Switch sets the benchmark for the highest system sold in a year in US since 2011

[McScroggz]

That's an incredible feat.

Not that it matters to the actual point of the Switch being such a popular system, but I'm firmly in the Switch isn't next generation camp. It launched OVER 3 years after the PS4 and Xbox One and was significantly weaker (if that is a deciding factor for you). And the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be launching OVER 3 years after the Switch.

I get that there isn't a nice, clean way to determine generations, but this feels like an (admittedly blurrier) version of the "when does a decade start?" sort of debate where one side wants to be very rigid and the other is looking at the bigger picture and what makes the most sense.

EDIT: I guess my point is we can't say Nintendo has to exist outside of generations so the Switch might as well be apart of this generation.

Still, props Nintendo.

 

[Simba1]

Nothing its set in stone, but Switch has very good chances selling more than 100m units at end.

 

[fourfourfun]

Nintendo decoupled from the E3 cycle, safe to say they are decoupled from the hardware generation cycle now too?

 

[Sanctuary]

Switch will in all likelihood spend more of its life cycle competing with the PS4 and Xbox one than the follow ups to those consoles, so I don't really see how it isn't the same gen as them.

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When the Wii U released and people were complaining about how it was underpowered compared to the then current gen (360/PS3), the argument some tried to use was "Well, it's not even in the same gen, it's next-gen". Why would it be true with the Wii U, but not the Switch?

Wii U releases during the tail end of the 360/PS3 era: next-gen
Switch releases midway through the Xbone/PS4 era: current-gen???

Anyway, regardless of whatever gen it actually is, it's doing so well because a) it's new with new games and b) it's a hybrid console that's both portable and a home unit. Both of the other two major systems have sold most of what they are going to sell prior to next-gen already.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

thread title should have just been "compared to ps4/xbo". people get hung up on the definition of gen.

 

[Personablue]

thread title should have just been "compared to ps4/xbo". people get hung up on the definition of gen.

Click to shrink...

I concur. Mods please change the title to Switch sets the benchmark for the highest system sold in a year in US since 2011

 

[Deleted member 10737]

I concur. Mods please change the title to Switch sets the benchmark for the highest system sold in a year in US since 2011

Click to shrink...

yeah that's a better idea.

 

[Naga]

Holy shit, that's pretty big.

 

[Raijinto]

I concur. Mods please change the title to Switch sets the benchmark for the highest system sold in a year in US since 2011

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I agree.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

I concur. Mods please change the title to Switch sets the benchmark for the highest system sold in a year in US since 2011

Click to shrink...

you can always report your own OP if you want the mods to change the title.

 

[KillerMan91]

What's the highest selling system in a year across all gens?

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1. DS 2009: 11.17 million
2. Wii 2008: 10.17 million
3. DS 2008: 9.95 million
4. Wii 2009: 9.59 million
5. PS2 2002: 8.57 million
6. DS 2010: 8.56 million
7. DS 2007: 8.5 million
8. GBA 2003: 8.18 million
9. X360 2011: 7.3 million
10. PS1 1998: 7.17 million
11. Wii 2010: 7.07 million
12. GBA 2002: 6.94 million
13. X360 2010: 6.76 million
14. PS1 1999: 6.72 million
15. Switch 2019: 6.5 million

I am missing GBA and PS2 sales in 2004 and 2005 though. Also for GB and NES/SNES I only have American shipments. NES shipped 9.32 million in americas between September 1988 and 1989 so it could make to the list. GB (and Color) shipped 8.7 million (another 7.74 million following year) to americas between April 1999 and 2000 (hello Pokemon boom) so it could also make to the list.

 

[Aostia82]

Not bad, Nintendo
Not bad

 

[SMD]

.

 

[Personablue]

1. DS 2009: 11.17 million
2. Wii 2008: 10.17 million
3. DS 2008: 9.95 million
4. Wii 2009: 9.59 million
5. PS2 2002: 8.57 million
6. DS 2010: 8.56 million
7. DS 2007: 8.5 million
8. GBA 2003: 8.18 million
9. X360 2011: 7.3 million
10. PS1 1998: 7.17 million
11. Wii 2010: 7.07 million
12. GBA 2002: 6.94 million
13. X360 2010: 6.76 million
14. PS1 1999: 6.72 million
15. Switch 2019: 6.5 million

I am missing GBA and PS2 sales in 2004 and 2005 though. Also for GB and NES/SNES I only have American shipments. NES shipped 9.32 million in americas between September 1988 and 1989 so it could make to the list. GB (and Color) shipped 8.7 million (another 7.74 million following year) to americas between April 1999 and 2000 (hello Pokemon boom) so it could also make to the list.

