October’s estimated hardware standings
VGChartz reports the following Japanese sell-through estimates—not official manufacturer shipment totals.
| Console family | October sales | Lifetime sales | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch 2 | 140,519 | 6,708,199 | −66.1% |
| PlayStation 5 | 54,958 | 7,804,718 | +22.2% |
| Nintendo Switch | 22,162 | 37,103,466 | −77.6% |
| Xbox Series X|S | 2,007 | 709,884 | +15.2% |
The tracker’s rounded 2026 year-to-date estimates stand at 2.60 million Switch 2 consoles, 600,000 original Switch systems, 470,000 PS5s and 20,000 Xbox Series consoles.
Its historical comparisons put Switch 2 below the original Switch’s 174,298 units in October 2018. PS5 exceeded PS4’s October 2019 total of 33,229, while Xbox Series X|S surpassed Xbox One’s 380 that month. Those are comparisons with earlier hardware generations, separate from the year-over-year figures above.
The calendar matters more than the headline suggests
The month-over-month comparison covers unequal reporting periods. VGChartz’s September report contains five weekly entries, ending September 5 through October 3. Its October report contains four, ending October 10 through October 31. Comparing their monthly totals alone therefore mixes different numbers of sales weeks.
Dividing each report’s totals by its number of weekly entries produces a useful additional comparison:
| Console family | September weekly average | October weekly average |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch 2 | 30,233 | 35,130 |
| PlayStation 5 | 9,153 | 13,740 |
| Nintendo Switch | 8,007 | 5,541 |
| Xbox Series X|S | 309 | 502 |
These are calculated averages, rounded to whole units, using VGChartz’s published totals and reporting weeks. Switch 2’s monthly total fell, but its average per reported week increased. Xbox’s average rose approximately 62%, compared with its roughly 30% increase in the unadjusted monthly total. This adjustment improves comparability; it does not explain the changes or establish a lasting trend.
What the estimates establish—and what they do not
VGChartz says it extrapolates retail samples and revises its figures against other trackers and manufacturer shipments. Its consumer-sales estimates should not be treated as interchangeable with shipments into distribution.
For Xbox readers, the defensible takeaway is a small year-over-year hardware gain in Japan—not evidence of a broader Microsoft gaming turnaround. These figures measure consoles, not Windows gaming activity, subscriptions or engagement. A positive percentage is useful context, but the underlying unit count still deserves equal billing.