Switch Predicted To Be Best-Selling Console This Holiday Season In The US

The number one console and the number one hardware problem with joycon drift.

That's like saying that they expect Children to be born this year. Of course it's gonna happen.

It’s affordable and still riding high off Animal Crossing, there’s no way I can justify spending that much on PS5 for a good while and Switch is a decent price. Plus it has the family thing going for it.

@nessisonett Yeah, the only thing that I can see being a little threatening the Switch is the Xbox Series S, but even that doesn't seem like it's going to effect the Switch's sales much.

I can see Switch coming out on top. It appeals to more of the mass audience. It can grab the attention of both avid/active gamers, and 'grandma' looking to make her grandkid excited for Christmas at its price point. Outside of hardcore gaming when you have to talk 'payment plan' for you next system it tends to be a wallet alert during COVID times.

Well, for the price of a PS5 or Seriex X you can get a Switch and 3 full price games. (4 if you get a bundle like the Animal Crossing or Mario Kart Switch)

I think the software lineup will be most important for 2021. The 3rd party lineup is really shaping up but we know little about the 1st/2nd party lineup, though i imagine we should see Pokemon Snap and Bayonetta 3.

20 bucks says, right before Thanksgiving, Nintendo announces a price drop for the Switch.

Next gen or not, there's a BIG difference between 400-500 dollars and potentially a 275 dollar Switch and 175 dollar Switch Lite.

Not to mention that - from what I keep hearing - it was next to impossible to preorder Sony and MS' new consoles.

Me? I have no interest in PS5 or Xbox XSQR9-2.1 or whatever keyboard smack of a name they give it. I have my Switch, which is still like 90% of my gaming. And my 2 month old gaming PC.

Nothing against either Sony or MS (expect I do really dislike MS' naming nonsense) but I am just extremely unimpressed with their new offerings. They are more graphically powerful and faster. That's it. That's not new or innovative to me. It's expected. PS4 and Xbone are, what, 7-8 years old now? Their successor darn well better have better hardware! But if that's all they are, I'm just not that interested since I can play most anything they can, on my PC.

Also Switch will have the advantage of a hella good library of solid evergreen titles. Like other people have said, for the same price as just the PS5, you could get a Switch and several games! Getting a Switch right now has the best first world problem of having to decide which killer apps you want to start with. ACNH, BOTW, Mario 3D All Stars or Odyssey, Pokemon SWSH, Fire Emblem 3 Houses, both Xenoblade titles, and on and on the list goes!

The Switch has had a strong year of sales so far - shifting more than 62 million units (via Famitsu) and even outselling the mighty NES.

@Liam_Doolan Er - this sentence could, maybe, imply that Switch has sold that many in this single year. Just a note of caution...

Getting a series x here in a month. I love switch but I also love 4K gaming.

@Heavyarms55 people said the same thing about ps4 and it ended being a huge step in the complexity and overall structure of games. You don't have to dislike Xbox to like Switch and if you just bought a gaming pc you already invested a lot in next gen gaming. So it's contradictory to make a point that next gen isn't worth it.

I already have a Switch. Cannot wait for PS5 (already sold my PS4 Pro). I will get xbox series X at some point in a year or two, so holding on to Xbox One for now.

It would be interesting seeing the almighty next-gen consoles behind it, maybe it won't top them on total money value but it could win in units
Wish it would mean more third party support though

In other news, the sky is blue.

We all have inferiority/underdog complex thanks to Wii U and the years of analysts shelling Nintendo’s hardware strategies. But I admit Nintendoom does date back even to pre-SNES era

My prediction, PS5 and X Box Series X will both out sell the Switch. Nintendo is known for shortages. Sony and Microsoft knew their systems would be the hot ticket item and have already sold out. Probably in quantities higher than Nintendo anticipatied their Switch would sell for the season.

Can Microsoft or Sony produce enough hardware if the demand is there?

Nintendo has been 1.5-2x plus in unit sales in Q4 vs Q1-3 in the US for the last 3 years. This year Switch has sold over 16 million units Q1-3, [Source].

Even if we assume it's only a 0.75x for Q4, that gets us to almost 30 million units for the year. Given the purported manufacturing issues I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible for either Sony or MS to match units available for sale.

What's more interesting is how next year will shape up, with availability increasing, a likely medium-term international recession and increased protectionism. Is there sustained demand for this next gen of consoles whose major feature (4k) is in 31% of households, with a smaller percentage having HDMI 2.1.

@Faucet I can't imagine that being possible. The PS2 is the best-selling console of all time at 150m+. In year 1 it shipped (not sold) less than 11 million units, and its first holiday (September - Jan 1) it shipped 3 million worldwide. There's no way they have that kind of capacity, and the switch is averaging almost 2m/mo this year...outside the holidays...with supply shortages.

