Ever since the Nintendo Switch launched back in 2017, it’s been one of those consoles that everyone wants. It makes sense why. With a killer library of franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Mario, and Super Smash Bros. there has always been a need to own a Nintendo console of some kind. And the Switch is something special. The ability to take a home console on the go is such a fun idea and every year there seems to be a new must-have game on it. Unsurprisingly, ever since November 2018, the Switch has led the United States as the highest-selling console in the country.
However, with new consoles in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, we always knew the Switch had a chance at being unseated someday. As of September 2021, the Switch has been overtaken by Sony’s PlayStation 5. Despite the difficulty everyone has had in getting a PS5, the console is incredibly popular and has been flying off shelves for almost a year straight. This is a return to the top for PlayStation as well since the previous generation PlayStation 4 was the original leader back when the Switch began its streak.
US NPD HW – September 2021 snaps the remarkable 33 consecutive month streak that Nintendo Switch was the market’s leading platform in hardware unit sales. November 2018 was the last month a platform other than Nintendo Switch led the market in unit sales (PlayStation 4).
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
The popularity of the PlayStation 5 has been interesting because as great as the console is there’s also plenty to complain about it with. For starters, games that are on the PS5 typically cost $70, most of its library is also available on the PS4, and as previously mentioned it is incredibly difficult to get one. That hasn’t stopped everyone from going out and buying it though and whenever supply chains for it return to normal we don’t predict that slowing down anytime soon.
That said, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Switch make a return to the list of highest-selling consoles in the near future. The Nintendo Switch OLED was just released in October and it has unsurprisingly flown off shelves. While it isn’t the massive upgrade that many were hoping for, it’s still a new Switch console and that means there’s going to be a push for them throughout the month.
What will be interesting to see is how sales fare for all the console giants throughout the holidays. There’s always an increase throughout November and December so we expect both console giants to do well, but will Sony be able to overcome its supply chain issues to surpass the Switch and Switch OLED? We’ll just have to wait for the end of the year to find out!