Switch 2 Best-Seller, PS5 Sales Hit Record Low - Americas Hardware Estimates for May 2026 - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted 5 hours ago / 3,789 Views
The Nintendo Switch 2 was the best-selling console in the Americas (USA, Canada, & Latin America) with 307,005 units sold for May 2026, according to VGChartz estimates. The Switch 2 has sold 7.23 million units lifetime.
The PlayStation 5 was the second best-selling console with an estimated 113,353 units sold to bring lifetime sales to 36.23 million units. The Xbox Series X|S came in third place with 80,611 units sold to bring its lifetime sales to 21.69 million units. The Nintendo Switch was the fourth best-selling console with an estimated 45,277 units sold to bring lifetime sales to 59.08 million units.
Switch 2 sales compared to the same month for the Switch 1 in 2018 are up by nearly 97,000 units as the Switch 1 sold 210,503 units in the Americas in May 2018.
PS5 sales compared to the same month for the PS4 in 2019 are down by over 82,000 units, while the Xbox Series X|S compared to the same month for the Xbox One are down by over 48,000 units. PS4 sold 195,832 units for the month of May 2019 and Xbox One sales were at 128,899 units.
PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month a year ago are down by 165,328 (-59.3%). Xbox Series X|S sales are down by 8,778 units (-9.8%) and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are down by 59,533 units (-56.8%).
Looking at sales month-on-month, Nintendo Switch 2 sales are down by nearly 26,000 units, PlayStation 5 sales are down by over 39,000 units, Xbox Series X|S sales are up by nearly 12,000 units, and Nintendo Switch 1 sales are up by nearly 6,000 units.
2026 year-to-date, the Nintendo Switch 2 has sold 1.78 million units, the PlayStation 5 has sold 1.21 million units, the Xbox Series X|S has sold 0.44 million units, and the Nintendo Switch 1 has sold 0.26 million units.
Monthly Sales:
Americas hardware estimates for May 2026 (Followed by lifetime sales):
- Switch 2 - 307,005 (7,228,640)
- PlayStation 5 - 113,353 (36,226,745)
- Xbox Series X|S - 80,611 (21,690,497)
- Switch 1 - 45,277 (59,078,821)
USA hardware estimates for May 2026:
- Switch 2 - 253,828
- PlayStation 5 - 92,904
- Xbox Series X|S - 64,482
- Switch 1 - 34,485
Weekly Sales:
May 9, 2026 hardware estimates:
Americas:
- Switch 2 - 80,641
- PlayStation 5 - 27,481
- Xbox Series X|S - 18,729
- Switch 1 - 10,989
USA:
- Switch 2 - 66,894
- PlayStation 5 - 22,525
- Xbox Series X|S - 14,983
- Switch 1 - 8,372
May 16, 2026 hardware estimates:
Americas:
- Switch 2 - 76,094
- PlayStation 5 - 28,405
- Xbox Series X|S - 19,633
- Switch 1 - 11,581
USA:
- Switch 2 - 62,902
- PlayStation 5 - 23,281
- Xbox Series X|S - 15,705
- Switch 1 - 8,818
May 23, 2026 hardware estimates:
Americas:
- Switch 2 - 75,631
- PlayStation 5 - 28,611
- Xbox Series X|S - 22,422
- Switch 1 - 11,307
USA:
- Switch 2 - 62,431
- PlayStation 5 - 23,449
- Xbox Series X|S - 17,934
- Switch 1 - 8,586
May 30, 2026 hardware estimates:
Americas:
- Switch 2 - 74,639
- PlayStation 5 - 28,856
- Xbox Series X|S - 19,827
- Switch 1 - 11,400
USA:
- Switch 2 - 61,601
- PlayStation 5 - 23,649
- Xbox Series X|S - 15,860
- Switch 1 - 8,709
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.
