An ongoing look at how the Nintendo Switch is performing compared to the Nintendo 3DS.
As of September 30th, 2019:
Switch has sold 41.67 million units worldwide. At this point in its life (10 quarters in), the Nintendo 3DS had sold 34.98 million units worldwide, putting the Switch ahead by 6.69 million units.
Hardware sales trend for both devices since launch:
Software sales for both devices launch-aligned:
While Nintendo 3DS hardware sales aren't far behind those of Switch launch-aligned (owing to the 3DS being much more popular in Japan for its first two years than Switch has been), software is where you really begin to see how much more successful the Switch has been as a platform.
Owing to an abundance of independent games, stronger support from western third-party publishers, and Nintendo's strongest first-party output in years, the Switch has sold 246 million units of software in 10 quarters. In comparison, the Nintendo 3DS had sold just 95 million units of software in its first 10 quarters, and the majority of its software support came from Nintendo and other Japanese publishers.
With its first set of "true" Pokémon games scheduled for release this week, followed by a new Animal Crossing game in March 2020, the Switch's prospects look even brighter over the next six months. 2021 and beyond, though, is where Nintendo will need to investigate ways to keep sales high, in light of competition from new Xbox and PlayStation platforms.
Data courtesy of Nintendo.
