Switch Was Outsold By PS5 And Xbox Series X|S In The UK Last Month

I still can't find an Xbox from a retailer in NA. At this point, I may give up soon and just buy a gaming PC.

Nintendo is doomed, it's all falling apart.

NINTENDOOM! ;P

Probably because UK keeps getting PS5 stock.

Getting Xbox Series S or X, or Switch/Switch Lite in my country is easy, but the moment you want a PS5, forget it unless importing from UK (import fees because brexit and stuff) or from a scalper.

It's that I don't mind it yet, enough to play on my Switch or PC, and even plenty of 3ds and Vita games to play here too... but then I see such news article and wonder "why does always UK get it"

I love that the Nintendo enthusiast site only reports data from its home territory when Nintendo's console is in last place for hardware sales.

Of course it's the UK. We certainly cannot be expected to live without our annually recycled footie game...

60% increase over 2019 levels is still pretty decent.

@IronMan30 They grew up playing Megadrive and all have a PS5. Heheheh.

Nintendo need software, big 1st party titles.

@GrailUK lol, maybe that's it.

I'm sure once interest starts dropping they'll announce a new Mario Kart at last. It always seems to be their magic "win" button.

Time for the Switch revision then perhaps. We all have a Switch and need to upgrade?

Hopefully some E3 reveals will help too. I’m really excited for SMTV but it’s not a system seller.

Probably due to the incoming Switch Pro.......
What Switch Pro I wonder....

Will a Giro cover a PS5?

I don’t exactly think the Nintendo bean counters will be worrying yet, however the console desperately needs some new, high profile software.

I haven’t bought a Switch game since Hyrule Warriors, whereas especially PS5 seems to now be getting into its stride. If supply of the console wasn’t so constrained it would be cleaning house.

@IronMan30 Controversy gets more clicks.

April and May 2020 were the 2 biggest non-holiday months ever for Switch in the UK due to the launch of Animal Crossing and the strict Covid lockdowns, so it was always going to be a very challenging YoY comparison in 2021.

Don't understand how this is newsworthy? UK was never big on Nintendo. Now if the Switch was dead last in France and Germany then it would be cause for concern

Alright, alright let's be super real. Click the heart button (to keep it anonymous) if you fell some type of way. 😹

Honestly that’s a pretty big deal. Switch has been comfortably destroying these consoles for a while now. Didn’t realise there was so much new stock.

@Fighter_Hayabusa Yes, it is so much easier to get a decent gaming graphics card these days.

Rip in pepperoni

Well, I guess it's time for Nintendo to move to full time 3rd party publisher.

@nessisonett New console will always sell better in the first few months tbh, its the 2-3 year where it tanks a bit then it goes back to sky high at the tail end of the third year

this is completely different because stock has been terrible, im pretty sure the core fanbase that buys a console day 1 is still not satisfied, past gens had stock so you see incredibly first few month sales then drop for some time

ALSO, PS5 and Xbox Series x (And Switch for all that matters) are tapping to more consumers than ever before, so its not surprise its selling better than ever, every console and also, Switch has been there for a long long time, saturation point in some of the "non-nintendo" markets might hit at some point

@N8tiveT3ch yep, that's the only reasonable takeaway from this news.

Can't say I noticed many Series X restocks in May and Series S has been very readily available for a fair few months now (not going out of stock) so Switch being last is pretty rough.

Time for a big E3 then...

(Bah! I can't wait)

Why get an Xbox or PS5 when you can get a PC? Nintendo is the only one that differentiates.

@weoputjlsldfkj
Unfortunately it seems like many people nowadays don't really care what kinda games a platform has to offer and just want the best service for the money

@weoputjlsldfkj
Because not everyone like to play PC games.
Some of peoples like to get the console version for ready to play without getting trouble by very complicated installation and hardware compatibility.
And not everyone really care with powerful PC specs.

@weoputjlsldfkj To be honest I enjoy a lot of Sony's exclusives as much as I enjoy Nintendo's best exclusives. Great time to be a gamer! Admittedly I'm referring to the PS4, as I haven't managed to get a PS5 yet.

