Nintendo’s marketshare expected to grow thanks to Switch

A new report has showcased what the current marketshare is for each of the major players in the gaming industry, including Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Sony manages to dominate the charts with 51% ($17.8 billion) of total spending in the category dedicated to that console. That’s followed up with Microsoft at 26% (9.1 billion) and Nintendo claims 8% (2.6 billion) of the market with just the Nintendo 3DS.

You’ll notice that Nintendo saw a significant decrease in sales during 2016 compared to 2015, but the launch of the Nintendo Switch on March 3rd is expected to help propel its market share higher as the Switch gains adoption.

Another interesting point is the disparity between Nintendo digital sales and digital sales on the other available consoles. It’s obvious a lot of Nintendo fans are still physical game buyers, but with the release of the Nintendo Switch that’s likely to change. The Nintendo Account system used by the Switch is no longer tied to your system and the eShop is much easier to use. Improvements mean progress.

Nintendo’s digital sales in 2016 ($397 million) only amounted for about 5% of the digital marketshare when compared to Microsoft and Sony’s slice of the pie. Sony’s digital game business is worth $4.4 billion and will likely break $5 billion in 2017. That figure doesn’t include the PlayStation Plus subscription price, either. Microsoft follows with a digital business worth just shy of $3 billion, which showcases just how far Nintendo has to go to play catch-up in the digital world.

It also answers the question as to why My Nintendo is focused on giving more rewards for digital purchases than physical purchases.

[via VentureBeat]

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