The NPD Group takes stock of the last ten years in the video game industry in North America, where Sony's domestic company was the most successful.
The end of the decade (2010 to 2019) has served the NDP Group to prepare different reports that take stock of what this period has given itself, one in which PlayStation 4 has been the most sold video game console in the United States. The analyst group, which works with computerized video game data in physical format and direct hardware sales, reflects with percentages a cycle with several proper names.
Nintendo Switch, dominating the last three years
"Nintendo Switch has been the best-selling hardware platform both in December and throughout the year 2019," he begins by saying, which demonstrates the great shape of the hybrid platform, which is already around 15 million units sold only in this territory. "While Sony's PlayStation 4 ended up as the best-selling hardware of the decade." In total, PlayStation 4 has sold until last December 31 more than 106 million units worldwide.
The result was going to be discussed between the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 family of consoles, since they have computed from the 2013 to 2019 exercises, while the Nintendo option has done so from 2017 to 2019. It also came into Wii struggles, but its commercial journey ended in 2012; while Wii U, its successor, also failed to implant itself in the market in the desired way, hence its short period of life.
According to the information provided by Mat Piscatella, a consulting member of the NPD Group, the arrival of Nintendo Switch – which coincided with the last years of natural implementation of the other two consoles – precipitated the decrease in sales of both PS4 and Xbox One; specifically in 17% of revenues billed this past December with respect to the same period of 2018.
This has also had an impact on the annual turnover of consoles in 2019, where revenues from hardware were 22% lower than in 2018.
The expectations of 2020 are also not very promising. The last year of a generation – PS4 and Xbox One – is always hard for console sales in the three main markets. The sales of the calendar year that now begins are expected to be even lower than those of 2019; It will not be until Christmas 2020 when PS5 and Xbox Series X arrive. On the other hand, it is estimated that Nintendo Switch is the great beneficiary of these coming months.
