After almost three years as the top-selling console in the U.S., the Nintendo Switch has been ousted by Sony’s PlayStation 5. According to Mat Piscatella, an NPD analyst, the PS5 was the best-selling gaming hardware platform in both units sold and overall dollars earned in September 2021.
“September 2021 snaps the remarkable 33 consecutive month streak that Nintendo Switch was the market’s leading platform in hardware unit sales,” Piscatella said on Twitter. According to Piscatella, U.S. video game hardware sales as a whole saw a 49% increase in September 2021 relative to the previous September, with total sales for the year to date reaching $3.4 billion.
This marks a return to the top spot for Sony’s line of consoles, which held the top spot with the PlayStation 4 before the Switch’s run of dominance began. The last time the PS4 slapped the board as the top-selling console was back in November of 2018, according to GamesRadar.
Although the PS5 is now the top-selling console in terms of dollars spent not just for September but for 2021 overall, the Switch has still sold more units throughout the year. As GamesRadar suggests, the Switch’s reign as best-seller for the past three years may be related to supplies of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S being hard to come by for customers.
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NPD Group confirmed with GamesRadar that the PS5 was the fastest-selling Sony console in U.S. history back in April, a phenomenon which would recur in Japan in September according to Gematsu. Despite the console’s supply shortages, it managed to surpass the ten-million sales mark in about 248 days.
Obviously there’s still a chance for the Switch to get a second wind and top the charts again, with a little help from Metroid Dread and the new Nintendo Switch - OLED Model. But for a moment at least, players’ hard-earned dollars have propelled the PS5 to the top slot.