This holiday Switch will curb stomp XSX and PS5. Next year will be more telling though.

I think Switch has a good chance of beating Series X but I'm not so sure about PS5 given I remember how insane the PS4 sales were around launch week. I remember by like 3 months in, Sony stated they already sold a little over halfway to 10 million units worldwide, and the PS5 has a considerably better launch lineup and launch window lineup than the PS4 did by a long shot.

I think Nintendo are primed for a great 2021. Feel they might have held back a bit this year as they really didn’t need to do more do outperform their competitors. If they launch the Pro, and support it with BOTW 2 and 1 or 2 other top tier releases along with a strong supporting cast (similar to 2017) they should be more than ok.

Not since the GameCube have I been so bored by the launch of a new console. No killer AAA games, day one. The ability to play new games on the old consoles, makes this next gen even less exciting. All this excitement about quicker load times, teraflops and playing however you want, had me thinking how happy I am with my Switch. Not since the SNES has Nintendo been in such a beautiful position in terms of library of games. Also, it started out the gate strong. I hear that the Xbox, play how you want feature, works surprisingly well. But, it can’t compete with having the Switch library on the go. In my eyes, it never will. This, coming from somebody who owns an Xbox One to go with my Switch.

I have nothing against the PS5 or the XBOX Series X. I'm just going to wait until the PS5 undergoes at least two hardware revisions before I consider picking one up. Let someone else beta test.

@Severian The number one console and the number one hardware problem with joycon drift.
Only a Troll could love this Troll.
If the Troll doesn't take the repair or fix then only they are to fault.

@TheFrenchiestFry They barely have enough launch titles that can be found or verified is there to be had. Numbers from Sony is at best superstitions. Since No one else has verified this claim.

@SwitchForce They don't have a lot in terms of pure exclusives on launch day but you'd be insane if you thought Demon's Souls and Spider-Man weren't major titles to LAUNCH a system with. Even the Switch didn't have more than one major first party heavy hitter and a bunch of smaller releases when it launched in 2017. Even the multiplatform stuff like DMC5 Special Edition are way more prolific than stuff like a multiplayer Bomberman game and Skylanders Imaginators

I wonder when the sheep are gonna wake up and see the Switch for the style-over-substance lazy degenerate HD Gameboy it is holy hell

@SwitchForce three words: class action lawsuit.

Nobody should be forced to have to send the controls in for repairs as often as they do for the joycons or fix it themselves.

Nothing trollish about what I wrote.

People are going to have to hope all those new owners don’t have to deal with drift during the holiday season when they should be gaming in peace instead of waiting for repairs to be mailed back, especially those not living in a place with adequate postal service to mail the controls to Nintendo and back.

@Severian play a different song already.
I’ve had my switch going on two years with 4 Joycon and never a drift issue.
Why comment here just to say this? No reason. You add no value.

@Severian Launch day Switch. No drift here.

It's like saying someone will win a presidential election. It's common sense!

@TimboSlice because it IS an issue, given that Nintendo knows it’s an issue but hasn’t made the fix yet so that people don’t have to keep sending it in for repairs (and for those of us in countries where there is no official repair center, it’s worse). And a lot of people may not know what to do when this happens for their kids as not all Switch owners are up to date with news, such as a friend who bought it for his son in Bradford.

You can tell me to shut up, but you can’t deny it’s an issue many people deal with far too frequently, and more new owners means more potential problems for Nintendo to address eventually. Otherwise, saying that I should get over it is like saying to all the people whose babies got lead poisoning from the formula in China in 2008 are complaining since your own kids are just fine taking bad formula.

@EVIL-C awesome dude, good for you. I had to send my first control in when I was in the states and repair the other one myself when I left.

The Switch happens to be a lucky console when it comes to timing this holiday season. The PS4 and Xbox One are going to see lower sales this holiday since they are now older gen consoles which most people are not going to run out to buy.

The PS5 and Xbox Series hardware are held back by limited supply issues, the larger price tag, and limited game selection(even if BC on both platforms does help this issue to some degree.)

So, there was never any doubt Nintendo will win this holiday season. Its competing with older systems that are now last-gen, while the new systems are limited in terms of supply.

The real test will be in 2021. How well will the Switch do against the PS5 and Xbox Series systems once they have a chance to build their library of games, the supply issues are worked out, and the heavy hitters like Halo start dropping.

I think the Switch will be in for more of a fight next year.

But... but the industry experts on here told me the Switch was doomed when next gen hit!! 😂

But yeah, the Switch will still be hot this holiday. Hard to beat $200 for a Switch lite with so many great games on the system. Bunch of the naysayers will have egg on their faces.

