Thanks to the NPD Group’s reports, we already know that the Nintendo Switch had not just a bumper December in the US, but just a bumper year through 2018, period. However, the large scale effects of this can be easy to miss, and so video game analyst Daniel Ahmad has taken to Twitter to highlight just some of what this means in terms of the big picture.
First things first—in the United States alone, the Switch has now sold in 10.5 million units. Given that the Wii U sold 13.5 million units worldwide for the entirety of its life, this is an impressive stat. Secondly, with the Switch now being 22 months into its life cycle, it is outpacing the PS4 and Xbox One alike launch aligned. It has sold 22% more units than the PS4 had 22 months into its life, and 34% more than the Xbox One had. This indicates that in the United States, at the very least, the Switch could well end up being the bestselling console of the generation. As it stands right now, it’s already the fastest selling console in the US for this generation.
Assuming the Switch continues to perform like this worldwide, it could well reverse the projected downturn for the global video game industry in 2019.
Here are some stats from Nintendo of America based on US NPD sales data:
In the US, Nintendo Switch sold 5.6 million units of hardware in 2018, up 16% YoY.
This takes the total installed base of Nintendo Switch to 10.5 million in the US.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 24, 2019
The Nintendo Switch has been on the market for 22 months in the US. When launch aligned, the total install base of the Nintendo Switch is 22% higher than the PS4 and 34% higher than the Xbox One, respectively.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) January 24, 2019
