NPD Results Show PlayStation 5 Outsold Switch In August (North America)

NINTENDOOOM!

All is lost! I repeat, all is lost!

Honestly 5,5 years into the life of the console... who would've thought.

I'm not surprised. The Nintendo Switch has 6 year old tech this spring. Those who want a switch has one and those who want better graphics, framerates, and etc., has moved on to other consoles/PC. I personally do not buy third party titles for my Switch, only first party, so the switch is feeling pretty meh to me at the moment.

This injustice shall not go unpunished.

@Drac_Mazoku
I do care about PS5.
I already have three PS5 starter games (Kao the Kangaroo, The Smurfs Mission Vileaf, Instant Sports Plus)
I still saving my money to buy the machine someday.

it wont for long since switch got a good lineup of games coming in october then pokemon in november.

Boy I sure would love to be part of those PS5 sales if I could FIND ONE. Maybe next year…maybe.

I think there was a PS5 restock because I got mine last month(amazon invite).

I think Switch will be top in September (Splatoon 3) and November (Pokemon) while PS5 ends up top in October. December could go to either.

Is Sony making Playstaion 5s again?
Wonders never cease.

Amazing results. I ❤️ PS5 and I'm so glad Pushsquare is touting these glorious numbers.

Long live Sony!

Wait...I'm on NL. Weird, I thought every writer here was a Nintendo fan.

Didn't switch on my PS5 since the electricity price skyrocketed. Playing on switch is much better for my electric bills as it's much less power consuming hardware.

Yeah so? PS5 is newer and younger than switch so it's more exciting. No surprise there. We know switch is getting up there in age. No need to start the doom and gloom articles. Nintendo will announce its next system when they are ready. Switch is doing just fine.

@PepperMintRex I got one pretty easily throu Amazon invitation….

@HeroEightBit

Yeah N is definitely milking this thing waaaay past it's expired date.

I guess they can just blame 'supply chain' and continue on. I guess most folks are just playing N games or indie pixel stuff so carry on I guess.

Man the PS5 is just as scarce now as it was when it launched, up my way anyway. They've never been sold at retail and they're perpetually out of stock online.

I mean, the Switch is about to overtake the lifetime sales of the PS4 and to expect it to climb much higher might be a bit lofty expectations... If the console even over takes the original Gameboy/Color's insaine 118.69 million units would be a feat to hang your hat on. I mean hitting 120 Million units is a feat not done in gaming since the original DS.

I think the Switch successor will probably be around the corner in 2024 or maybe 2025 just because it is aging hardware and has probably peaked saleswise. The software sales are still bonkers though. But, from a hardware perspective getting a hardware refresh that can play games like Devil May Cry V, Final Fantasy XV, the Resident Evil 2-4 remakes and maybe the new Assassins' Creed games would probably really help it stay fresh.

Sidenote because I know someone will mention it: Yes the Steam Deck can already do those things, but it is a rather niche product and not mainstream. It would be a larger selling feature on a Switch 2 (add in Mario Kart 9 a new 3D Mario game and others to help lift the boat). That and the Steam Deck to replicate the Switch experience is still very cost prohibitive for causal consumers.

Who the hell can even find a PS5 still at this point? I still haven't seen one in stores and believe me I've looked. I'd like one if i could find one but for now my switch and PS4 will keep me quite busy. How nice for all these people who didn't have to bite and claw to get a PS5. Lucky them!

How come the second a new game system starts to gain traction all previous systems suddenly become expired garbage? Relax people. Nintendos time to shine again will come. Maybe sooner than you think.

@Ryu_Niiyama At this point I stopped trying to find one and just wait for the PlayStation games to come to PC instead. Mile Morales, The Last of Us Remastered, and SackBoy: A Big Adventures are coming to PC anyways so there's no point in picking up a console anymore especially when they are heading to PC and will receive tons of mods and improvements that their console counterparts won't have.

I do plan on getting a PS5 but if i can't just walk into a store and buy one where's the fun in that? It's like the thing still doesn't even really exist. If Sony was so confident in the thing why haven't they let PS4 die? We are still getting dual releases of the latest top tier games like God of War ragnorock and Horizon forbidden west. PS4 needs to truly die before PS5 can live and maybe be more widely available.

I, uh...may or may not be part of the problem.

