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Nintendo's Strong 2019 Continues With Switch Sales Success
Nintendo's strong 2019 continued in May, where the company's Switch console enjoyed such strong sales success that it outperformed both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Nintendo's current standing within the video game industry is very much one that makes the publisher one to watch, with many suggesting that it hasn't had such a strong first-party games line-up since the glory days of the Nintendo 64.
It doesn't hurt that Nintendo's E3 2019 was also by far the strongest for any company in attendance. While Microsoft wowed audiences early with the now legendary Keanu Reeves Cyberpunk 2077 reveal, it was Nintendo that came away with the most excitement about its future prospects. Sony and Microsoft are both focusing on their next-gen consoles to an extent, which meant that their actual games lineups have been sparse in the lead-up to the 2019 holiday season. Nintendo, on the other hand, utterly dominated new game discussion with an E3 presentation that included a Breath of the Wild sequel, the desperately awaited new Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and even the unveiling of Banjo and Kazooie in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The future looks incredibly bright for Nintendo, but that hasn't stopped the company's present from being equally sterling. According to NPD Group's software report for May 2019, Nintendo Switch outsold the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in terms of both units and dollars. Nintendo Switch sales growth has been the only consistent positive factor in the console analysis, with PS4 and Xbox One both falling in sales thanks to their respective companies focusing on next-gen technology.
Obviously, part of Nintendo's success is inextricable from the fact that people just aren't that likely to buy a PS4 or Xbox One with the knowledge that they're close to a new console generation. That said, though, the Nintendo Switch's sales are still impressive in their own right, and having a current-gen console for Nintendo that's ahead of the curve of its competitors could be a surprising boon when sales figures start rolling in at the end of 2019 and beyond.
For Nintendo, a strong 2019 could translate into an even better future. There's essentially a year-long window between now and E3 2020 that could see the Switch as the only current-gen device still producing major games and announcing even more on the horizon. Given the Switch's appealing price point and already incredible games library, it wouldn't be surprising to see it suddenly usurp the PS4 as the de facto console of choice, something that could be preserved through next-gen with a strong 12 months now.
