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Nintendo Switch sales set to eclipse PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the US for the year

The Switch is also expected to generate the most software revenues at retail

Nintendo Switch sales set to eclipse PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the US for the year

The Nintendo Switch is forecasted to shift more consoles than rivals PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the US in 2018.

That comes from NPD industry analyst Mat Piscatella, who wrote a blog post to revisit some earlier predictions he had made for the US games industry in 2018.

Piscatella had predicted the Switch to build upon a solid 2017 and both sell the most hardware units as well as generate the most software revenue at retail over the coming year.

The call is apparently on track for Q4 and will be driven by the launches of Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu!, Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee! and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Piscatella also expects the Switch, PS4 and Xbox One to generate at least four million units sold in 2018. Total 2018 hardware sales across all console and portable platforms are expected to exceed 17.5 million units, which would be the highest total achieved in the US since 2012.

Switching up

The pair of Pokemon titles were revealed back in a press conference held by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company back in May.

Following the series formula, Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee are variants of the same experience, which is a remaster of Game Freak’s 1998 hit Pokémon Yellow.

Alongside updated 3D visuals, each title will also be able to connect to Pokemon Go. Players can catch pokemon initially discovered in the Kanto region in Pokemon Go and then transfer them into their Nintendo Switch adventure.

Super Smash Bros. was revealed as part of a Nintendo Direct event before getting a full reveal at E3.


Staff Writer

Iain is a freelance writer based in Scotland with a penchant for indies and all things Nintendo. Alongside PocketGamer.Biz, he has also appeared in Kotaku, Rock Paper Shotgun, PCGamesN and VG24/7.