Switch Has Beaten The PlayStation 2's Year-One Sales In Japan

Great accomplishment Nintendo

Money money money

Yeah, Great job Nintendo !
Kick Sony's Butt !

I may have to, happily, eat my words when I said, some time ago, re: in response to someone boasting that PS4 sales* might beat PS2s: "the days of any console--or handheld--selling as much as the PS2 are dead and gone".

*Never, ever, going to happen, ever.

OK, PS2 comparisons are much more welcome and meaningful than Wii U comparisons. Aim high, not low.

@Anti-Matter you mean sony's 17 year old butt?

@rjejr They're both relevant and interesting statistics. I can't see the harm in reporting on both of them. It'd be strange to act like Nintendo's last console simply didn't happen - especially after covering it for so long as a website.

@manu0
I mean Sony today.
It will be so Pleasure to see Sony beaten Absolutely by Switch domination.

From what I recall, the ps2 success was, in part, led by very good advertising and marketing courtesy of ad shop BBH, amongst others.

The device embedded itself in pop culture, club culture and beyond, becoming a covetable and cool gadget to own.

Switch marketing and adverting has been solid but unspectacular so far, rather leaning on the quality and plaeasurable novelty of the Switch hardware itself.

I’ll be interested to see how their marketing team tackle year 2 and make Switch a must have object for those outside of gaming circles.

Hope it continues

go go switch!

Nintendo needs a bigger bank for all that money!
Reggies body wasn't ready!

What were the ds and 3ds first year sales in japan?

I fully expect the Switch to continue to sell well right now and in the future with redesigns and updates included, and improved sales once the obsolete 3DS is faded out and a cheaper "entry level" Switch is released...

However I doubt any device from any company will beat out the PS2. Gaming culture has changed. Too many people are content with their silly phone and tablet games. Other gamers are more into PC gaming than before because gaming PCs are more accessible than they used to be too.

Also the PS2 got a big boost from the rise of the mighty DVD. The Switch lacks that secondary bonus feature. A lot of households bought a PS2 as a DVD player for the parents and a toy for the kids. But the Switch is exclusively a gaming device. It appeals to a wide variety of gamers, but doesn't draw in those extra sales from a secondary function like the PS2 had.

The Switch is like catnip to the Japanese.

@Morph According to wikipedia in its first 13 months the ds sold 5.70 m units in japan, and the 3ds sold 5.85m in its first 13 months.

The PS2 is the machine of my youth, that firmly won me to the side of Sony. To beat that first year....well it’s a big deal. Of course it was the following years the cemented the PS2 success.

Year 2 and 3 for the Switch will say a lot as far as it’s long term success and how far the hybrid marvel can go. Just as the PS2 captures my youth, the Switch has really carved a place in my late 20s. It’s the perfect system for the way my life is now.

Btw, don't get me wrong.
I got back my PS2 again, Japanese PS2 Slim White color after 3 years i depart from due to start Clean Slate from All pirated things.
But i guess my PS2 will be used mostly for Arcade type games such as DDR series, Guitar Freaks & Drummania series, Para Para Paradise, Beatmania IIDX, Pop'n Music, K-1 World GP series, etc. Well, preparation of Home Arcade gaming.

@Anti-Matter Yeah, console wars, that's what we need here. I like my Switch and 3DS, I like my Vita and PS4.

Wish I could say I was impressed with this. PS2 had production issues so bad that you had pre orders going on well into the second year of its life. On top of that, we are talking about Japan here. While I'm sure it is doing very well in the us and Europe, you're counting your chickens early with Japan being your indicator to do so. It's a portable game machine of course it is doing well in Japan. Way too much is being read into this. That trend is going to start to stumble as the life of this system goes on. When Sony and Ms are out of the gate, it's a slow burn, and as much as I hate using this metaphor, it's a marathon not a Sprint. Nintendo shoots for low cost every time and part of that is for accessibility by a larger audience. The PS4 and xb1 are coming down in price with the pro having a good shot at being the same price as the switch going forward. The switch library is going to hit a drought at some point with nothing but remasters acting as a floatation device. The system will slow as we near 2019 and Sony starts showing us what to expect from ps5. By then we will have reached maybe 25 million. Nintendo best becareful if they want to hit 100 million, for all of Sony's posturing , they won't hesitate to release a beefier, more feature rich device to protect PS2 numbers.