I picked up a PS5 earlier this month, and it's the first non-Nintendo system I've ever owned, actually. Used to play my brother's PS2 quite a bit as a kid, but I didn't own it. I've hardly touched my Switch in the past month, outside of using it to watch YouTube. Too many Sony games for me to catch up on! So far I've beaten Jak and Daxter (a childhood favorite), Astro's Playroom, and the PS4 remake of Ratchet and Clank. Right now I'm working on Sackboy, and I just started the first Psychonauts. Pretty soon, I'll be jumping into the world of Kingdom Hearts for the very first time. I'm very excited!

Edit: Although, my purchase won't be reflected in any sales records because I had to buy it off an eBay scalper for like $700. The guy has probably been holding onto it for months. (It was a Horizon bundle.) I hate giving them money, but we're two years into the console's life and Sony has decided to jack the price in many countries. My hope was that there would be more in stock this holiday season, but that kind of killed that. I put my e-mail in the queue to get one the legit way, but of course they never reached out to me. So...scalper it is. :/

Preordered the RTX 4090. Will just use the Switch for exclusive games.

It’s surprising the Switch is still going as strong as it is to be honest.

I also wonder what the uptake of new vs used is, I recently bought a used Lite for less than £100 and know a few people who’ve bought second hand normal Switches in the last few months because of how much cheaper they are. Not much sense in buying new if you just want a Switch with how old the tech is and how cheap you can find used ones for unless you really want a new machine (or OLED).

As for PS5, I’m glad I didn’t buy one when I had the chance at launch, there is really very little compelling me to get one. Even its biggest game of the year is on PS4. The massive boost in performance would definitely be great to have but for the price I can hold out. I think this might be the first PlayStation generation where I wait for years for cheaper redesigns and for its best games to be had for dirt cheap

@Drac_Mazoku Yup pretty much lol

Only natural for this to happen. Guess we'll see that Switch 2 announcement next year. Good lot of games to swan song on.

At some point, Sony's manufacturing capabilities were always going to catch up. Good for them. I hope everyone who wants a PS5 will be able to find one soon. I've had a ton of opportunities as of late via PS Direct and those invitation emails.

With that said, the Switch's sales momentum is still pretty absurd, so I'm not sure I'd expect any announcements about a successor any time soon.

@Drac_Mazoku Objectively untrue. Demand for PS5 still well outstrips supply worldwide.

@Not_Soos Not sure there's any "problem" for you to be a "part of," lol.

@larryisaman It's going strong, but it's starting to slip due to age. Good run though.

As far as PS5 goes. there tends to be a lot more than mere performance boosts. There are several games only available on that platform. Starting next year we'll see more and more games cut the PS4 off. This is going to be a longer generation than last for that reason. Cross Gen Releases are common right now because of the limited supply of PS5s. Now that the supply restrictions are lifting, we can expect the next wave of PS5 releases to be exclusively for that generation.

I will be happy to help it outsell the switch in Australia, if I can get one.

@Ralizah Just a little joke about console rivalry and me being a Nintendo turncoat, lol.

@Serpenterror I like the option of everything (plus I have a base ps4 which is the real reason I bought it) and my gaming computer while still able to play most stuff at max graphics is getting long in the tooth. So for now I have a series x and ps5 (both still in the box so you can see how desperate I am to play) to handle what doesn’t get played on switch. Granted I had a lot of buyers remorse last gen so this may be my last full set up. My main motivation at this point is I didn’t get the midlife upgrades of xbox/ps. I won’t actually care about line up until 2023-2024. But I have a backlog so that’s ok.

I bought a ps5 a few months ago in anticipation of FFXVI. Other than that, I haven’t been playing it much.

The Switch is going to be almost 6 years old, its slowly going to go down, maybe a few buy spikes when The new Zelda releases. The Nintendo switch have done extremely well commercially and will go into history as the second most succesful Nintendo console. I would have bought an Xbone if it was something like the 360 era but unfortunately the Xbone is the worst console of this generation. I tried to look for a PS5 but its sold out everywhere, people do care about the PS5 on the contruary of what others say that no one care. I think its time for Nintendo to think about its next move on the upcoming console, the Switch will not hold forever nearing its 6 years old lifespan.