@Severian Launch day Swicth without drift here as well.

Also, the Switch isn't the only console with "drifting" controllers...
See Eurogamer:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-10-11-class-action-lawsuit-against-microsoft-for-alleged-xbox-one-controller-stick-drift-has-been-updated-to-include-the-elite-series-2

@sanderev yeesh. Whether it’s Nintendo or Microsoft, still a problem that needs to be addressed and not shift responsibility to consumers if they know it’s a common problem. Nintendo is in a position to need to fix this more than Microsoft because of the demand and large installation base then.

Anyone else think the "switch pro" is a new dock with an eGPU?

I am not certain if it will lead the pack, but I definitely don't expect the Nintendo Switch's momentum to be slowed very much. It is just a crazy fun system to own.

@TheSwitcher The USB port on the Swicth is too slow for an eGPU to have any positive effect. It's basically an USB 2.0 port.

@Severian Even the PS4 controller isn't without problems. And if you look hard enough, you'll be able to find problems with any controller or input method. Because, and this is an easy one, people don't handle their controllers with enough care. For instance my PS4 controller had face buttons that stopped working.

@sanderev a long shot, but they could use a combo of wifi, bluetooth and the usb 2.0 to get enough bandwidth to do something. It wouldn't be low latency, and overhead could be a limiting factor, but could make draw distances further and stuff like that.

With the state of the world, the current recession, the sticker shock and confusion to be had with both Xbox Series S|X and PS5 and the $70 games. Nintendo is in an enviable place thanks to having popular games, a humongous list of good games, and all at a price that isn’t going make people go bankrupt in a time where it’s becoming difficult to not go bankrupt.

I grown desensitized to the concept of a Switch Pro the more I keep hearing rumors about it. It’s been 3 years since I kept hearing rumors. At this point I’m with John about the possibility of a TV-only version of the Switch akin to the PS(Vita)TV, with no enhancements to horsepower or resolution at all. Similar to the Switch Lite being a handheld only alternative. Imagine a system that looks like a GCN controller adapter that costs $149.99 USD.

In terms of hardware power, we also had seen developers utilizing skills and smartly-optimized game engines to make the most out of the hardware. Ori: Will of the Wisps, Panic Button conversions, etc. all being examples of smartly optimized/converted games. It’s not number of teraflops, but rather how that number is being smartly utilized, kinda like playing Golf in a sense.

I don't see why Switch's momentum would lessen. It's already the weakest system, so it's nothing to do with specs. Competitors throwing more about shouldn't affect it. I get it will be difficult to port AAA third parties unless there is some sort of iteration of Switch to 'keep up'. Next year's software line up could be epic, if there is a Super Switch, then next gen can happily go sit down for a while (until they release reasonably sized consoles lol)

Only Nintendo for me. I don’t have time for other consoles (but I am tempted).

@TheSwitcher
This "eGPU" is a fantasy. Not only does the current USB-C port on the Switch not support the bandwidth for an external processor, but even if it did, it would make the seamless transition from docked to undocked mode impossible as a software reboot would be required every time the Switch is detached from the "eGPU".

The Switch shipped 10.8 million units last holiday quarter. By comparison, the PS4 and XBO shipped 4.5 and 3.5 milliin units during their launch quarters.

The PS5 and XSX|S should outperform their predecessors at launch, but nowhere near to the extent where either console can ship 10+ million units by the end of the year.

@sanderev

https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/6az6uz/external_gpu_for_the_switch/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

A fantasy that coined the term "Switch Pro" or at least the first use I know of.

@sanderev a little too simple to say some people don’t handle their gadgets properly, as not all climates and environments are equal. Where I am, there is a lot of humidity on most days and a lot of dust in my building, so I have to clean regularly and keep my consoles inside a plastic bag to prevent dust. Even with this extra care, the drift happens. And of course, I would throw in some games kill the analog sticks more like Super Mario Party (which I don’t have), but again: the defect is known and until they fix it and go through the hoops necessary to make changes that get to the manufacturing process, it’s a problem that enough of us have to deal with and isn’t something to “get over with” so quickly.

@Severian,

Not for everyone fella.

@Caryslan,

Lucky?, nothing to do with it's sales momentum and it's a cool console with lots of games, that appeals to a wide demographic.

@johnvboy never said “everyone” in any of my posts, “fella”.

I said “commonly”, “a lot of”, and “enough of us” in my several posts here.

@TheFrenchiestFry friendly reminder that switch launch year consisted of Breath of the wild, super mario odyssey, splatoon 2, xenoblade chronicles 2, mario kart 8 deluxe and arms

@Severian,

To be honest I fail to see the relevance in this thread, it's about the Switch being potentially the best selling console this holiday season, you could add many issues to this article, but they are all nothing to do with the content.

