Nintendo recently reported that Nintendo Switch sales have now passed 50 million units sold, meaning that it’s overtaken one of the big boys in Microsoft’s Xbox One which is currently sat at around the 41 million unit mark. So with Nintendo passing this latest hurdle with no signs of slowing down, should Microsoft, and to a much lesser extent – Sony, be worried?
No is probably the quick answer but settle in for my reasons why. The most obvious factor in all of this is that Microsoft and Sony are both in years where they’re gearing up for their next-gen launches, so current-gen consoles are bound to take a dip in sales. Especially when the Nintendo Switch is currently in the middle of its stride hitting its highest sales figures since the massive popularity of the Wii. I keep mentioning Sony but let’s just end the conversation on them right now, the PS4 is currently sitting at a tidy 106 million units sold, making it the second most successful home console of all time only behind the PS2. So yeah, those lads are fine! How will Microsoft be feeling though?
They’re absolutely fine in truth. I do imagine these sales figures are far from what they aimed for when the Xbox One was launched but given how much of a failure that launch was coupled with the gigantic success of the PS4, 41 million really isn’t that bad. Besides, hardware sales may be on the decline but the massively popular GamePass continues to grow month on month with more and more players gravitating to the incredibly great value for money service. The Xbox One may not be flying but I can’t help but feel the buzz behind GamePass may well play into how well the Xbox Series X does this Christmas. I have already covered this though, check out my article and video on the upcoming console war for more.
I feel the amount I’ve just spoken about Sony and Microsoft is doing a massive disservice to Nintendo and what they’ve accomplished with the Switch. Over 50 million units shifted is an incredible achievement and what it means to their competitors shouldn’t really matter, its all about how amazing this really is for Nintendo. As I mentioned earlier, this is Nintendo’s biggest success since the Wii. The Wii is currently sat at 102 million units sold so the Switch still has a way to go to catch that. The success of the Wii shouldn’t go unnoticed but I always really struggled to get excited over that device, it was way too gimmicky for my liking and when I’m sat there watching aunties and uncles struggle to hit a strike on Wii Sports, I soon realised this wasn’t for me. The Switch on the other hand has a way cooler vibe around it. It’s gimmicky sure, but it’s a gimmick that is both useful and genius at the same time. I’ve been talking successful home consoles but if we’re going to include handhelds then Nintendo’s DS and Gameboy devices are right up there with Sony’s achievements. It’s nothing short of incredible then that Nintendo found a way to combine what they’re best at and incorporate it to a home console, and these new figures clearly show its working. It’s also worth noting that the new Nintendo Switch Lite is included in these sales which surely would have helped, especially for people like myself who just want console quality games on a light easy to use handheld console. I for one hope that the undeniable success of the Switch continues and it manages to surpass the Wii some point in the future.
I predict that this is very well possible, the Switch is in such a good place right now where it seems everybody either already has one or really wants one. I’m sure Javier won’t mind me telling you that he purchased his Switch this week meaning that now every one of us here at Respawning are now proud Switch owners. The same definitely cannot be said for Xbox and although we are all PS4 owners, it probably doesn’t get the same universal love our Switches currently do. The reason for this is obvious, PlayStation and Xbox are so similar that chances are you’re going to pick one or the other whereas the Switch is just so unique. This is always the case for Nintendo in fairness but this time it just feels different, I personally feel that their library of games in as strong as its ever been when comparing directly to their more powerful competitors. The Switch feels like a must have secondary console (not even secondary for many) for all players and these sales figures reflect that. I truly wish Nintendo all the best with however much longer the Switch goes for and as for Xbox and PlayStation, they have each other to worry about before they start concerning themselves too much with what Mario and co are up to.
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