@Max_the_German it HAS to be easier than getting an Xbox. I'm not up on PC's these days, a modestly powered one would likely suit me.

New next gen consoles that were just released a few months ago to inventory issues selling more than a console that has been out for over four years. More news at 11.

@Fighter_Hayabusa Okay, than good luck

I'm traded my Switch for a Series S. We all know the Switch upgrade is incoming so I capitalised on my Switch before it's price tumbled 😂😂

I haven't seen PS5 stock since the "launch" of the PS5, and I've only seen XBOX Series X stock ONCE in a store. I live in the Netherlands, maybe that's why?

(I did get my XBOX Series X on launch day, because I pre-ordered)

Pretty sure most people who want a switch have one by now, where the other consoles are still new and harder to find.

Makes sense TBH, the “New Super Switch pro U”-rumours are very persistent lately, so people are holding off on buying a Switch now…

Trololol, everyone said it wouldn't happen...but now it happens! There is a new kid in town, so Nintendo HAS to counter. They can only do that with a graphically stronger device, Switch2 if you will. Expect it at E3.

Time for some new hardware, Nintendo.

Hint, hint, wink, wink.

interesting because some news articles say the PS5 is the leading console in the UK over both Xbox and Switch

@Anti-Matter If you get your games on Steam, it is not complicated, and for an extra few hundred dollars, you can get a gaming pc that's more powerful than a console, plus you can do more with it.

@JohnnyC Ratchet and Clank looks good. I would get a PS5 to play it if money grew on trees, and I guess it technically does, but I don't have access to any of these trees.

@Anti-Matter what complicated installation? Get to steam download the game and press install? You need to uptade yourself, no issues since many many years playing PC games. Also to your sentence "PC games" most of them are in the consoles and have the advantage to be normally cheaper. Microsoft already do a great support to PC and soon Sony will do the same.

@vyseofhr exactly! They coasted through the last 20 months or so. Some can be attributed to COVID-19, I get that. But they will need to take advantage of its install base and also release some system sellers as the new generation starts to catch up.

TIME FOR SOMETHING “NEW.”

Perhaps Nintendo should try releasing more than 4 actually new 1st party games for Switch. Seriously where the crap are the new games? Switch is the worst Nintendo console for 1st party games ever.

@Fighter_Hayabusa I’d highly recommend it. For those willing to take the time to build one, it’s a much better experience than I’ve had on my Xbox, and you can still get all the same games.

Even with all the "chip shortages"? Preposterous!

It was only a matter of time until the UK put their brains back in their pants and stared like zombies at shiney new versions of football, wargames and anything criminal related.

@weoputjlsldfkj

Because when I looked into getting a PC that could match Series X it turned out I could buy a Series X, PS5, Switch and a laptop for the same price

Took long enough! I just hope the supplies for the consoles keep increasing, so that everyone can play what they want! We can just hope the chip shortage ends soon.

A lot of posts seem weirdly upset about this. As endlessly reported on this site Switch has been a roaring success in the U.K. and continues to be so.

Fun fact, something else doing well, doesn't mean you're doing poorly.

It's not like people stopped buying Switch, it's just that Sony and MS actually had some stock in, so the people who wanted those machines were actually, finally, able to get them.

I have been saying this for a while but, we're talking about 300 - 500 dollar electronic luxury items. I REALLY don't think there are that many people who walked into a store wanting a PS5, saw it was out of stock, and bought the very different type of device that is the Switch, instead. Same with Xbox.

On the other hand, PS5 and Xbox are virtually the same machines, providing almost the same performance and having mostly similar game libraries. I absolutely think there are plenty of people who couldn't find one and bought the other instead.

Switch being down over the same period last year was inevitable because of the pandemic. The reason the 2019 comparison is in there is to highlight how well it’s still doing broadly.

Also, Switch is huge in the Uk

Nintendo is doomed, it's all falling apart.

@SwitchVogel It's not fair that you should be the first to make this remark in the thread. You're a mod, you have inside knowledge of the timing!

Kinda feels like normal service is starting to resume perhaps. I wonder how long it will take for the next boatload of consoles to land in the UK?