@johnvboy I consider it a salient point. Best selling console? Thumbs up for Nintendo and us fans. But thumbs down because it’s over three years into the system’s life and as demand increases, fixing the joycon issue should really be prioritized already precisely because it’s selling well and this is where Nintendo needs to protect its reputation for top quality hardware and service. If they can chase every IP infringement like poke princess, they can hasten things a bit more to fix this before more people (not “all”) this holiday season potentially deal with joycon drift.

@Lindhardt Not to mention that Nintendo haven't announced any game price increases so the Switch will definitely be a cheaper option all round.

@Severian,

Totally agree with you Nintendo need to sort this potential issue out, but still feel this comment section is not the place to discuss it, there was a lawsuit article that was the perfect place.

@johnvboy respectfully disagree that this is not a place to bring it up as the lawsuit article is a few days older and what I wish to highlight is that the new users means more instances of joycon issues—a PR issue for Nintendo. But I made my point already and at this point most of my responses are to people who don’t agree with it, and that’s fine if they want to discuss it, but I have nothing new to add besides what I’ve elaborated on already...

@Severian,

It can't be that big of a PR issue to Nintendo, as the console and Joycon controllers are still flying off store shelves, I would wager that outside dedicated gaming sites and forums, nobody will even be aware of the issue.

well no way due the covid MS and sony have made enough of the new consoles and no one is going buy the older ones now. So was always going be an easy win. but here were i live you still struggle find switches

@Severian Not trying to downplay the drifting problem but you are - I assume - aware that PS and Xbox controllers and various PC ones have the same problem.

@Faucet Nah. The Switch is at it's peak right now. Historically, we've never seen launch consoles beat out a console whose at the top of the market (ex PS4 and Switch). Now Switch is the big dawg now and PS5 and XSX are the new guys coming in. No one is beating the Switch right now. Not at least for another year. The PS5 and XSX will only sell out of their stock, but not enough to contend with Switch. Next holiday will be more interesting, but certainly not this one. This is a no brainer.

@Severian don't bother with this dude. he's obviously just trying to defend his favorite corporation. Nintendo should have fixed drift already. they're starting to get a bad reputation again for the quality of their hardware.

@shazbot VGCharts is not a reliable source. These numbers of 16+ million sold Switch consoles in 2020 are factualy false. VGC says the Switch got sold 65 million times until the end of September 2020 minus 16 million that would give 49 million at the end of 2019, but the Switch got 52,48 million times until December 31 2019. Just saying. Don't take VGC actually serious, their weekly Switch sales numbers in Japan are also always of by 1000 units from famitsu's numbers.

@Cosats No where as big as the Switch's drift problem. It's not really comparable.

@Cosats not to the same level of the joycons. with the joycons, drift is the norm while with ps or xb controllers, they rarely drift, if ever. i know, i have like 6 ps4 controllers and 2 of them are almost as old as the platform and they don't drift while i've had 3 joycons pair drift that were not even a year old and they drifted

@TimboSlice I've had three Joycon pairs with drift and am at my fourth and I got my Switch in 2018, I get the feeling you're pretending it not being an existing issue.

@BTB20 can we assume that they're at least consistent? As in, if skewed, they're not skewed in one console's favor? Or are there credible allegations of pro-Sony/Nintendo numbers?

Because if not, the point stands.

@Casual_Gamer95 Thanks, yeah, I already made my points, but most replies now are people who haven't read the earlier responses and are repeats of the same argument...nothing else to add on my end that I haven't already said.

Though I would say that I am of the school of thought that I am more critical of Nintendo because I love them more than I care for Sony. Some people are having a hard time with the criticism...but it isn't a personal attack on Nintendo, rather it's a lament that they could (and should!) do better because well, we deserve better as their loyal fans.

How will the Switch be the number one console if no b one can purchase one? Last I heard, it's impossible to find a Switch. Has that changed?

@shazbot VGChartz is infamous for being unreliable. People will take you more seriously if you do your own speculation over official numbers instead of using VGChartz as a source.

Here are Nintendo official numbers for every quarter since launch: https://vgsales.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_Switch

They sold 9 millions in the first half of this year and 15.6 millions in the second half last year. If they sold the same this year, it would be 24.5 millions in this calendar year. But considering their first half last year was 4.5 millions and reports all around are pointing the momentum isn't over, north of 25 millions is indeed quite likely.

Last quarter official numbers should be out in the last week of October or first week of November, btw.

@wanghosom and the PS5's launch year includes Spider-Man, Demon's Souls, Horizon, God of War, Ratchet & Clank and a new IP entirely in addition to several third party exclusives like Final Fantasy XVI and two Bethesda titles. Your point?

