© Nintendo LifeAccording to its Chinese partner Tencent, Nintendo has shipped 1 million Switch consoles in China since the system was launched in the country at the end of 2019. This indicates that Nintendo has now surpassed both Microsoft and Sony as the largest console device vendor in China.
According to Niko Partners’ Daniel Ahmad, it is estimated that the total installed base of the Switch in the country is more than 4 million units, taking into account the many units imported from outside China. Ahmed also confirms that the Switch with sales of 1 million units since 2019 has surpassed the combined sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the same period.
China is the world’s largest video game market, but it’s dominated by mobile and computer games, and consoles are considered a niche proposition. Until 2014, consoles were banned in the region – but that’s exactly why China is such an important area to succeed in, because there is a huge potential for growth, unlike North America, Japan or Europe.
Niko Partners believes China’s console market revenue will climb to $ 2.15 billion in 2024 – making it twice as large as in 2019 – and being the best dog in such a lucrative market, Nintendo will only help. The popularity of the Switch in China will also help Nintendo increase its sales targets for the console, which sold 68.30 million units worldwide as of September 30, 2020.
Nintendo predicts it will sell 24 million Switch units for the year ending March 2021.