It’s 2020, which means a whole new slate of console releases. It also means two next-gen consoles releasing in the 2020 holiday season – the Xbox or Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. However, the Nintendo Switch doesn’t seem like it’s getting a hardware refresh. Will it survive?
NPD analyst Mat Piscatella addressed this in some new tweets. Referencing The NPD Group’s PlayerPulse surveys, he found that more than 40 percent of Switch owners in the United States also owned a PS4 and/or Xbox One. “Switch isn’t a substitute to PlayStation or Xbox, it’s supplemental. I don’t see next gen hardware launches having a meaningful direct cannibalistic impact on Switch sales in ’20.”
Piscatella further clarified that, “Supplemental in this context means supplemental purchase (additive/incremental). This term does not refer to player preference.” So while someone may own all three consoles, the statistic doesn’t reflect which ones they game on the most. The Switch could see significantly more or less playtime than either the PS4 and/or Xbox One for some players.
Of course, the key word is “2020”. Once the PS5 and Xbox Series X have been out for six months to a year, how will the Switch fare in comparison? Will it still have a strong market share as is or will a refresh be necessary? We’ll have to wait in the coming months to find out.