@Faucet ..I agree with your statement ..

Although the Switch has some good offers ,it is already almost 4 years old ..The PS5 ,and XBOX series consoles are the new kids on the block ..And like everything else they attract folks,with all the new bells and whistles..

@NGNYS ..I disagree with post in it’s entirety,but we will agree to disagree..

@TheFrenchiestFry my point is your "Even the Switch didn't have more than one major first party heavy hitter and a bunch of smaller releases when it launched in 2017." statement is false

I have never mentioned Playstation.

I would be surprised if the Switch holiday prediction comes true. There might need to be a game besides Hyrule Warriors coming out this holiday season for the prediction to come true. Would even the N64 Nintendo Switch Online make people want this over a PS5 or Xbox One Series X? Are there that many people who don't have a Switch yet? I imagine people that have wanted a Switch probably bought one over the last few months.

@BTB20 we all know it exists. But to talk about it in every thread? Enough already. That’s all I’m saying.
Posting it here ain’t gonna do anything for people. Make a thread about it somewhere and rant there. But keep it in one place. That would be appreciated.

That's a hard statement. PS4 is still another hot console, and with Sony and Microsoft releasing new consoles for the holiday, they could also drop the prices on their current consoles and have great bundles available, and who knows what games they have up their sleeves and keeping hidden for the holiday for not only their past consoles, but the new consoles as well. Switch will sell, that's a no brainer, but it's also up to nintendo to keep the consoles manufactured and available to stores, something that they have trouble with many times.

As for what nintendo has for lineup games for the 2021, that really won't matter for this holiday. It will for the next holiday season, and I'm sure that nintendo should be fine with their own IP's. They still have a few IP's that haven't seen any game on Switch yet (Star Fox, a brand new Donkey Kong, F-zero, Punch Out...more). Nintendo can keep it going.

I don't know about that the PlayStation 5 has more hype around it than the Switch

Nintendo must be very confident to think they can sell 30 milions consoles in this Holiday season, how they can sell 30 milions consoles?if in novembre the next generation is launched, PS5 is already selling out in many countries and Sony predict and hope PS5 sell 7milions consoles sold until the end of it fiscal year in march of 2021, people are driven by novity, Switch is already a outdated 3 years old console entering his Fourth year in the market, why people would buy this outdated console?when we have brand new consoles to buy and play, Switch reign of the best selling hardware until now, is gonna be over when PS5 e Xbox Series X/S are released.

@NGNYS LOL the people who say the PS5 is a port machine ought to talk to the people who wished for more ports.

@Giancarlothomaz

The 3DS, DS, and Gameboy were all very popular for a long cycle compared to some home consoles.

As for "new is good", retro gamers buying the NES and SNES Classic are a good counterpoint to that.

People buy games, not necessarily what is new, and what is new, if available, isn't always affordable initially.

@TimboSlice Fine. I got you.

I doubt it, i mean, I know the Switch will sell well but I doubt it'll outsell the PS5 or Xbox Series X.

The thing is, the people who come on forums to talk about games they play tend to mostly be adults.

Kids don't do it, instead they ask mum and dad to just buy them what they want.

You'd honestly have to be a fool to believe they are not asking for the latest consoles. You'd also have to be a fool to believe we outnumber them, we don't.

I see a lot of people saying "oh the Switch only has XX and XX coming out this year", forgetting the point that new Switch owners will have software since 2017 that will all be brand spanking new to them. Unless I'm being stupid and all those games have gone off like milk and are now completely unplayable? The views on this site rarely reflect the real world.

If the 3 year old switch outsells the Xbox X/S and PS5 in there launch window, Nintendo has officially "won" at video games.

In all seriousness, this wouldn't be THAT big a shock / deal. Traditionally a consoles first holiday isn't amazing; it's always really close to the launch window and early adopters pre-ordered. It's the SECOND holiday where a console sees it's sales really take off. With the exception of the Wii U, this has been true for all modern consoles, sometimes selling twice what they sold in the launch window in Dec. alone

You cant find a $500 PS5 or XSX... You cant find a $700 RTX3080... Hell, even the $1400 3090s are gone.

The high end is sold out, not like anyone has an actual choice at this point.

The RTX 3070 will be the hottest gaming hardware nobody can buy this holiday.

@doctorhino I bought a powerful PC that happens to be able to handle gaming too. Too. It is useful for a lot more than gaming and the power is so, like my previous machine, it remains useful for 7-8 years with needing much.

You're not gonna convince me on PS5 or Xbox Banana that either are impressive because they aren't.

