PS4 sales figures have been hugely impressive since release, but Sony’s hit console looks set to face some serious competition from the Nintendo Switch.
The PS4 has been climbing up the list of all-time best selling consoles, with it currently behind lifetime sales for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
The PlayStation 4 has sold 63.3million units worldwide between its launch on November 2013 and the end of June this year.
And it seems like it’s only a matter of time before the PS4 eclipses the PS3 sales figures as it continues its meteoric rise.
Analysts have already predicted that the PS4 will eventually hit over 100million units sold for its lifetime sales.
This would put it as one of the best selling consoles of all time, around the same amount that the Nintendo Wii and original PlayStation sold.
The most successful console of all-time is the PlayStation 2, which sold 155million units, with the Nintendo DS just behind on 154million.
But the PS4 is facing some stiff competition from the Nintendo Switch, and one sales stat could be very telling.
Media Create recently looked at the Switch and PS4’s first 26 weeks on sale in Japan, and their analysis was reported by Kotaku.
The respected retail tracker said not only did the Switch outsell the PS4 during its opening week, but it did so almost every single week after that during the first 26 weeks on sale.
In its opening week, the Switch sold 329,152 units while the PS4 sold 309,154 units, according to Media Create.
Overall, in the first 26 weeks on sale – Media Create said the PS4 sold 665,760 units in Japan, which is a very healthy figure.
However, the analysts said the Switch in comparison sold 1,527,962 units in Japan during that same period.
For the PS4, it took 69 weeks for Sony’s console to sell 1,523,471 units in Japan.
The analysis suggests that, in Japan, the Nintendo Switch is selling at a faster rate than the PS4 at the beginning of its lifetime.
And this is in the face of widespread Nintendo Switch stock shortages across the world.
Whether the Switch can continue this impressive rate of sales though is another matter entirely.
Nintendo have said they are aiming for 10million Switch units sold during its first year on sale.
But the Financial Times have previously reported that Nintendo are aiming to shift 15million Switch consoles during its first year.
If it manages to do that, it will be more than the Wii U sold during its entire lifetime.
In Japan, huge queues are often seen whenever the Nintendo Switch has come back in stock.
Most recently in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro, around 3,000 people lined up outside a store for the chance to buy one of 105 Switch consoles.
Nintendo recently came out to say they will “ramp up” production to meet the huge demand for the Switch.
Speaking to Wall Street Journal, Nintendo said: “We’re doing everything we can to make sure everyone who wants to buy a Nintendo Switch system can do so.
“We will ramp up production for the holiday period, which has been factored into our forecast.”
TOP FIVE BEST SELLING CONSOLES OF ALL TIME
1) PlayStation 2 – 155 million units sold
2) Nintendo DS – 154.02 million units sold
3) Game Boy/Game Boy Color – 118.69 million units sold
4) PlayStation – 102.49 million units sold
5) Wii – 101.63 million units sold
Daily Express :: Entertainment Feed
