A new report from Circana (formally The NPD Group and IRI) revealed that Nintendo Switch sales surpassed the Nintendo Wii within the US market. The overall report went over current and future trends within the US gaming market with expectations for it to settle following months of turmoil within the industry.
Despite the Nintendo Switch entering into its twilight years it continues to see decent amount of sales. Thanks to the boost in sales from recent releases like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Pikmin 4, lifetime hardware sales for Switch hardware surpassed the Nintendo Wii in the US market during July 2023. Additionally, Switch lifetime sales could eventually surpass the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 if sales continue at their current rate.
Other statistics include the PlayStation 5’s boost in sales following its various constraints during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the report, the PlayStation 5 sales trend 5% above the PlayStation 4 and 87% ahead of PlayStation 3 in “time-aligned units sold life-to-date.” As for Microsoft, Xbox Series X|S sales trails behind the Xbox One by 10% despite leading the Xbox 360 by 6%. It is expected that the PlayStation 5 will stay at the top of the hardware market at least into 2025.
Overall, hardware sales were one of the big contenders in growing back the gaming market in the past 12 months, with new hardware product sales contributing $7 billion of the $57 billion in total video game spending in that time frame. Other factors include video game content and accessories. That said, the US market isn’t fully in the clear just yet. GameIndustry.biz predicts more turbulence in the market as demographics change, particularly due to the looming impact of student loan repayments resuming.
Regardless, the video game market is always changing and growing, and with the upcoming Holiday 2023, it’s more than likely to resurge into a better place for creatives and consumers to engage their time.