@Severian you do realize most drift issues are caused by food crumbs getting into the joystick or even abusing joystick for long periods can also cause that problem to.

@RiasGremory Seems like you didn’t read my other replies above to people who made the same arguments, especially my post saying I clean regularly and don’t abuse the sticks, while keeping them in a plastic bag because of climate and environment.

Man, why do people reply to individual comments, but don’t actually read the entire conversation? 😂

@Lindhardt My choices have been Xenoblade, Mario 3d all stars. going to more than likely get Pikmin 3 deluxe and more this year.

Those are fine numbers, but it's not fair to compare to the NES or the Wii, it needs to compete with the NES + Gameboy, or the Wii + DS, or Wii U + 3DS otherwise it's doing worse.

@TheFrenchiestFry those are all kind of the same game, which is great if you're into 3rd person action adventures, but hardly anything to brag about in terms of variety of a console launch. Looking at the Switch lineup you had Zelda, Odyssey, and Xenoblade for 3rd person action adventure, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for racing fans, Splatoon 2 for team based arena online shooters, ARMS for online fighting game fans and fitness enthusiasts, 1-2 Switch for non-gamer casuals, Snipperclips for quirky indie fans. Maybe Sony has that too, but that's not represented in the games you listed.

@Heavyarms55 yeah man but you are going to play next gen games. I don't care if you like the new systems but saying next gen games aren't worth it while playing them... I mean you must be able to see that is just silly.

Trash talking consoles on a site about consoles is equally as silly. You want to be part of the pc master race cool but saying consoles only play games and that's all they are good for is so 20 years ago.

Nintendo's home console sales for 2020: Almost zero. In other news, Nintendo continues to rule the roost in mobile sales.

Everyone is pretending that Nintendo exiting the home console market is an improvement. The Switch is a nice upgrade for 3DS owners. I can't wait for the next Switch, and hopefully an actual home console from Nintendo, something like the Series S for Nintendo fans would be perfect.

@Razer @Minish-Cap
As I have said, the Switch sold 10.8 million units last holiday quarter. The PS4 and XBO sold 4.5 and 3.5 million units respectively during their launch quarters back in 2013.

Unless the PS5 and XSX|S sell 2 to 3 times faster than their predecessors, it is straight-up impossible for PS5 or XSX|S to outsell the Switch this holiday.

@Nintendo_Thumb
If the expectation for success is that Nintendo ships Wii + NDS hardware numbers (255 million units) every generation, then Nintendo may as well give up now because that will never happen again.

What really matters to Nintendo and their shareholders is their revenue and operating/net profits. In that regard, 2019 was their 4th biggest year ever, and 2020 looks to be their biggest or 2nd biggest year ever.

@Nintendo_Thumb

That's...a pretty unfair comparison. That's just giving a huge disadvantage to the Switch. By that logic, PS4's numbers are looking worse because it didn't sell as much as the PS3 + PSP.

@Heavyarms55 I'm sorry, I just want to smack my head into something solid every time I hear someone say "I don't need one of those super powerful consoles that do nothing but have high powered graphics. All I need is Switch and my monster PC!" That's the whole point of those consoles is to play PC games for lower entry cost.... You are their market but somehow pretend you're not while having bought a more expensive version of the same already.

@NEStalgia If you want to bang your head, that's entirely on you. I use my PC for a lot more than gaming. I built this PC as something to last for a long time and be fully upgradable when needed. It's my game console, media center, work PC, communications device, study tool and more. I'd never invest the money I have into it, if I only wanted to play games.

I assume by your "smack my head" comment that you're essentially calling me and my opinion stupid. And if that's the case, go right ahead and smack your head. If you're gonna insult me, then you can hurt yourself all you want to. That's your own choice.

@doctorhino I got nothing against consoles. 95% of my gaming is on Switch. But if I'm buying a new gaming device, I don't just want better graphics, I want new features. Better graphics are expected. I've played games for over 20 years. I've seen a lot of new consoles. PS5 and Xbox Potato don't offer any new features. Just better graphics. Why am I going to drop 500 dollars+ on a gaming device that doesn't even support my existing library simply for better graphics?

When SNES came out, it had a whole new controller with a lot more buttons on it. Game Boy allowed gaming on the go. N64 introduced the analog stick and console based 3D games. Playstation had a built in CD player and PS2 had DVD. Wii brought us motion controls, while Xbox 360 showed us just how awesome online gaming can be on a console. PS3 had blue ray out of the box and PS4 gave us PSVR. Wii U improved motion controls and had the unique game pad controller. Game Boy Color gave us color games on the go, while GBA SP gave us a lit screen finally and rechargeable battery. DS had dual screen gaming and a touch screen and PSP pushed the boundaries of what handhelds could do at the time, running games that looked like console games. 3DS gave us 3D gaming and streetpass with native built in wifi that worked with basically any commercial router. Switch blurs the line between console and handheld, has motion controls and touch screen support too. And every single one of these had better graphics than their predecessors. Every, single, one! Because that's a given!

