Nintendo Switch Overtakes PS4's Lifetime Sales In Japan

How long until it overtakes the population of Japan, in Japan?

This is insane. Long live Nintendo!

Sony fans were acting like nothing could touch the PS4 in Japan... seems like they were wrong.

Inevitable as the Switch is kind of a handheld though imagine how much more Switch sales would be with a Switch Mini existing.

First Japan, next...
THE WORLD

Yes Yes Yes. We ‘nintendo only’ fans can finally sleep at night. Finally

Wonder if the AAA games publishers are starting to run out of excuses not to make games for switch and if the trend of releasing 1 game from a HD trilogy and digital only might come to an end.

VICTORY SCREETCH

DOLOLOLOLOLOOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOO

@Stocksy this issue is power and unique hardware. The switch is a powerful handheld, but it isn't in the same market as the Xb1 or PS4.

@JayJ
Console wars are over dude.

3ds also outsold the PS4 in Japan.

and still Japanese companies like Konami don't release games like Pro Evolution Soccer on Switch. Main issue is that they think that only Nintendo games make money on Nintendo consoles

@Stocksy As long as there's a power difference (which will always be the case), there's always a reason not to release games for Switch.

Anyone know how the Switch's Japanese sales stack up against the 3DS? I'm guessing that is the real yardstick, given Japan's love of handheld gaming.

@1UP_MARIO Why do people restrict themselves to only Nintendo?

Atlas JP, P-Studio, I hope you're noticing this...

@iLikeUrAttitude To Japan, the world is Japan. Just like in America they have the "world" series

The Switch truly has captured a good chunk of the market. As much as I enjoy Sony's PlayStation hardware, it's hard to deny that the Switch's versatile and portable nature makes it an ideal gaming machine in today's fast-paced world.

Oh, Wow !
Let's celebrate with...

It makes you wonder just how well the PS5 will fair in Japan? The Japan gaming audience leans more and more towards mobile gaming each passing year. The PS5 might not sell as well as the PS4 did.

@HammerKirby when you find out please tell us. Does it benefit us the consumers in any way.

Wow! Impressive! Bravo Switch, well-deserved!

Very very nice.

@JayJ Sony fans have been known to be wrong on plenty of occasions, so no surprise there...

Western AAA devs are far too busy trying to turn the industry into Hollywood to be bothered about the Switch. Who needs them?

Just wonder about Sligeach-Eire and Cobalt when they heard about this.... 😏

Done! - now no reason not to get top quality support from publishers.
(Not like 36 million world wide was not reason enough)

Nintendo should give their entire development staff a massive Bonus today. This is mostly all thanks to them.

@Trajan As long as the various "fan" groups continue to call the others salty and pointing fingers at each other, I don't think the console wars are ever going to be over.

I'm pretty sure that hardcore Sony fans will already have some statement ready to belittle/ridicule this rather massive achievement of Nintendo, which by the way, was done in a shorter period than with any other console, 3DS included.

switch is a monster continues to dominate in japan and eventually will catch up on ps4 lifetime sales in the west.

@Anti-Matter there are a couple here that will highlight Japan likes handhelds or a decline in the market etc etc. They will post when they are recover

How much did 3ds in the same timeframe? I guess more...

Legendairy shutdown right here

It is surprising for sure. I’m sure Sony fanboys will jest that “the Japanese market doesn’t matter anymore”. I have both consoles and have been playing Switch more now that Sekiro is complete. I think the appeal of chilling in the bed or on the balcony and playing awesome games is the appeal for me mostly.

@Anti-Matter They have either vanished or have been kicked off this site. It doesn’t seem like the constant stream of rebuttals or people exposing their ridiculous contradictions would alone be enough to scare them away. There must be another explanation.

Beat my prediction back in March by a month! Bravo.

I'd be all triumphant and blurt out a "now, the west is next!", but I oughta be realistic on my own country's behalf alone.

Italy has been pretty much Sony-land ever since the first PlayStation was a thing.

@HammerKirby because not everyone can afford / have the time for multiple consoles per generation. And if having to choose just one, I vote for the one with Mario and Zelda.

It started it's run on March 2017 in less then 2+ years could do what it took many many years for PS to hits those numbers. That is the sad story not being told here how sony debacle did themselves in and Nintendo stepped in to fill those slots"carts" pun.

Oh boi This is going to be fun..

Wow and it still in the early stages.

@gaga64 @HammerKirby Exactly, this is the same reason for me. In past generations, I also owned the 360, the PS2, the PSP and the OG Xbox.

But now that I am older and have less time for games, I have to be more selective. That's why I only own a Switch and I also play PC games sometimes.

Poor Xbox one. MS needs to pay for a bunch of visual novels and hentai games to get the NEETs on board.

Also can somebody photoshop the switch onto godzilla's body? It is on a rampage!

@Grumblevolcano no, there was a power difference, when GameCube was more powerful than ps2, and Nintendo still did not get any respect.

@Grumblevolcano switch mini? really? I want a switch pro with better specs. A mini would mean an upgraded 3DS... i don't think they will make that one happen.....