@tamantayoshi it'll be interesting to see how close they can get to those figures by March then. It also suggests that the typical Japanese hanheld userbase hasn't quite adopted it fully yet. Pokemon, Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing would likely see to that

Come on UK! Get with the program!

@ECMIM yes I remember this. Current projections for PS4 and Switch seem to indicate this will happen. I'm on the fence honestly. Microsoft xb1x really screws things up as they are starting to gain a very tiny amount of momentum. If Sony sees a dip in 3rd party sales and ps4 momentum not maintaining, they will push the ps5 out the door with Microsoft not far behind. This will impact the switch as games will no longer be just beyond their reach, but in a far off land in terms of performance. Equally Sony isn't blind to the switch situation. The tegra x1 is an old chip and it isn't outside the capabilities of amd to scale down the ps4 chipset enough to fit in a tablet that can outperform the tegra x1. Not that they would. Nvidia sure is the top dog in portable gpus, if only they were the only act in town it would be an issue. Also nothing stopping the use of the shelved tegra x2 by Sony. So we could see portables from other sources.

I also feel like the audience for Nintendo games is still small and the only reason it has gotten this far is due to zelda and possibly Mario. It has the right cool factor. But this seems like a fast burn more than hype for a long lasting product.

Yeah - let me know when it can sell Atelier at VITA levels in Japan.

@Heavyarms55

Funnily enough, playing CDs and DVDs tended to wear out the PS2's laser much faster because it was always running, resulting in many broken systems, which then contributed to more sales of replacement consoles. When I got mine, I read a couple sources saying that the PS2 was designed to fail to generate more sales. Replacement units.

And so, that's why I don't play CDs, DVDs, or even PS1 games on mine. I also have it extensively clean and don't game for long hours on it. So far, it's been working great since February 2017.

That's what I heard, anyway.

Congrats to Nintendo. Anytime you are compared to the PS2 you are doing something right. The PS2 was helped a lot by its DVD player. Back in 2001, I was with my older brother who saved up $400 for a DVD player. We went to the Canadian equivalent of Best Buy known as Future Shop back then. He was about to buy a brand new DVD player when we saw the PS2 for practically the same price. We would never have thought of buying a gaming console back then but the practicality of the PS2 was why we bought it. Switch doesnt have that so Im not sure it will catch the PS2 long term. Still a great sign for Nintendo. Publishers take note!

That is quite a success story right there.

@Proust Quick, before we reach light speed this year!

Impressive. Personally I don't believe the Switch will surpass the PS2's total sales. It's a very different gaming landscape now, with more diversity and distractions. Systems typically don't have the same longevity these days.

Still the Switch is plainly on track to be a resounding success. Well done Nintendo.

@NotSoCryptic Tegra X1 is an old chip?

Well any tech is outdated almost immediately. A chip from 2015 is still a chip from 2015 and in the mobile space its pretty good.

The X2 also wasnt shelved. Its simply too costly and Nvidia has used it for other applications like AI, and unless we know the details of the deal, its unlikely Sony gets a say in, as Nvidia has listed it as a long term deal.

Furthermore, do you expect Nvidia to work with Sony after the PS3?

Get ready for a Mahe troll post - which are allowed to be posted here, apparently.

Then as usual everyone constructively disagrees with him, and points out the logical flaws in his argument.

...And then people are modded for starting a "witch hunt" against Mahe, when clearly they weren't. They were exclusively only discussing Mahe within the context of the comments section of articles that Mahe himself trolls in; no discussion was taking place outside of it, so it's objectively not some form of Witch hunt.

@10-zx
"PS2 was designed to fail to generate more sales. Replacement units."

Dang !
I must be careful with my PS2 Slim.

@Anti-Matter Sony Warranty its called.

Their hardware failed juuust after warranty ended.

@YummyHappyPills
Hm....
So, that means even PS2 was the Best selling consoles, but their hardware still worse than Nintendo machines ?

Maybe the “big studios” will develop new games for the Switch now given its success.

Capcom leaves Sony and brings Monster Hunter to the 3DS.
Playstation sales remain really high

Capcom leaves Nintendo and brings Monster Hunter to the PS4.
Switch sales break records

Is Capcom a kingmaker? If the Sony should consider telling Capcom to localize Monster Hunter XX if they want PS4Pro sales to soar!