When I look at PS5 and Xbox Marshmallow, I see PS4 Pro+ And Xbox X+. They aren't new consoles to me, no matter what's under the hood.

I'm very much not "PC master race". I've been gaming for decades and the vast majority of it has been happily on consoles. But at this point, game consoles are just limited functionality PCs. I'd rather use that 500 dollars to further upgrade my PC and retain both my existing Steam library and be able to play next gen games too. My Switch and my PC are where it's at. I see very little reason to waste money on Sony and MS's unimpressive offerings this generation.

@Heavyarms55 I think you're missing the definition of pc master race.

It's not about it being stupid as much as hypocritical and not seeing the forest through the trees. Yes, pc and the twins are all offerings of the same general console, and those are limited versions of pcs. Which is the entire point. It's a limited pc for games for about the price of a video card in a smaller relatively power efficient footprint.

That's fine if the value for you is better by spending more in a multi purpose device. But that doesn't negate that you're participating in the very ecosystem you're having for being nothing more than more power. PC gaming in windows is XBox gaming. It even overtly says so. You can stream, you can play on a windows pc, or you can buy the relativerelatively low cost prefab mini pc. It's all xbox. And you're proudly participating with the highest price option. So what exactly is your criticism?

@sanderev

One of the analog sticks of my DS4 started drifting heavily after a year and a half. And I did handle it with care.

@NEStalgia I've explained my position pretty clearly up until this point. All I'm going to add, and make as clear as possible is that I'm expressing my own opinion on the topic. I'm not telling anyone else what to do with their money or lives. A PC makes vastly more sense to me for my position and life.

You've basically called me stupid and outright called me hypocrite. So I'm done with this conversation.

Find someone else to insult.

@Heavyarms55 I was actually being kinda sarcastic about the pc master race. We are past the being blown away each generation on consoles. If you compare a last gen game like Assassin's Creed 2 to Odyssey though you could see the huge difference. It takes so much effort (money)and expertise to make games look better today change does not happen over night anymore. Considering we were literally inventing how 3D could work, then perfecting it I prefer to have changes that aren't half baked at first. The 3D on playstation and Saturn while amazing at the time was horribly flawed. N64 did it with less tear but couldn't render very far ahead. There are tradeoffs to blowing the doors open into new territory every generation.

@Heavyarms55 You can read whatever you want to read out of it. Nor are your statements particularly unique to you, it's something that keeps popping up around various conversations. Which was my point.

Only you are calling you stupid, however.

@KryptoniteKrunch Yes exactly, you should be adding the total from PS3 + PSP or PS4 + Vita to compare against PS5 if there is no portable this time. Because if they're not making up sales with the one console for what they lost having 2, then it wasn't ever worth it to combine the two (or in Sony's case to drop the portable market entirely). Though, I'm pretty sure Nintendo is getting enough software sales to make up for the difference, but I'm just guessing though it's going to be hard to beat software sales from the Wii/DS era since they sold a lot of software during those years. But, I guess it's offset by smart phone gaming and subscription fees.

@RiasGremory When you can read all previous posts someone made in a thread that already answered the same assumption you have that was made by others before, I'll take you seriously--though I'm even less inclined to do so after the ad hominem of calling me "smart@$$" [sic]. It serves as nothing else but to show you're only interested in making a quip instead of trying to have a dialogue, let alone understand or demonstrate that you read thoroughly.

Until then, I'm going to repeat what I say to small children on a long car ride who have the inability to listen and only want to repeat themselves and irritate others:

"Asked and answered."

@NEStalgia For what it's worth, saving up for a PC is really the ideal move when someone is trying to get the best graphics and performance for gaming. I'm far from advocating for the PC Master Race (no one knows that phrase was meant to mock people with that mind set) but the customization just puts it ahead of consoles by default. I also know they're not cheap, and I'm an impatient person who just wants to hop into games-I just think the graphics argument of the console wars have become kind of redundant when the Sony and Microsoft's game boxes are just outclassed by a beast no one includes in the fight :/

It makes sense. If we're going by availability, price and games that can only be played on the specific console, I'd recommend Switch this holiday season over PS5 or Xbox Series X/S easily. Next holiday might be a different story if Nintendo doesn't release a more powerful version of the hardware, but for a while, Switch will be the best option, imo.

I wonder how much need to be sold to get Activision to come around with the Tony Hawk remakes and for Rockstar to copy & paste the mobile port of San Andreas to Switch.