@ekwcll and was left standing in the rain, with a "kiddy console" label on its forehead and kiddy titles like Resident Evil 4 and Killer7 on its hands.

@NotTelevision "jest"? Some commenters on PS are currently saying it with a straight face.

Absolutely nobody should be shocked that a Nintendo platform has outsold a Sony platform in Japan. This isn't the PS1/PS2 era anymore...

Only thing I can say is....ouch!

It's still got a long time to go to catch up to the PS4's worldwide sales though. Wondering if the Switch can pull that off?

@ThanosReXXX
You are correct, I’ve already seen PlayStation fanboys saying “well
It’s a portable so of course it’s going to sell more as people will have more than one in their home”
Prepare to hear that like a practiced line should the switch over take Xbox or Sony in the US.

@ekwcll 64 was more powerful than the PS1 too. Those consoles the issue was the medium.

Then after that Nintendo decided to abandon the power market. They should have just abandoned the unique media formats...

@ThanosReXXX IIRC the 3ds sold more in Japan by this time in it's life.

Let's celebrate by brigning Persona 5 Royal to the Switch!

@Trajan Hm, okay. Well, I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that it hadn't. I remember either NLife or another Nintendo-related site recently putting up another article about how fast the Switch was selling, and it compared several systems with each other.

Of course, lifetime sales of the 3DS/2DS systems are basically still ongoing, so that's a line the Switch will still have to cross, but personally, I don't see the 3DS as a true competitor, seeing as it's a hybrid and not a pure handheld system.

@Dilated Indeed...

The Switch was a brilliant move on Nintendo’s part - whether it was intentional or not. With the Wii they tapped into the casual gamer market, which was promptly overrun by smartphones. Nintendo couldn’t compete with phones and couldn’t compete on hardcore consoles, so the Switch hits that sweet spot in between consoles and mobile devices and recaptures some (but not all) of the Wii casual gamer market.

@dimi PES on the switch, now you're talking.

@nhSnork Yeah it’s certainly weird for them to say that. You won’t see them saying that about the UK.

Even if one doesn’t think the Japanese market matters, it’s still a compelling set of data that justifies a product’s overwhelming success. Nintendo and its IP are stronger than ever.

The real winner is though is console gaming itself. Both Sony and Nintendo have succeeded in appealing to consumers this generation so both should be congratulated.

@HammerKirby Money, unconvincing arguments to switch to other suppliers, nintendo offerings being satisfactory, time to spend on gaming.

Better question might be: why is it so hard for you to understand why someone would stick to one particular supplier?

@HammerKirby All of my favorite franchises are Nintendo exclusive, and I grew up with Nintendo

It's interesting to see the number of units sold, but I'm curious to know how many households own a PS4 or a Switch (it's not unreasonable to consider there are households with more than one Switch or even PS4).

@ThanosReXXX Well one of the great things about the Switch is it's a handheld that can play on TV. Nintendo basically left the console market, yet is still in the console market for those who don't like handhelds.

But it really is a handheld. Only thing holding it back from 3ds success is price I think.

@NotTelevision exactly. Both consoles owe their numbers to what they've brought to the table and how they've managed to sell it.

Ah... that's where we, as in: me and like-minded people, and Nintendo themselves, disagree: it really isn't a handheld. It isn't a pure home console either, but at the very least, it's a hybrid. It isn't simply one or the other, regardless of how people see or use it.

Ah yes but has it outsold Xbox One?

@Trajan
It's a console you can also play as a handheld (or on the table, or something else without a TV). If it were a handheld, which you can play on the TV, you couldn't play Mario Kart with friends in splitscreen, couldn't play Super Smash Bros. with up to 8 people, couldn't play Super Mario Party with your sister, and so on.

@ZelthkingYoutube "The switch is my favourite console right now..."

It's my favorite console ever.

@ThanosReXXX The key difference may be that it gives you the immersion and multiplayer of a stationary console while having the low access times and everywhere-flexibility of a handheld. (And it also adds pub and beach multiplayer. )

@MrBlacky with Bluetooth and usb ports, yes you can. The switch is built around mobile tech. It is certainly a handheld

@ashaka Yup. Which is a good example of its hybrid nature.

With PlayStation's anti-Japanese developer/gamer censorship policies, a lot of Japanese gamers are jumping ship from PlayStation consoles, in favour of PC and Switch. Also, it's the fact that PlayStation is a Californian company now, so Japanese gamers don't feel any national loyalty to PlayStation anymore.

@Trajan And what would that make of the Shield TV?
A home console, based around the EXACT same technology that's in the Nvidia Shield AND the Nintendo Switch?

It's not a handheld, man. If you see it as one, or prefer to use it as one, that's perfectly fine, but opinions, as we all know, aren't facts.

And besides: what true, dedicated handheld has detachable controllers?

Exactly...

@ThanosReXXX Ha, I saw a comment on push square that was pretty much exactly like you've said. Saying the switch's hardware was garbage and people were waiting on the one good Nintendo game to come out, while going on to talk about the ps4s total sales. Another one said Japan is becoming less relevant (all of a sudden) because of this.

