The PS5 took the US sales throne in September.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The PlayStation 5 surpassed the Nintendo Switch in September US sales, stopping a 33-month streak for the Switch, according to Mat Piscatella, executive director of the NPD group. Sony’s PS5 console, which is still notoriously difficult to find due to a global chip shortage, becomes the first console to top the Switch in monthly sales since November 2018.
US NPD HW – September 2021 snaps the remarkable 33 consecutive month streak that Nintendo Switch was the market’s leading platform in hardware unit sales. November 2018 was the last month a platform other than Nintendo Switch led the market in unit sales (PlayStation 4).
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) October 18, 2021
Piscatella’s mentions that the PlayStation 5 leads the Switch in sales dollars so far this year, but Nintendo’s console (which costs less than the PS5) still leads in units sold this year. As of July, Sony had sold 10 million units since the PS5 launched, slightly outpacing its predecessor, the PlayStation 4.
Still, remaining the top-selling console for 33 consecutive months is a mammoth feat for the Nintendo Switch. All eyes will be on these two platforms — plus Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S — as we close out the year with major retail events like Black Friday and Christmas.