Goes to show that launch week sales (630K for PS2, 330K for Switch) don't matter in the long run.

@Anti-Matter

From my point of view, it's not embedded in concrete, but it is heavily implied from some technicians on several forums who used to repair PS2s. But of course, this was from February, so my memory may not be extra sharp.

But do definitely exercise care when handling any electronic. They aren't indestructible.

@Anti-Matter

Nintendo definitely has better physical hardware.

In my opinion...

It's not just the PS2 that gives up the ghost after the warranty fails. I am on my third PS3, after the first two each failed within a year of the warranty expiring. The second died within weeks of the warranty date - which was particularly galling. Pah.

Back on topic: go Switch. I think the most interesting metric now is comparing the sales success with the DS and 3DS. It's not even going to be close but, as it's also a home console, the fact it's even in the conversation is impressive.

A console lamented for lack of "crucial" video services and YouTube sells more than a console which succeeded partly as an affordable DVD player that could play big current-gen games to boot? Who'd have thunk.

@YummyHappyPills
"Well any tech is outdated almost immediately" not really relevant then if it applies to everything don't you think. That is like saying old is old so its old.

Anyway. The Tegra X1 is based on an older architecture used by nVidia. You can think of it as more of an M series GPU before we started just slapping 1070's and 1080's in everything. 2015 is still pretty antiquated. Don't get me wrong, it's still a nice chip and I work with ti, but by time it ended up in the switch the architecture itself was over 5 years old and iterated on. That was the whole point of the Tegra line. Nothing uses Maxwell anymore.

The X2 is shelved, as far as using it in NVidia products. Form factor reduction has been cut and its mostly just SoC for small systems these days. So by that definition I meant shelved. It won't be in a Shield 2.

Long term deals or not. NVidia is in the buisness of making money. All that means is that they have a long term deal with Nintendo to produce chips and not produce any other competing devices on their own. Just as IBM had a long term deal with Sony for the PS3, they were just as able to have that same deal with Microsoft when the PPU technology and its multi Core Tech was thrown into the Tricore CPU of the Xbox 360. Nothing Stopping Sony or Microsoft from making a deal with nVidia for a custom chip that shares some of the wisdom behind the tegra's design using Pascal (like what is used in the X2).

As far as the PS3 goes. Yes. I do. The whole point of the Tegra X and K line was to take what they learned from the PS3 and the original Xbox and apply it to their portable line. They basically stated a "who has the last laugh" situation where they expect the big console makers to come back to them. NVIDIA has never had an easy time in the console space, they've never really understood it. I think they at least understand that much and will keep trying till they either eat AMD's lunch or become a major player themselves. The dealings with sony where no where as bad as Sony's dealings with Nintendo. The bridges themselves never so badly burned between Sony and NVIDIA or Microsoft and NVIDIA as they were there with Nintendo and Sony.

Anyway you're missing the point. Which is the power curve itself is problematic and there are options for Sony to outclass the Switch with a superior product that could catch the consumers attention. Something beefy enough to play something like Horizon Zero Dawn or any other PS4 title down the line in base settings. I would not be surprised if the PS4's next iteration isn't something smaller and more portable in 2 years time or sooner. I doubt sony would go that route, but I wouldn't be surprised if happened. Even if Sony didn't go that route, it could still manage something better than the switch and more costly. Combining that with the PS5 could cut the Switch is life short. which is really what I'm addressing here. The means exist, Nintendo has always gone for withering technology. Everything about the Switch is exactly that.

@Maxz "I can't see the harm in reporting on both of them"

Not harm, just boring and repetitive. Switch outsells Wii U in it's first month in the US. Switch outsells Wii U in the UK in it's first 5 months. Switch outsells Wii U in it's first 9 months in Japan.

I'm not sure how many actual articles there were like that, but a lot. And it's not just the number of articles, it's all the posts celebrating it like it's a big deal. Woohoo Switch outsold the worst selling console ever, let's have a big party. If Switch can outsell PS2, that's a huge accomplishment. I prefer celebrating accomplishments over celebrating not being a huge disappointing failure.