@electrolite77 I like to have a villain, every once in a while. It makes life more interesting, when I'm not trolling my kids (or they're trolling me) of course.

@electrolite77 What specs were you looking at?

@IronMan30 Dude, don't troll your kids.

Being beaten by new gen hardware that can only play last gen games... how embarrassing...

@weoputjlsldfkj I will troll who I want to troll, sir!

It's not really trolling, I use that term a little more liberally than I should. I play with them like any normal parent would and my kids mess with me knowing whatever it is they're doing bugs me, like any kid.

@IronMan30 Fair enough. Doesn't sound like trolling at all. Jimmy Kimmel fans likes to troll children by lying to them, scaring them and making them sad.

As Covid-19 is dwindling, the world is starting to return to normal so gaming itself is coming back to normal. Those who couldn't get a PS5, Xbox Series X, or Switch could finally get those once stocks are more readily available and scalpers like my ex girlfriend are starting to lose their grip.

@weoputjlsldfkj Are you trying another "PC vs Console" war with people? Can we not just enjoy what we jave instead of debating what is better, because it is idiotic in my eyes.

@Milhais_1914 Doubt Sony will do this.

@steely_pete certainly not doomed, but it just means that Nintendo can’t rest on its laurels forever....

@Milhais_1914
I have no interest with PC / Steam games so i play my games in consoles and handhelds.
Also, i want physical games, not digital games since i am a games collector too.

@weoputjlsldfkj
I don't need / care more powerful specs from PC / Steam.
I want to play games with easier way by play them on consoles / handhelds.
Just insert the disc / cartridge then play the games.
I have a laptop but my laptop is for working at school, not for playing video games.

@Fighter_Hayabusa Good luck finding graphics card. Still a major chip shortage world wide till 2022

I think having a "Pro" version will give them a huge boost. Right now they are 2 generations behind in tech. I mean, if they release a 4k version of the switch with some storage and speed upgrades id preorder in a hurry. I love my switch but having a new, more powerful, version would be amazing.

@Ulanda You can absolutely enjoy what you have. Don't let me stop you.

@Anti-Matter Yeah that makes sense to me. Nintendo is by far the most collectable though.

I almost bought a physical copy of Bioshock on the Switch until I realized that it wasn't "plug and play"

You have to do a 30gb download on to your memory card? BS.

Honestly this is somewhat expected, i would expect this to start happening in other territories as well, Nintendo have been riding the stock shortage wave that's been pummelling Sony and Microsoft.

In fact Nintendo have come out really strong from this pandemic, first they had Animal Crossing and all the extra console sales attributed to that

Then the other two decided to kill the sales of their existing consoles at the time by releasing new hardware that was obviously going to come across hardware shortages during a global pandemic

Nintendo caught a perfect storm of great luck for an entire 18 months, but i expect that as soon as supply catches up with demand, PS5 and Xbox will start to outsell Nintendo, this will be the case in every territory except Japan.

How long before a certain analyst comes out and demands that “Nintendo should go third party” and “Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 could sell 1,000,000,000 copies if it were on mobile phones.”

Yeah it’s Europe. They never bothered with Nintendo really.

This is great, sounds like Sony and Microsoft are finally catching up with demand.

Doesn't make much of a difference, I think its more or less given by now that Switch will reach around 100M at the end of this year, which is a pretty huge user base.

@0nett

They were really vital in the first year or so of the Switch. But now it’s all gravy. The thing is a massive success with tons of games. Race won.

@Anti-Matter,

Nice to see you back fella.

@Razer,

Yes that must be it, it's all just pure luck that the Switch has been selling so well since launch, and everyone will now just stop buying the console.

Or back in the real world, most people will realize that the Switch had gone against the grain in the U.K, and done very well sales wise, and of course will continue it's awesome worldwide sales, no matter what.

@weoputjlsldfkj

Good question as it’s probably 6 months since I last really looked so I can’t find a specific example. I read stuff like this

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3596551/microsoft-xbox-series-x-vs-gaming-pcs-comparison.html

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/we-built-our-own-xbox-series-x-pc

then avidly followed Gaming PC prices on Hotukdeals like this

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/palicomp-artic-gaming-system-5600x-3070-tuf-board-aio-cooler-samsung-500gb-2tb-windows-10-from-ps1500-site-custom-edit-ps1550-3650284?utm_source=mappshare&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=3650284&utm_campaign=2021-06-09

for a few months. Doesn’t seem like a good time to buy at all given GPU prices.