@NotSoCryptic I think the frequency of cross gen releases is more down to not wanting to abandon such a massive install base on PS4 too early, not really about PS5 being inaccessible. They’d have had to anticipate shortages well in advance to plan for PS4 versions to get them ready- I don’t think that’s what’s been happening for a lot of these cross gen games. If a game can feasibly run on PS4 then publishers will do it to cast as wide a net as possible. Once the PS5 is more commonplace and naturally developers ambitions require far more horsepower then there’ll be a solid transition

@glaemay
Oh man, sounds like it got real out in Europe with those power bills. Hope prices eventually start cooling down because i can’t imagine it being fun having to choose between gaming systems based off their power consumption!

I got a PS5 January of this year (Miles Morales bundle from GAME), and the only worthwhile venture has been Elden Ring which could of been played fine on my old PS4. It seems people just want what they can't have (lack of availability) or just new shiney things.

Hopefully we get some good games soon that requires the PS5. I didn't like Returnal and not tried Ratchet & Clank (not worth £70). Also not interested in Naughty Dog's output and the other Sony studios copying them (RIP unique games from Studio Japan ).

Outside of Elden Ring, I have enjoyed playing some enhanced versions of PS4 games (such as the Ni-Oh complete collections), but it really hasn't been anywhere near worth the cost of entry so far. I have played the console once in the past two months and that was to try out the Wo Long demo (was mediocre, but lot of potential to improve).

Feel sorry for all those Saints Row buyers though. Got burned pretty hard by that, at the price they want for it as well.

EDIT: An additional, after reading the sales lists more properly. It isn't very fair when majority of the sales for most of the titles aren't included - but the top spots are full sales included. Would be curious to see what the true numbers are if it was available to get digital sales numbers for Switch and some Xbox stuff.

@sword_9mm I stopped caring much about graphical improvements after we hit HD, so I'm pretty content with how most things look on Switch. The finer details like physics and lighting still have some room to grow, but if Nintendo existed in a vacuum and I didn't have to worry about third parties leaving them behind, I'd have very little reason to ever want new hardware.

I got my PS5 start of the year and in the last few months it feels like the console has been easier to get here in the UK. I'm always getting emails from ShopTo saying it's in stock and I actually hear about people being able to buy it so stock is definitely improving, at least over here. Funny to see someone say no one cares about PS5 lol, that's like me saying no one cares about the Switch which is far from the truth. Both Switch and PS5, as well as the Series X and S are in high demand. But I wouldn't be surprised if Switch gets back up to selling more next month, all down to how much stock the PS5 can actually get.

Yeah wait until Bayonetta 3 comes out. Those sales will shoot right back up! Oh and sorry Sony ponys you ain't getting it so stop asking. We can't have God of War. Fair is fair right?

This is what happens when everyone becomes too complacent with aging tech that can barely keep up with the modern industry demands. I knew the Switch sales would eventually start falling off pretty sharp as better mobile hardware becomes common. I mean the Switch is getting destroyed performance wise by stuff like the latest smartphones and the Steam Deck right now. Nintendo can't just coast off the old hardware forever.

@Truegamer79 I doubt Bayonetta 3 is going to be a big system seller. For one that's been sort of a cult fanbase series, then there's the fact that the vast majority of people interested in that game most likely already have a Switch.

@Drac_Mazoku If you had read up to the second paragraph of this article, you would know that the PS5 was also the best selling console in the UK, and for the whole year (not just one month).

That takes nothing away from the Switch's success, which is in the running to become the best selling console of all time. But clearly people care about the PS5.

Let's be real, this is all before the price increase of the PS5 worldwide. We've seen people are upset worldwide, especially Japan. But who knows if people will eventually stop complaining and bite into the price increase later down the line.

@JayJ

So what is the next big switch game? We just got splatoon 3. Surely there's something significant between now and Tears of the kingdom. Not sure what that is though.

@Truegamer79 Bayo 3, Scarlett and Violet, Mario Rabbids, Persona 5, GoldenEye.

@Drac_Mazoku Meanwhile, Nintendo fanboys, such as yourself, are trying to fan the flame war. Good idea.

@Drac_Mazoku No worries. I think the PS5 is a great console and compliments the Switch perfectly, but like all things it's not going to be for everybody. I'm glad both are successful.

