|S came in fourth place with 133,712 units sold, to bring its lifetime sales to 34.43 million units.
Switch 2 sales compared to the same month for the Switch 1 in 2018 are up by nearly 5,000 units, as the Switch 1 sold 806,466 units in February 2018.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2019 are down by over 138,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by nearly 238,000 units. The PS4 sold 978,422 units for the month of February 2019 and Xbox One sales were at 371,516 units.
PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 199,360 (-19.2%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 142,920 units (-51.7%) and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are down by 328,034 units (-62.8%).
Looking at sales month-on-month, Nintendo Switch 2 sales are up by nearly 46,000 units, PlayStation 5 sales are up by nearly 80,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by nearly 15,000 units, and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are up by over 15,000 units.
2026 year-to-date, the PlayStation 5 has sold an estimated 1.60 million units, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold 1.58 million units, the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.25 million units, and the Nintendo Switch 1 has sold 0.37 million units.
This month the Nintendo Switch 1 has outsold the lifetime sales of the Nintendo DS to become the best-selling Nintendo platform of all-time.
Monthly Sales:
Global hardware estimates for February 2026 (Followed by lifetime sales):
- PlayStation 5 - 840,179 (91,040,548)
- Switch 2 - 811,435 (17,162,549)
- Switch 1 - 194,736 (154,160,148)
- Xbox Series X|S - 133,712 (34,433,354)
- PlayStation 5 - 339,369
- Switch 2 - 281,175
- Xbox Series X|S - 100,206
- Switch 1 - 55,706
- PlayStation 5 - 290,650
- Switch 2 - 192,560
- Switch 1 - 31,942
- Xbox Series X|S - 22,913
- Switch 2 - 324,329
- PlayStation 5 - 181,132
- Switch 1 - 102,029
- Xbox Series X|S - 5,579
- PlayStation 5 - 29,028
- Switch 2 - 13,371
- Switch 1 - 5,059
- Xbox Series X|S - 5,014
Weekly Sales:
Global February 7, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 195,698
- Switch 2 - 177,302
- Switch 1 - 34,611
- Xbox Series X|S - 30,049
Global February 14, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 202,855
- Switch 2 - 176,580
- Switch 1 - 52,814
- Xbox Series X|S - 32,128
Global February 21, 2026 hardware estimates:
- PlayStation 5 - 205,657
- Switch 2 - 196,937
- Switch 1 - 56,121
- Xbox Series X|S - 33,830
Global February 28, 2026 hardware estimates:
- Switch 2 - 260,616
- PlayStation 5 - 235,969
- Switch 1 - 51,190
- Xbox Series X|S - 37,705
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.
More Articles
Two months in, PS5 and Switch 2 are neck and neck (1.6M vs 1.58M).
The battle is on, for the 2026 crown.
Have we ever historically seen two consoles this competitive sales-wise? I know the SNES and Genesis were culturally very neck and neck, but the final sales were very much in the SNES's favour by the end of that gen. Either way, very interesting indeed, and wondering how GTA6 and the next 3D Mario will factor in.
I somehow completely forgot about them, but that's true yeah, even if the PS3 stumbled at the start and the 360 fell on its face at the end, at the turn of the decade they were pretty heated, and that was undoubtedly the peak of the console wars as far as how toxic the online discourse was.
That was around the time I started using the internet, come to think of it, so some of my earliest memories of game discussion was PS3 vs 360 lol.
This is definitely a very close race. Last year and now this year… though being that one system is on its way out and the other is upcoming, I don’t imagine it’ll stay so competitive for much longer. By mid-2027, NS2 should hold the lead for at least the next three or so years.
It does kinda feel like a repeat of the eighth generation, since the PS4 and Switch 1 were still neck and neck throughout 2017 and the first half of 2018, but it was a wipeout thereafter.
Really though I'm wondering how Valve throwing their hat in the ring is gonna change things, if it'll finally mercy kill Xbox even, part of me doubts Project Helix is even making it to market.
Well .. when you look at the monthly sales, in 2017 PS4 outsold the Switch by a hefty margin each month, so 2017 was PS4's year all the way. 2018 was still PS4's year, although the lead was smaller for the PS4 than 2017. Switch only beat PS4 in December in that year. The PS4 still beat the Switch each single month by enough of a margin to not be neck in neck in 2018. The real neck in neck was in 2019, where the Switch got the lead and the win after the lower priced Lite launched in September.
So the picture is a little different than what you described there.
Yeah mb my memory of back then was flawed before I checked the thingy chart. I'd still say we're probably due a repeat of last gen with regards to Sony and Nintendo's performance though (even if I don't see the Switch 2 ultimately doing another 150M miracle) and Microsoft still in a distant third (or maybe Fourth, I'm interested to see if the Steam Machine can stick the landing).
The PS5 will likely win 2026, but GTA VI only comes out in november. The Switch will probably have a seizable lead in march due to Pokopia and who knows how will the rest of the year go. Will the PS5 have a better holliday if GTA VI come out this year? Sure. But how will the rest of the year go? What does Nintendo have to announce for 2026? How will the Duskbloods perform? Will we have a new 3D Mario?
And 2027 is a complete mistery. We'll likely have Intergalatic for hollidays and we'll get Pokemon. But what else? Animal Crossing? We don't know, so its too ssoon to call. GTA 6 is gigantic, but it won't give Sony 2 free years of console leading on its own.
pokopia please, PS5 will be massive!! nintendo hits way off
Even with GTA 6 I don't think the PS5 will sell more than the Switch 2 this year. It's year 6 so sales are already declining.
you could be right, i think GTA6 will push tons of PS5 sales at release and time to come
If Nintendo releases something like the Zelda OOT remake then it's game over for PS5 in terms of sales race. I kinda wanna it to happen though, as I couldn't get into the original version on N64.
What a close and fierce race against their very own PS4.
Still baffling that PS5's first 2 years were abysmal in terms of hardware sales, yet it still held up.
It somewhat feels like if Sony knew they could turn the page in favor of PS5 tommorrow already. And I think it's still very likely that it will happen eventually.
Can't express good enough how excited I am for all the upcoming fiscal year reports until next-gen arrives, especially the year of GTA6 + their 1st party lineup.
PS5 vs X|S now sits at a 6.4:1 ratio globally year-to-date. Last year it was a 3.5:1 in the same time frame.
PS5 was consistently sold out everywhere during its first 2 years...
It was a production problem, not a sales problem.
After Pokopia and price hikes, this may be the last month with Playstation on top since november.
