PS4 and Switch Sales Versus Other Major Consoles’ Milestones

It seems strange to think of it now, but at one point, both Sony’s PS4 and Nintendo’s Switch were considered underdogs. It was suggested console hardware was a dinosaur product doomed to be swallowed by the rise of mobile phone technology. Years later, Switch’s hybrid design not only had to contend with the same issues, but also carried the failure of Nintendo’s Wii U heavy on its shoulders, too.

But that’s all in the past now, and with good reason, the executives over at Sony and Nintendo are probably feeling pretty jubilant about the sales trajectories of their respective console hardware. They certainly haven’t been shy in making public the good news of their continued progress.

This week, both companies touted separate sales milestones that are equally astonishing. Sony’s PS4 has now steamrolled its way to a whopping 76 million units (79 million, shipped) after just over four years on the market; and Nintendo’s Switch has now sold 17.79 million in a quarter of that time.

While the entire generation has been dominated by seemingly constant bulletins recording the PS4’s unexpected stonewall success, the Switch has only just joined the fray by comparison. Yet its records are hardly any more surprising. Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, the Switch has quite obviously been a huge hit that has completely rejuvenated Nintendo as a major player in the console industry.

But what is the actual measure of both console’s success compared with the industry’s all-time stars? We’re taking a look here at major milestones reached by previous generation consoles to make the information a little easier to digest.

• 2.4 million: Nintendo Switch Units Sold in its first Month on the market
• 3.91 million: Worldwide shipments for the Wii U approximately 10.5 months on the market
• 4.2 million: PS4 units sold in Less than a month on the market
• 5.63 million: Worldwide shipments for the PS3 in approximately 10.5 months on the market
• 5.9 million: Worldwide shipments for the Xbox 360 in approximately 10.5 months on the market
• 7 million: Approximate worldwide sales for the Xbox One in its first 10.5 months on the market
• 10 million: PS4 units sold in 8 months on the market
• 10 million: Nintendo Switch units sold in 9 months on the market
• 13.56 million: Wii U lifetime sales after roughly five years on the market
• 17.79 million: Switch sales after 11 months on the market
• 20 million: PS4 units sold as of March 1st, 2015
• 36 million: Approximate Xbox One units sold as of March 1, 2018
• 47 million: Projected sales of Nintendo Switch by April 2019
• 50 million: PS4 units sold as of Dec .6 2016
• 72.54 million: 3DS units sold as of March 31, 2018
• 76 million: PS4 units sold as of March 3,1 2018
• 101.3 million: Lifetime Wii Sales
• 155 million: lifetime sales of the PS2