@Drac_Mazoku I mean, I happen to agree with you, though I put my Switch in the literal trash last year due to the company being overly litigious and not playing fair with their employees. My happiness can always be had, and it doesn't have to be at the cost of Nintendo exploiting it's workforce and suing every person that uses a JPG of their assets. (last part's a joke)

Xenoblade 2 and DE didn't even make the top 10 in their first month, so I'm glad to see 3 has managed to hold on for two in a row. Hopefully it can still hang in the top 20 for September, though I wouldn't be surprised to see it drop off with Splatoon taking over the Nintendo spotlight. I'm always impressed by how well Nintendo games chart despite ~40% of their sales not being counted.

Well, we had a good run folks.

Time to turn off the ol' Nintendo forever.

I haven't paid attention yet to if PS5 is yet a console that can be purchased at will.

@Drac_Mazoku
I personally choose PS5 over than XBOX Series X/S or even Steam or PC since I am a PlayStation gamer, not just only Nintendo gamer.

@Drac_Mazoku PS5 has infinitely more games than a series x and this is coming from someone that has all of the systems that you mentioned.

@Truegamer79 Honestly, Metroid Prime 4 and the upcoming Zelda are the only real big hitters that I can think of. I don't think the new Zelda is going to attract much of a new audience, as the kinda people who want that probably already got a Switch and BotW. Metroid Prime might attract a new audience though, but that's been one of those development hell games.

@JayJ

Yeah it does seem like switch is winding down. I wouldn't be surprised if the switch successor is announced definitely by next year. They might have a few surprises up their sleeves. This is Nintendo so you never know.

If i could just find a PS5 that wasn't some ungodly ridiculous price so i can at least see they exist LOL!

If you read the NL you think PS was the only console there was to buy. One has to remember PS can't go portable and there more reason why Switch still out sales the PS overall. We can pick month to month but that doesn't really show overall value.

@larryisaman you're basically just outlining the basis I'm pushing off from.

Yes install base is important though we are nearly 2 years in at the ps5 is no where near ps4 or ps2 numbers at this point in their life cycle. Growth has been slow. That is due to the lack of components. There is a point of critical mass where abandoning last gen is more profitable. If this wasn't the case then install bases would dictate support longer than a year or two. We are going into 3 years with cross gen releases next year. That sort of thing is reserved for sports titles, trash just dance titles, and general garbage releases, with very few exceptions.

I was lucky to buy a PS5 last year as a family Christmas gift. I wont lie, part of my purchase decision was the hype but it pairs up well with my OLED switch and we’re having a lot of fun with it.

I know its a popular thing to say that the PS5 doesn't have many exclusive games, so whats the point… as all but Ratchet i think can be played on the PS4, but lets be honest, if you’re in the market to buy a playstation, why wouldn't you try to get their latest and greatest.

Anyway, personally looking forward to spider-man 2, wolverine, street fighter 6 and tekken 8…

@Outspoken Only biggest elephant in the room NEEDS constant power plugged into wall. That can't be addressed by PS system. Unplug and it's dead. Switch take out of Dock and you can still play the game or Dock at another location and loose no save data as long as you keep it charged not in use. Or loose power the PS/Xbox is worthless to keep gaming. This and many factors is why Switch is selling strong and In-Demand as it is. People can keep trying to come up with others but it never seems to faze the Switch as it keeps going.

The fact its news that Sony's "new" console beat Nintendo's 5+ year system in sales is amazing in itself.
The Switch realistically shouldn't even be still in the race now but it is.

@HeeHo The fact its news that Sony's "new" console beat Nintendo's 5+ year system in sales is amazing in itself.
The very fact one has to say this should be depressing for PS. You have to beat a 2017 release console is a pretty low bar here. They should already outstripping Switch sales.

@SwitchForce I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make. I know the limitations of the PS5 being a fixed TV console and the pros of the Switch being portable. If I were desperate to play my PS5 portable, Sony have PS Remote Play. Both gaming systems have their strengths and weaknesses, and I’m enjoying playing both of them equally.

P.s I don’t do console wars. I’ve been a switch owner since launch day 2017.

@Outspoken You clearly missed the point but it's up to you to understand it or not and not my lose here. Your trying to misdirect what is the main point why Switch can do what it can do and had nothing to do with GPU power wasn't the Switch selling points. How one respond was already console war but don't admit to it. Whether you own PS or Switch isn't the reason here. We had plenty of people talk how good PS is but then in the same breath say they own Switch. Game exclusive is what causes Console wars-there plenty of posting on here ragging on the Switch because it's graphics aren't up to par and most know there more reason why NSW is doing better then they like it to do.