Click to shrink...

Wow, didn't know about gba doing so well.

 

[KillerMan91]

Wow, didn't know about gba doing so well.

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GBA was outpacing PS2 before DS killed it.

 

[Arthands]

But people on the old forum told me this is a DOA system and will flop hard

 

[Hermii]

That's an incredible feat.

Not that it matters to the actual point of the Switch being such a popular system, but I'm firmly in the Switch isn't next generation camp. It launched OVER 3 years after the PS4 and Xbox One and was significantly weaker (if that is a deciding factor for you). And the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be launching OVER 3 years after the Switch.

I get that there isn't a nice, clean way to determine generations, but this feels like an (admittedly blurrier) version of the "when does a decade start?" sort of debate where one side wants to be very rigid and the other is looking at the bigger picture and what makes the most sense.

EDIT: I guess my point is we can't say Nintendo has to exist outside of generations so the Switch might as well be apart of this generation.

Still, props Nintendo.

Click to shrink...

Its high top end 2015 mobile tech. The gpu architecture is the second version of maxwell, which is basically the same as pascal. Its not matching them in terms of power (it has to run on a battery) , but its slightly ahead in terms of gpu architecture/ features so I would definitely say its the same gen in terms of tech.

 

[Personablue]

Switch will sell as much as PS4 or more I think. It will have a non Nintendo like tail

 

[foxuzamaki]

Switch will sell as much as PS4 or more I think. It will have a non Nintendo like tail

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I agree

 

[Monster Zero]

but the switch isn't this gen

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Its this gen's Nintendo portable system.

 

[Dr Pears]

But but it's waaay less than home console + handheld in the past!
/s

 

[Piston]

But but it's waaay less than home console + handheld in the past!
/s

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I know you are /s but it will actually outsell the 3DS and Wii U combined.

 

[AtomicShroom]

Remember when Michael Pachter and other similar analysts kept predicting the system would fail? Good times!

 

[HardRojo]

I remember saying in a previous thread that the US has become Nintendoland and one user got mad lol. The console has been a runaway success there.

 

[Puroresu_kid]

Remember when Michael Pachter and other similar analysts kept predicting the system would fail? Good times!

Click to shrink...

The response after the reveal was classic. The amount of doom and gloom was remarkable.

 

[Slim]

I was going to say that. Everyone just totally ignores the WiiU now.

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What's wii u

 

[Deleted member 29674]

Congrats Nintendo. It makes me happy that both Sony and Nintendo have shattered records and put out a nonstop stream of incredible games in the past years. It's a huge turnaround from the previous gen (?) which had some substantial droughts and growing pains. It's given me renewed optimism for the future of entertainment.

 

[fiendcode]

Switch will in all likelihood spend more of its life cycle competing with the PS4 and Xbox one than the follow ups to those consoles, so I don't really see how it isn't the same gen as them.

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Dreamcast also technically spent more time against PS1/N64 than PS2/GC/Xbox. So it's the same gen as Saturn?

Same thing with PC Engine, it spent more time against FC than SFC. Which gen does it belong to?

 

[Dr. Mario]

This doesn't really factor in, the Wii U was just an addon for the original Wii.

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Let's retroactively make this canon.

 

[Opa-Opa]

1. DS 2009: 11.17 million
2. Wii 2008: 10.17 million
3. DS 2008: 9.95 million
4. Wii 2009: 9.59 million
5. PS2 2002: 8.57 million
6. DS 2010: 8.56 million
7. DS 2007: 8.5 million
8. GBA 2003: 8.18 million
9. X360 2011: 7.3 million
10. PS1 1998: 7.17 million
11. Wii 2010: 7.07 million
12. GBA 2002: 6.94 million
13. X360 2010: 6.76 million
14. PS1 1999: 6.72 million
15. Switch 2019: 6.5 million

I am missing GBA and PS2 sales in 2004 and 2005 though. Also for GB and NES/SNES I only have American shipments. NES shipped 9.32 million in americas between September 1988 and 1989 so it could make to the list. GB (and Color) shipped 8.7 million (another 7.74 million following year) to americas between April 1999 and 2000 (hello Pokemon boom) so it could also make to the list.

