PS5 and Xbox Series boost console sales in Europe: Nintendo Switch declines but continues to lead

The market has been marked by the global pandemic and by the arrival of the new generation.

The sales figures for the first half of the year have been marked by problems stock of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S , in addition to the difficulties for comparisons with 2020 because of the pandemic. 2.7 million consoles were sold during the first half of the year, an increase of 4% compared to the same time period in 2020. This figure is actually surprising given that the sale of consoles and video games increased significantly during the first half of 2020 due to the global health crisis.

The figures, shared by Games Industry, collect data from the GSD , which tracks sales in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and some parts of Asia. This growth in hardware sales compared to last year is closely linked to the arrival of the PS5 and Xbox Series , despite the fact that both machines have had stock problems throughout the year. This has led to a significant variation in the proportion of sales between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft consoles have accounted for 53% of total console sales, up from 40% during the first half of 2020.

 Nintendo Switch is still the best-selling consoleNintendo Switch for its part, is in its fifth year of life and has experienced a considerable drop in sales of 26% , although it is difficult to extract an assessment of these figures, since the European market experienced different confinements and situations derived from the pandemic that notably boosted Switch sales during the first half of 2020.

If instead of 2020, we compare the sales of Nintendo Switch with those of the first half of 2019, there we do find an increase of almost 38% for the Nintendo hybrid, although this data is not free from the changes caused by the pandemic. It causes, since some markets also experienced confinements during this first half of the year. In any case, Nintendo Switch remains the best-selling console during the first half of 2021. PS5 and Xbox Series boost console sales in Europe: Nintendo Switch declines but continues to lead