According to the latest estimates from VGChartz, the global sales of the Nintendo Switch have surpassed the original PlayStation (also known as the PS1 or PSX). The Switch sold 341,662 units in the week ending January 15, 2022, bringing its total sales to 102.81 million units. This also means that the Nintendo Switch officially surpassed the 102.5 million sales of Sony’s PlayStation (the first generation) and jumped to fifth place in the history of game console sales. It is worth mentioning that Switch sales include the combined sales of the original Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED.
The next target for the Switch is the Sony Play Station 4 series, then the Nintendo Game Boy (including the Game Boy Color), which currently sells 13.77 million units behind the PS4 (116.58 million units). Next is the Nintendo DS, and the top-selling game console in the world is Sony’s PS2, with a total sales of about 158 million units.
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Breaking down Switch sales, the console has sold 34.67 million units in the U.S., 27.22 million in Europe, and 23.43 million in Japan. The Nintendo Switch sales further breakdown in Europe shows that it has sold 5.21 million units in the UK, 6.11 million in France, and 5.93 million in Germany.
The Nintendo Switch was launched globally on March 3, 2017, while the PS1 was launched in Japan on December 3, 1994.
Nintendo Switch sales collapse in Q3 due to chip shortages
The sales of the Switch would have been higher but for the chip shortage issue. Nintendo is forced to adjust its own forecast for sales of Switch game consoles downward. The reason lies in the uncertainties associated with the ongoing pandemic and the global shortage of electronic components.
In the third quarter of this calendar year, Nintendo managed to sell about 3.83 million Switch units. For comparison: a year earlier, sales were equal to 6.86 million units. In total, since the appearance of the device on the market, sales amounted to 92.87 million copies of various versions (Switch and Switch Lite).
In the current fiscal year, which runs from April 2021 to March 2022 for Nintendo, the company initially expected to sell 25.5 million Switch kits. But now the forecast is down by 1.5 million devices – to 24.0 million units.
At the same time, Nintendo has left the forecast for the volume of annual revenue at the same level. Moreover, the company raised its operating profit forecast by 4% over the previously expected figures. This is due to changes in exchange rates, as well as higher rates in the segment of games and other software.
