The Switch continues its bestselling streak, but the PS5 is making more money
The Nintendo Switch continues to perform very well, selling the most units out of any other gaming hardware in the US in January, according to gaming analyst firm The NPD Group. But Sony’s PlayStation 5 still made more money last month, despite a more limited supply.
According to NPD’s January report, the Switch was the bestselling hardware platform in terms of units sold in January — the highest of any platform in that specific month since the Nintendo Wii in 2010. Despite this, Sony’s next-gen console earned the highest dollar sales total for the month of January, breaking the previous record set by the Nintendo Wii in 2009.
There are a few reasons why the Switch might have sold more units but made less money than the PS5. Most notably, the PS5’s starting price begins at $100 more than the Switch, with the digital-only PS5 retailing for $400 and the disc drive model retailing for $500.
The PS5 has been out for nearly three months yet, just like the Xbox Series X / S, the PS5 has been very difficult to buy, with retailers mostly hosting online sales due to severe supply shortages. With no signs of retailers selling the PS5 in stores anytime soon due to the ongoing pandemic, the only way you can buy a PS5 from a retail store is to wait for another wave of PS5 restocks to appear online. But when they do, they typically sell out in minutes, and Sony’s strong numbers for the month suggest it’s going through its stock as fast as possible. NPD’s report makes no mention of Microsoft’s new Xbox consoles.
Nintendo’s console has been impacted by the pandemic, too, as the Switch was a bit difficult to find last spring, but supplies have remained relatively healthy since. The Switch has also seen restocks of the base console and various bundles, including limited-edition ones like the newly released Mario-themed bundle.
The Nintendo Switch continues to perform very well, selling the most units out of any other gaming hardware in the US in January, according to gaming analyst firm The NPD Group. But Sony’s PlayStation 5 still made more money last month, despite a more limited supply. According to NPD’s January…