Click to shrink...

Holy crap, impressive for the Switch, but in retrospect it's not that spectacular - for the whole gen/industry!

Nintendo alone sold more than 20 million in 2008 and 2009.

 

[Hero_Select]

They're revisions.. Switch is not a Wiiu revision..

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Wii U failed so Nintendo cut its life short and released the Switch. You can have multiple consoles in the same gen. So yeah it is.

 

[Oregano]

Holy crap, impressive for the Switch, but in retrospect it's not that spectacular - for the whole gen/industry!

Nintendo alone sold more than 20 million in 2008 and 2009.

Click to shrink...

It gets downplayed a lot but the in terms of users the console market has massively shrunk this generation. PS4+Vita will end up lower than PS3+PSP.

Console gamers complaining about whales on mobile is some Spiderman pointing at Spiderman meme material.

 

[faint]

What was the 2011 machine and number? I imagine 360?

 

[DontHateTheBacon]

Feels like this train is on the tracks to 100m. Not sure it'll be stopped.

 

[Gale Moran]

Wii U failed so Nintendo cut its life short and released the Switch. You can have multiple consoles in the same gen. So yeah it is.

Click to shrink...

By like half a year, lol. It didn't have much shorter lifespan than the GC or N64.. Were they also in the same gen? The Switch is in no way a generation do-over, it's the successor.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

It gets downplayed a lot but the in terms of users the console market has massively shrunk this generation. PS4+Vita will end up lower than PS3+PSP.

Console gamers complaining about whales on mobile is some Spiderman pointing at Spiderman meme material.

Click to shrink...

1) Generations last longer now.
2) Average selling price of hardware has continually gone up.
3) The Switch is going to outsell every system on that list except the DS and PS2.
4) There is no actual reason for 7th gen levels of hardware to be sold when games are almost all multiplatform and development pipelines scale across many hardwares.

It's not all gloom and doom

 

[fiendcode]

Wii U failed so Nintendo cut its life short and released the Switch. You can have multiple consoles in the same gen. So yeah it is.

Click to shrink...

4.5 years for Wii U is only about a year shorter than usual for a Nintendo console. Xbox to Xbox 360, GBA to DS or Saturn to Dreamcast were all actually shorter cycles, does that make them each the same gen?

 

[Bigwombat]

So according to vgcharts the switch has sold just about 50 million units so far, surpassing snes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikka...d-more-units-than-the-super-nes/#4c2fd26c46cd

I don't think it will reach 100 million units though. It really depends on how long it stays on market.

 

[Oregano]

1) Generations last longer now.
2) Average selling price of hardware has continually gone up.
3) The Switch is going to outsell every system on that list except the DS and PS2.
4) There is no actual reason for 7th gen levels of hardware to be sold when games are almost all multiplatform and development pipelines scale across many hardwares.

It's not all gloom and doom

Click to shrink...

Hardware costing more is kind of the point though, companies are extracting more revenue from fewer consumers.

The DS->PS3 gen was also just as long as the 3DS-PS4 gen and did bigger numbers. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I even think that PS4/XBO are now dropping off more than PS3/360 did at the same point.

 

[McScroggz]

Its high top end 2015 mobile tech. The gpu architecture is the second version of maxwell, which is basically the same as pascal. Its not matching them in terms of power (it has to run on a battery) , but its slightly ahead in terms of gpu architecture/ features so I would definitely say its the same gen in terms of tech.

Click to shrink...

We agree on the end point but I can't agree with how you got there, haha.

I'm not going to pretend to be a tech guy, but I think it's weird to pinpoint one specific component in a console that is competitive or best in class at the time if the entirety of the product is so much weaker. More than ever Nintendo consoles don't fit within the construct of the idea of console generations and ultimately a noticeable improvement in console performance is the most reasonable metric to judge how we bookend generations. PlayStation and Xbox are very digestible markets for generations at the moment, we just have to accept Nintendo isn't and slot them where they fit best when we want to have these conversations.

