Nintendo Switch Vs. Playstation 4: What’s the Most Popular Gaming Console in the Philippines?
People have been doing everything to keep themselves entertained during this lockdown period: reading books, watching movies and TV shows on cable or streaming sites, exercise, arts and crafts—you name it.
Then of course, there’s that most dependable of home-based activities—gaming. Studies show that gaming consoles have been exploding in popularity, especially during this lockdown period.
The Nintendo Switch, for example, has been flying off the shelves globally, particularly with the release of the popular social simulation game series Animal Crossing: New Horizons right around the time of lockdowns. Market analyst NPD Group reported last week that sales of the Switch in March 2020 more than doubled compared to the same period last year.
But what about in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia?
On Friday, ecommerce aggregator iPrice Group released research into what gaming console is currently the top choice for Asian gamers.
The company based its analysis on 1.5 million searches made on online shopping platforms across Malaysia Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
The study showed that, from mid-March to mid-April 2020, interest for Nintendo Switch on online shopping platforms in Southeast Asia (plus Hong Kong) shot up by 245 percent. In comparison, searches for the PS4 only increased by around 135. iPrice says that total demand for the Switch is now 1.6 times higher than that for the PS4.
Additionally, searches for all gaming consoles in the seven countries increased by 115 percent compared to the previous period (mid-February to mid-March 2020). Vietnam leads the region at an impressive 432 percent increase, followed by Singapore at 241 percent. According to iPrice, the Philippines is at 129 percent, mostly due to restrictions on the delivery of non-essential goods.
Most popular gaming consoles in Southeast Asia
According to the study, the Switch is far and away the most popular gaming console in the Philippines. The Nintendo console is also number one in four other countries in the region—Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Only gamers in Vietnam and Indonesia chose differently. In those countries, it’s the PS4 that has logged the most interest, with the Switch a close second.
The PS4 is in second place in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines, while it’s the XBOX that takes that spot in Thailand.
Interestingly, instead of the XBOX, the previous generation Playstation—the PS3—is still garnering enough interest to make it to number 3 in the Philippines and Indonesia.
The Switch is a winner
In terms of absolute numbers, the Switch is clearly doing well for Nintendo. According to the most recent reports, as of March 30, 2020, Nintendo has sold a grand total of 55.77 million units of the Switch since it was introduced in 2017. That means there are more Nintendo Switches than the entire population of South Korea.
During the first quarter of 2020, Switch sales totaled 3.29 million units, which is up 133 percent compared to the same period last year.
Talk about a winner.