@IronMan30

😃 I can relate

@johnvboy you realise that luck and success go hand in hand right? Of course it was luck...

if you think that the Switch would have been selling this well if there was no stock shortages for the PS5 & Xbox, then you genuinely perpetuate the textbook delusional Nintendo fan.

I bet you thought the Wii U was still going to be successful all the way up until 2016... I've met your type all too often on this website.

The pandemic playing in Nintendo's favour, yes that was luck.

Sony and Microsoft releasing consoles during a hardware shortage = lucky Nintendo...

Do you genuinely not see that?

Lol

@johnvboy Animal Crossing selling as well as it did because of the pandemic was 100% luck...

Or are you actually going to sit there and try to tell me it would have sold that well without the pandemic 🤣🤣🤣🤣...

I bet you are... 🤣🤣🤣

@Fighter_Hayabusa lmao that ship has sailed.

@Razer I think it still sells very well without the pandemic....I don’t think half of 34 million or whatever would be an unrealistic expectation. But I do agree with you that Nintendo was very fortunate with timing on both counts.

@Razer,

I will admit the pandemic helped both all console and game sales, but your reasoning just does not add up, the Switch has sold well since launch as has it's first party games, all this well before the recent outbreak.

And with the fact most mainline games from Nintendo have performed their best, it's not surprising that Animal crossing has improved on it's best ever series sales of New Leaf, and surpassed them, I thought at least 20 million or so in sales, even before the game was released.

As for the Pandemic luck, such as shame those movie type games like " The last of us 2 ", with their 4 million or so sales, did not seem to get all that much.

@Razer,

I agree fortune can help, but a total substitute for good business decisions and a well marketed product, me thinks you are not giving Nintendo the credit they deserve, but considering the negative types on here, not all that surprising.

Did like your delusional Nintendo fanboy comment, always a very good inclusion to a reasonable debate, do I counter that with a Sony/Microsoft delusional fanboy negative hater.

The sad truth is the fun factor has worn off. No Zelda game (single player), no huge library of (popular) SNES/NES games, no remastered titles, the eshop is the worst of the big three (no reviews, not even a meta score), joycon drift (never admitted, never fixed), and many many problems of lost saves, won’t power on, etc..

No pro version is going to fix this. The experiment of a handheld system dream continues despite the facts to the contrary. Multiplayer is a mess, the online subscription is a major letdown in benefits, the indie games are just too much, worse than steam (they have reviews). Most things are crap and if you buy a lemon, you get to keep the lemon.

@Razer @johnvboy
Demand for Animal Crossing New Horizons was massive long before Covid lockdowns ever began.

For me I have a PS5 now in the UK.
However I know many households with a Switch
So at some point there is saturation in the UK market, where everyone that wants a switch has one.
The new tech to have is now PS5 and a tiny bit Xbox series x but not a lot.
Also it doesn’t help that we are getting fed up with no new big AAA games from in house Nintendo studios for many many months.
Also the Covid factor is wearing off and we can go out more now.
But overall Switch has been a great success in the UK, but product life cycle dictates and some point we don’t want to buy anymore of them.

The fact that Switch sales are only starting to decline at this point in its product lifecyle (during Year 5) is rather remarkable, and even then, numbers are still much higher than they were in 2019 (Year 3) or before.

By comparison, Wii peaked in 2008 (Year 2), 3DS peaked in 2011 (Year 1), and Wii U peaked in 2012 (during it's holiday launch quarter 😂).

Also, if the Switch Pro is indeed a September/October launch, sales should easily start increasing YoY and begin to reverse the current YoY declines.

Nintendo is doomed.

@Narrator1 Nintendo will be fine

what complicated installation? Get to steam download the game and press install?

@Milhais_1914 Have you never had an issue with controller compatibility and performance with a Steam game? Have all of your Steam games run (or even initialized) every time? If so, you've been rather lucky.

