We already reported on Nintendo’s amazing holiday season, and how it helped push 32 million Nintendo Switch units sold thus far- not too shabby at all.
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But what we didn’t cover yet is just how close the battle between Nintendo and Sony was, since the PlayStation 4 managed to hold its own over the past year.
Based on numbers provided by The NPD Group for the U.S. market, Sony managed to rule the year with 17.7 million PlayStation 4 consoles sold over the year, adding up to 94.2 million overall. That’s not too shabby. However, in that same period, Nintendo sold 17.4 million Nintendo Switch consoles, making the race very close between the two.
It was a lot closer than you might think. Nintendo sold 9.4 million Switch consoles between October and December, pushing it towards Sony’s tally for the sale time period. Of course, games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and the Pokemon Let’s Go games- both Eevee and Pikachu– lent a hand with millions of copies sold.
Meanwhile, Sony had the power of a Spider-Man PS4 bundle that was made specifically for Black Friday, going for $199 and including a copy of the award-winning superhero game. That, combined with other third party releases, gave it a powerhouse season all its own.
But now all eyes are on 2019. Things are expected to slow down a little bit for Sony as it prepares for the inevitable reveal of the PlayStation 5, though we’ll still get games like Days Gone and Dreams; while the Nintendo Switch has a powerhouse line-up to its credit, including Luigi’s Mansion 3, Animal Crossing and a forthcoming traditional Pokemon game.
It was a close race at the end of the year. Now it’s time to see how 2019 goes. Wishing luck to both parties.
Meanwhile, keep in mind that worldwide numbers weren’t tallied in this report. For all we know, the Switch could have the PS4’s number in other markets. We’ll find out soon enough.
As for the Xbox One, last year brought it a good amount of revenue, even if it didn’t move as many units as its competition. And its game line-up looks sweet as well, starting with Crackdown 3 this month and moving into other releases like Gears 5 and Battletoads. We’ll see where they end up!
Which system do you believe deserved to be the real winner for the holiday season? Let me know on Twitter at @TheDCD!
(Hat tip to WCCFTech for the scoop!)