What? You mean to tell me that scarcity isn't the key to higher sales?? Who knew?

This year yes, but next year Nintendo will have a problem if they dont release a more powerfull switch.

@Andrew5678 Of course PC is the upper limit on performance-at-any-cost. But that's kind of the point. The argument that "these consoles are just so useless, they don't innovate, it's just more power every generation, I don't see why anyone would buy one - when they could spend even more to build an even more powerful box to play the same games like I did" is just a weird circular argument and a paraphrase of "your mid-range pre-built gaming rig sucks because my more expensive custom high-end one is better"

@westman98 that means nothing and you know it.

Both the PS4 and Xbox one Stomped the WiiU and the Wii U wasn't indicative of the Switches sales.

One has nothing to do with the other. But the PS5pre orders are indicative of sales that are to come.

I can tell you right now that it is not impossible for the PS5 and Xbox Series X to outsell the Switch.

@Razer

The Switch has sold more in the first 9 months of 2020 alone than the Wii U sold in its lifetime, and it looks to sell 10+ million units during the 2020 holiday quarter much like how it sold during the 2019 holiday quarter.

The PS5 and XSX|S wont have the supply or logistics to ship 10+ million units this holiday.

@westman98 The PS5 and XSX|S wont have the supply or logistics to ship 10+ million units this holiday.
With COV19 playing a part that won't happen but they like to make buyers think otherwise. PreOrders doesn't guarantee they will be there the Holiday or if it will be there til later 2021 at the earliest. They make it sound like it be there but I'm highly skeptical about it making that time line since they had production issues and hardware issues with ps5 systems. Those issue are in the chain and hardware and if you haven't fixed those model will be scrapped and production restart after those issues are resolved and between R&D and QC that takes time/labor/investigation audits to locate and fix all the issues before production starts and then you have to do a QC to make sure there's no new issue as well.

@SwitchForce IIRC Sony never said 10M for Holiday 2020. They said 11M Q1 2021. We have no idea how many they plan to have available Holiday 2020, and we have no idea how many units were available in preorders because they never released those numbers. Similarly, MS has not released any numbers at all, per usual. We don't really know if there's 5M combined preorders between the two of them or if there's 200,000 combined preorders between the two of them.

I remember the previous president of Nintendo (who passed away a few years ago) saying that eventually graphics wouldn't matter anymore. Nintendo's console back then was the Wii U, and it's graphics were excellent. We are at the point now in which graphics can't get any more advanced, and any game is possible on the current consoles. That's why lots of PS5 and XboxSeries games will also be available on PS4 and XboxOne. That's why developers can port PS4 games like The Witcher III to Switch. At Christmas, people will realize that Nintendo has Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Animal Crossing, whereas Playstation and Xbox just have a lot of hot air.

@Lindhardt Series S with Gamepass blows the Switch out of the water. $310 (plus tax) for the Series S with 100 games (some new releases) or the Switch with 1 game for $360 (plus tax). If you wanted to go the cheap route you could get the Switch Lite and that would only be $260 (plus tax) with one game but it still isn't a great deal in comparison.

@TheWingedAvenger Can't wait for Final Fantasy 16 on the Switch. I'm sure it can run it, right?

@Crono1973
Final Fantasy 16 would probably be able to run on the Wii U, let alone the Switch. They don't even try to make the series look good anymore. Final Fantasy 15 looks like it could run on the PS3. They rely on the name alone at this point. The first seven games were good, but then the series switched from the American look to the Japanese emo look and they added the ultra-complicated and nonsensical stories, ruining the series. The ninth game was pretty good, but that was just a last-ditch attempt by the creator of the first game to take the series back to its roots. From there they kept making linear slogs, and I stopped buying the games. I still play my friends' copies, though. Final Fantasy 15 was possibly the worst game in the series.

@TheWingedAvenger Ok, I'll change my question. Will a high end PS5/X Series game run on the Switch?

I can't find one anywhere! Scalpers keep going on the run

@Crono1973
Even the highest-end PS5 or XboxSeries game can run on the Switch, by making graphical adjustments similarly to what was done to The Witcher III. The PS5 will make the videogame look like a movie (but will fail utterly), whereas the Switch version will make the videogame look like a videogame (and will succeed, making it look like a GOOD game). Games like The Last Of Us 2 are extremely ugly, because they fail at what they're trying to do. They want the characters to look real, but a videogame will never look like a movie. Nintendo doesn't try to do the impossible, instead using artists to create good-looking art. Nintendo succeeds at what it attempts to do, whereas the competition fails. That's why I'm expecting PS5 and XboxSeries to fail, while the Switch will easily dominate the next console generation just like it's dominating this one.