It was going to happen eventually, Switch was comfortably outselling them up until now. Isn't this the fifth year of the Switch?!

Too much fascination with it even with non-gamers

@westman98,

Totally agree with you, many want to brush it's success of as luck and the pandemic, as the hate to see a game they do not personally like perform well.

One poster on here suggested that Nintendo were surprised by the games performance, and would have been happy with just 2-3 million sales and move on, this is total rubbish as the last game New Leaf sold around 13 million copies, so Nintendo have a very successful franchise that is releasing on a very popular console, but they would have been happy with just 3 million or so sales, yea right

@LEGEND_MARIOID,

Funny how the tables get turned on here, when the Ps4 was pretty much outselling everything, even more so after it's numerous price cuts etc, everyone is happy, it then gets outsold by the Switch for month after month with no price cut at all, and people say the Switch is bound to be selling better as the Ps4 is old now.

Never works the other way though

@weoputjlsldfkj,

Without a doubt, the console will easily make Nintendo's 30 million projection this year and the market in the U.K will not impact this in the slightest.

@IronMan30,

So true, and of course negative reporting from a region that has little to no impact on the overall Switch sales in the first place, and traditionally a region Nintendo have never been that dominant in over the years.

My take is the Switch and it's games have actually turned the tide in the U.K, from a sales performance point of view.

Some weird takes in here given Switch was the U.K.s best selling system only the previous month.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-05-13-nintendo-switch-comes-out-top-in-april-as-ps5-stock-slows-uk-monthly-charts

And in 2020

https://www.gamesradar.com/switch-sales-in-the-uk-matched-playstation-and-xbox-sales-combined-in-2020/

And has had a Mario game, a Monster Hunter and a Pokemon spin off released so far this year

Everyone's broad assessment that Nintendo doesn't traditionally do well in the UK is a little far-fetched. This isn't the NES vs Master System debate anymore. Which to be honest, living through it, wasn't as one sided as people like to think or pretend they have statistical proof from.

@GrailUK
The Megadrive was my first console, then over time with the 3ds being a huge factor in this and next gen at the time (ps4 & bone) not blowing me away, I stepped away from home consoles & upgraded my pc instead.

However, I found myself always playing the 3ds instead, then after being dead against the Switch initially as an ardent 3ds fan, I caved on announcement of Sword & Shield.... never looked back

Further, no true interest shown in the other consoles either, just completely non-plussed.

New console that has barely enough units to supply demand outsells console with 90 million units already sold over 4 years.

@johnvboy
New Horizons selling 3 million copies lifetime would have probably put the entire franchise on ice.

Nintendo's actual forecast was that the game would sell ~15 million copies lifetime, a figure that was exceeded about 6 weeks after launch.

There's a bizarre need for a "console war" by some. It's over. It's not the 90's anymore. Nintendo is not competing against Sony/MS. They now make complimentary systems.

Honestly, we should be ROOTING for PS/XB success. The real competition is no longer gaming company "rivals..." it's the myriad of other entertainment options out there.

A trickle of good game releases = a trickle of good hardware sales. Easy math.

@westman98,

I doubt anyone could have predicted 30 million plus sales, or how quickly it would get to there, but for a game with such broad appeal, released on a console with a very wide demographic, you had to expect at least 20 million or so sales at least.

Even more when you consider Super Mario Odyssey sold around 20 million copies, whereas the last big selling Mario 3-D game galaxy sold around 13 million on the Wii, which had a pretty decent install base.

Nintendo first party games sell very well on the Switch, and ratio wise are off the chart.

@johnvboy that's actually a good point. Switch has done very well in a traditionally lukewarm market for Nintendo.

and here come the over reactions. Nintendo will be fine, guys

Worldwide sales paint a different picture, compared to one country that's never been a huge Nintendo market. Just short of half a million sales weekly and comfortably selling more than all the others combined

Time for its first price cut in 4 YEARS

Any year-over-year comparison between Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 is essentially meaningless. Too many one-time shifts in consumer behavior.

Though it’s completely unsurprising that consumers are buying the new consoles rather than Switch.

shocker: new consoles sell more than 4 year old console