@Trajan
No you can't.😐 Handheld multiplayer means: every player needs his/her own device and (in most cases) his/her own version of the game. Please name at least two games on NDS, 3DS, PSP, PSV or whatever, where you can play a multiplayer game with only one device.
And of course the Switch is build around mobile tech. How else could it also work as a handheld?🙄

@jbreez00 Which in and of itself is pretty weird, seeing as their homeland is still a pretty big market for Sony...

@MrBlacky not really. My phone can play split screen Halo 2, but that doesn't make it a console.

@ThanosReXXX Yes the shield t.v. is a mobile platform. Same with that PSTV that played vita games.

@Trajan But it's no handheld now, is it?
Look, let's just agree to disagree if you're intent on continuing to deny undeniable logic, in which case this conversation is just a useless, going around in circles thing.

I don't need to make any specific or decisive point, because Nintendo already made it for me. But apparently, some users think they know better than the actual company that manufactures the damn thing...

Have a good evening, I'm out.

@ThanosReXXX what's no handheld? What point did Nintendo make? They merged their handheld and console business into one after the failure of the Wii U...

People trying to downplay the Switch's success over it being a handheld isnt a very strong argument.

The Switch overtook the Vitas lifetime sales in Japan last year despite the former being on the market for less than 2 years while the latter was on the market in Japan for over 6 at that point.

Just sayin' handhelds don't automatically do crazy numbers over there.

@Trajan
Oh, so need to give a (supposedly) hacked home console game as example.

@Trajan ...to make a hybrid console, that could combine the two in one device.

@electrolite77 My thoughts exactly, but some people would rather position their opinion as fact, or simply deny any and all information that official and/or first parties have already given about the system. And in quite a bit of detail as well, might I add...

@Krull

The Switch lags quite far behind the 3DS in Japanese sales; at this point in its life, the 3DS had sold well over 11 million units. Being ¥10,000+ more expensive will do that...

Thankfully, the Switch is selling considerably more than the 3DS in every other territory across the world, so I doubt Nintendo is too concerned.

Great to see Nintendo getting back on top. The power of gameplay over gloss.

@MrBlacky or an "unauthorized port". My point was your hardware definition isn't really there.

What we see in the video game market is consoles have gotten to the point where they are basically the counterparts to other consumer grade electronics. Yes, the NES was basically a microcomputer appropriate for the time (but locked down) and that mentality followed consoles for a while. Now a days with the death of dedicated portable consoles, we essentially have 2 options: PCs, or phones/tablets. The Switch is a tablet. iPad isn't competing with the MacBook Pro or iMac. iPad can also be attached to a tv or monitor. It is still a tablet.

Console wars are over. Being a fanboy only hurts yourself.
https://youtu.be/1USkg3qqPTk

@yuwarite I will laugh at Sony if there new console becomes major commercial flop and they go out business.

@JHDK I have three switches. I'm doing my part.

Maybe the people of Japan always on the go a lot. Travel places to places. So the Switch is the solution. I also travel a lot too and the Switch is the thang. I still play my PS4 whenever I feel like I want to play it. Only touched it like once/twice a month.

Xbox should just ask Nintendo for a merge, so the two can become one.

@ekwcll the ps2 was blessed with a DVD player, that's why it done amazingly, it was one of my first DVD players,cheap, played games and CD's and is still used till this day. I do believe though that the ps2 should be mentioned as a DVD player not a console as I and all my mates at the time had more dad's than games.

Ha ha suck it Sony!
(Yes I am a childish fanboy, I don't care)

In 2016, Sony moved PlayStation HQ (Sony Interactive Entertainment) to California, and ever since, we've seen more and more problems arising for Japanese game developers and gamers. It all culminated late last year, where it was revealed that Japanese developers are being forced to censor their games, even those released exclusively in Japan, and those who wish to dispute it must submit their response in English:

https://nichegamer.com/2018/10/27/new-sony-censorship-policy-is-forcing-even-japanese-developers-to-censor-themselves-in-japan/

Ever since, Japanese gamers have been super p'd off at Sony. The general feeling is that, it feels like Sony is pushing western ideologies and politics on to Japanese gamers. Furthermore, Sony execs have essentially said things like, 'Japan needs to get with the times like the rest of us', further angering Japanese gamers and even PlayStation's Japanese president said censorship was to 'protect the children': www.oneangrygamer.net/2018/12/sony-japan-president-says-ps4-censorship-policy-is-to-match-global-standards-and-protect-kids/72781/

@Dellybelly "Play your games you enjoy on platform you enjoy, no need to make it into a war"
^This – everyone's on Team Video Games, and game lovers everywhere win!

I'm really glad to see the Switch succeed as it means that:
1) Nintendo will continue to make interesting, quirky hardware consoles after the Wii U
2) Handheld consoles will continue to be made even in the face of competition from smartphones and the end of the PSVita
3) Nintendo will continue making great AAA console games (even when they are making some smartphone games) and
4) There is real competition so that Sony can't become lazy and complacent
5) Physical game releases aren't dead yet
6) Maybe we'll get Netflix on it someday

@GrailUK The sales numbers show that plenty of people need them. Hurts, doesn't it?