According to the NPD, which tracks video game sales in North America, the Switch stood atop all other consoles for January sales. Furthermore, not only did the Switch sell more hardware units than any other console, but Nintendo’s hit system sold more units in a month of January since 2010. The previous honor went to another Nintendo system, the Nintendo Wii. Despite selling more units than the PlayStation 5, the Switch lost out to Sony in dollars sold for their respective consoles, which makes sense, as the PlayStation 5 costs a lot more than the Nintendo Switch. While the Switch costs $299 (or $199 for the Switch Lite), the PlayStation 5 costs $399 or $499, depending on the version of the console you purchase.
Possibly due to the pandemic, hardware sales in the United States were up 144 percent compared to January of 2020, selling a total of $319 million, which just goes to show what an enormous industry the video game industry is. According to the NPD, that’s the highest amount since $323 million was recorded in a January month since 2011.
Once again, Nintendo is continuing its dominance. Once the Xbox One Series X and the PlayStation 5 begin to become more readily available, the gap is sure to close. Just how close that gap is, or whether Nintendo is surpassed by the more powerful systems, is left to be seen.