– Sales data is not so clear cut, but Wiki sources seemed reliable
– I did not include any primarily-handheld consoles such as Gameboy, PSP, DS, etc… Although Switch lite is included. Maybe I’ll go back and try to fix that.
– I did not separate any console variations such as Pro, Oled, Mini, etc…
– Grouping the Wii U and Switch into Gen 8
– Reports are Switch 2 pre-sales are ~7million
– Obviously Gen9 sales are ongoing
– I don’t have year-by-year sales data so the 2nd plot might look like all sales are tied to release date. But that’s just the easiest way to do it with the data I have.
=== A few observations ===
– Sony has really dominated since entering the market. Even when they have a “disappointing” console, they still move a lot of units. This could be tied to the fact that PS2 and PS3 made DVD and Blu-Ray affordable and accessable when they were released. Whereas nowadays physical media is much less common, the consoles now compete on games and capabilities.
– Surprised the N64 and Gamecube sold so poorly compared to Wii and Switch. Sony was dominating, but who didn’t love Goldeneye, Smash, and Mario Kart?
– Microsoft consistently releases in November.
– Nintendo quickly and correctly pivoted from the Wii U and made a very successful Switch console.
– Sega really couldn’t capitalized on the progress made by Genesis.
===
This was a personal project for me, but figured I would share the results. These have been made before, but not quite in this format. It may take reviewing all 3 plots to get the full picture. I couldn’t figure out how to do it in less. I focused on the console generations that I have had a personal experience with, so no Gen1-2.
I probably won’t be responding to comments for a while because I don’t have the self-esteem to handle it.
BuckSleezy on
Nintendo console over console with significant decrease in sales before the wii is nuts.
2 Comments
– Data from Wikipedia
– Tool is Excel
– Sales data is not so clear cut, but Wiki sources seemed reliable
– I did not include any primarily-handheld consoles such as Gameboy, PSP, DS, etc… Although Switch lite is included. Maybe I’ll go back and try to fix that.
– I did not separate any console variations such as Pro, Oled, Mini, etc…
– Grouping the Wii U and Switch into Gen 8
– Reports are Switch 2 pre-sales are ~7million
– Obviously Gen9 sales are ongoing
– I don’t have year-by-year sales data so the 2nd plot might look like all sales are tied to release date. But that’s just the easiest way to do it with the data I have.
=== A few observations ===
– Sony has really dominated since entering the market. Even when they have a “disappointing” console, they still move a lot of units. This could be tied to the fact that PS2 and PS3 made DVD and Blu-Ray affordable and accessable when they were released. Whereas nowadays physical media is much less common, the consoles now compete on games and capabilities.
– Surprised the N64 and Gamecube sold so poorly compared to Wii and Switch. Sony was dominating, but who didn’t love Goldeneye, Smash, and Mario Kart?
– Microsoft consistently releases in November.
– Nintendo quickly and correctly pivoted from the Wii U and made a very successful Switch console.
– Sega really couldn’t capitalized on the progress made by Genesis.
===
This was a personal project for me, but figured I would share the results. These have been made before, but not quite in this format. It may take reviewing all 3 plots to get the full picture. I couldn’t figure out how to do it in less. I focused on the console generations that I have had a personal experience with, so no Gen1-2.
I probably won’t be responding to comments for a while because I don’t have the self-esteem to handle it.
Nintendo console over console with significant decrease in sales before the wii is nuts.