 

[LegendofLex]

Switch will sell as much as PS4 or more I think. It will have a non Nintendo like tail

Click to shrink...

The big reason why Nintendo systems stop selling is that Nintendo rarely attempts to replicate early software successes, then they pull support for the platforms after the 4th or 5th year and move the bulk of support to the next-gen handheld/console.

 

[SayWord]

I'd be so happy if Nintendo introduces some sort of achievement system for their games.

I would actually use the device, plz Nintendo.

 

[Advance.Wars.Sgt.]

Wow, didn't know about gba doing so well.

Click to shrink...

That's because people look at it's ETD total and erroneously assume it was a sign of regression.

By virtually every metric from 2001-05 (DS launch and onwards) the GBA was selling at a higher rate than the OGGB and would have assuredly been one of the quickest to reach 100+ million sold. By all accounts, the GBA *IS* the original sales beast.

 

[Advance.Wars.Sgt.]

Switch will sell as much as PS4 or more I think. It will have a non Nintendo home console like tail

Click to shrink...

Fixed. I don't expect Nintendo to drop the Switch immediately precisely because of its primarily portable orientation.

 

[Dr. Mario]

By like half a year, lol. It didn't have much shorter lifespan than the GC or N64.. Were they also in the same gen? The Switch is in no way a generation do-over, it's the successor.

Click to shrink...

What's Saturn? (not asking for Double Jeopardy, just which gen would you classify it)

 

[Greg NYC3]

Remember when Michael Pachter and other similar analysts kept predicting the system would fail? Good times!

Click to shrink...

That was actually the moment I knew it would be a success. Nintendo should encourage Pachter to forcast their doom as much as possible.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Hardware costing more is kind of the point though, companies are extracting more revenue from fewer consumers.

Click to shrink...

I dont think that's purely because the market shrunk in players. Some of this is simply because multiplatform development is common amoung all major platforms now and that was not the case in Gen 7.

In addition. PSVita was a massive failure pretty much continuing the PSP's irrelevance in the West after its initial boon.

The DS->PS3 gen was also just as long as the 3DS-PS4 gen and did bigger numbers.

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The DS and Wii which are the systems responsible for most of the big numbers in that top 10 didn't last as long as the 360 or PS3 though.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I even think that PS4/XBO are now dropping off more than PS3/360 did at the same point.

Click to shrink...

XB360 -> XBONE was a drop.
PS3 -> PS4 was a rise.

Need to see overall comparison to totals to see if there is any significant hardware delta.

The Wii and DS are just systems thatbare never going to be replicated again but part of that was their wholly uniqye software lineup. We are never going back to those days though so I just find the comparison to form more gloom and doom than necessary.

If you want to point to a big regression in the market imo it makes much more sense to look at software units and revenue.

 

[Prygelknabe]

1. DS 2009: 11.17 million
2. Wii 2008: 10.17 million
3. DS 2008: 9.95 million
4. Wii 2009: 9.59 million
5. PS2 2002: 8.57 million
6. DS 2010: 8.56 million
7. DS 2007: 8.5 million
8. GBA 2003: 8.18 million
9. X360 2011: 7.3 million
10. PS1 1998: 7.17 million
11. Wii 2010: 7.07 million
12. GBA 2002: 6.94 million
13. X360 2010: 6.76 million
14. PS1 1999: 6.72 million
15. Switch 2019: 6.5 million

I am missing GBA and PS2 sales in 2004 and 2005 though. Also for GB and NES/SNES I only have American shipments. NES shipped 9.32 million in americas between September 1988 and 1989 so it could make to the list. GB (and Color) shipped 8.7 million (another 7.74 million following year) to americas between April 1999 and 2000 (hello Pokemon boom) so it could also make to the list.

Click to shrink...

Those are some crazy numbers. Thanks for the list.

 

[werezompire]

On the gen thing, I feel like Wii & Wii U are one gen & the Switch is a different gen.

 

[AtomicShroom]

That was actually the moment I knew it would be a success. Nintendo should encourage Pachter to forcast their doom as much as possible.

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Not to mention how them analysts and shareholders kept telling Nintendo how there was absolutely no future in gaming-only hardware and begging them to drop out of it and move all their development to mobile! Oh my lol!