@NotSoCryptic Your wrote so much, but communicated so little. Everyone knows that the Switch is weaker than the PS4. Sony won't release a PS4 Portable/Hybrid because it must be as powerful as the base PS4 model, which is impossible, or the battery will last only less than an hour, or it will cost $800.

@NotSoCryptic lol butt hurt you sound.

Switch didn't come out till march 3. So its closer to 10 months of sale. But that only makes it even more amazing!.

Yes and the Switch manage to do this without relying on multimedia and backwards compatibility. PS2 is different cause even though it had a lacking launch lineup, the DVD playback and PS1 backwards compatibility help sells it for consumers.

@ECMIM dvd

Incredible feat for Nintendo, they really turned it around after the Wii U

Remember, the 3DS outsold the DS in its first year too. These comparisons are always a bit silly. Whilst they indicate a general trend (the Switch is doing great), it doesn't say anything at all about the long run.

@electrolite77
If there is any region where the Switch could outsell the PS2, it's Japan, as the 3DS outsold the PS2 in Japan while not coming anywhere close to PS2 sales in the west.

While it's a difficult achievement, I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch outsold the PS2 in Japan as well.

@NotSoCryptic i kinda agree with you but i think all ninty has to do is unleash a stronger switch and the performance issues will be no problem. I cant prove it but i am 100% positive that by 2019 or 2020 we will see the switch pro. It makes too much sense. With home and handheld combining i believe they found the perfect idea. Their next system will be home and handheld combined again. There is no turning back now. Once the 3ds developers finally cone to switch its over. Just my opinion im new here sorry for rambling 😂😂😂

It will be interesting to see what is coming in 2018.......if 20 mill is really the target then that seems to point to an Animal Crossings or Pokemon game coming in late 2018 along with a few other surprises.

Regardless, keeping pace in Japan with PS2 is a remarkable feat, now they need to keep it moving

@Elanczewski I agree. I love my switch and 3ds. But my ps4 and vita both still get played.

Nintendo struck gold in Japan this year. Let's hope the game line up for next year continues to be as amazing!

@NotSoCryptic

....I don't know why people keep bringing up price comparisons to the other consoles. Of course the PS4 and XB1 are cheaper, they came out over four years ago now, compared to the Switch that isn't 1 yr. old yet. Obviously the Switch is priced well otherwise it wouldn't have this level of success.

I might be being cynical, but I always wonder how many sales of the PS1/PS2/PS3/Xbox360 are replacement consoles. I can only go from my own experience, but having recently bought second hand GC, PS1 and PS2 consoles, as well as my trusty Wii from 2011 (which was second hand at the time), I have zero issues with the GC and Wii but constant problems with the PS1 and PS2, particularly around reading discs. I remember having to buy a second PS1 back in the 90's due issues with my first one. That would register as two sales, but really it was just one. You'd think Sony being a decent electronics company they'd have the best reliability. Nintendo use Panasonic for all things optical in their consoles, so maybe Panasonic are just better quality? Anyway, I've gone off piste a bit.

@GravyThief Yes, Panasonic is better quality.

@rjejr I understand your position better now. : ) I guess the good news is that it might not take long for the Switch to outsell the Wii U in every possible region and every possible timeframe. And upon doing so, remove the need for more articles.

@Maxz Yeah, I figure once it pasts Wii U in a few more months there wont' be any reason to mention it again. Well at least not on a regular basis anyway. Not sure if they'll do a regular slew of Gamecube sales comparisons but at least that will be a little different. Comparing it to Gameboy, DS, PS2, those are the ones that are interesting. Shoot for the stars or don't shoot at all.

Nintendo had an amazing 2017 but they really need to keep momentum going. They need to get this 2018 Direct started asap and come out swinging with big 1st and 3rd party titles and get their online sorted with, hopefully, access to all their virtual console games.
If they don't go into the usual start of the year Nintendo drought, I cant see why sales wont continue to be strong.

And no one mentions Saddam Hussein adding to the PS2 sales. Guess Kim J. bought a few thousand Switch consoles?

Mario Odyssey and Zelda BotW were both two of the best games of the generation. Hopefully Metroid 4 and something else will be great to carry this momentum through 2018. Splat and Arms are fine games, but they aren't must play Switch sales driving games like Mario/Zelda.