The Best-Selling Game Console Of All Time Is Over 25 Years Old

You may anticipate newer consoles to dominate lifetime gross sales lists. In spite of everything, the trade is several times bigger than it was twenty years in the past. However all-time console gross sales are a mix of outdated and new, with Sony’s second house console, the PlayStation 2, hanging onto the highest spot.

Nonetheless, the PS2’s lead is shrinking. Based mostly on the most recent figures, Nintendo’s original Switch is only some million models behind. And in contrast to the PS2, it is nonetheless being bought.

A observe on the figures: Sony and Nintendo report their totals as consoles shipped to retailers, which is somewhat completely different from shopper gross sales. Additionally, Microsoft does not publish official totals, so these numbers are analyst estimates.

Sony says the PS2 bought over 160 million models, greater than another console. How did it take the crown? For starters, it launched with a built-in DVD participant, proper when that market was taking off. As wild as that sounds immediately, this was again when bodily media dominated. Come for Austin Powers, keep for Kratos.

Timing additionally labored within the PS2’s favor. When it launched, Sega’s Dreamcast was the one different new house console in the marketplace. By the point the Dreamcast hit the US in 1999, Sony was already hyping the PS2, main many a gamer to carry off on Sega’s new console. (The truth that Sega bailed rapidly on the Sega CD, 32X and Saturn did not assist with shopper confidence.) And the GameCube and authentic Xbox did not launch till late 2001, after the PS2 had already gained a foothold.

To prime it off, the PS2 stayed in the marketplace for ages. Sony did not cease making it till 2013, the identical yr its “grandchild,” the PS4, launched. The PS2 additionally benefited from value cuts, dropping from $299 at its US launch to $199 in 2002, and ultimately to $99 in 2009. By then, it was a pretty possibility for individuals who wished a still-capable gaming system on a budget.

All these {hardware} gross sales led to staggering software program numbers: greater than 1.5 billion PS2 video games bought. Its best-selling titles have been Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at 17.3 million models, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec at 14.9 million, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice Metropolis at 14.2 million.

Kicking off the period of the hybrid console, the Swap launched in 2017 with a novel idea: a cellular gaming machine that you could possibly additionally connect with a TV. It did not take lengthy to see Nintendo had a winner on its arms after the Wii U’s disappointment. Serving to out was the truth that its flagship launch recreation was an open-world basic, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild making the Swap’s proposition immediately clear.

The outcome? Nintendo has shipped over 156 million Swap consoles as of June 2026, together with all variants. The unique mannequin was adopted by the cheaper and portable-only Swap Lite and the higher-end Swap OLED, which added a much bigger and higher display.

The Swap has already crushed the PS2 in recreation gross sales, at practically 1.6 billion models. Its top-selling titles are Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at 71.5 million models, Animal Crossing: New Horizons at 50.3 million and Tremendous Smash Bros. Final at 38.1 million.

Nintendo has said it expects to ship round 2 million authentic Swap consoles within the present fiscal yr, which ends in March 2027. If that charge holds, the Swap might go the PS2 in 2028 on the earliest.

The most effective-selling totally transportable console was the Nintendo DS, which arrived in 2004. The system had a collection of options that have been novel on the time: two screens, a stylus, a built-in microphone and wi-fi play. Nintendo ended up shipping over 154 million models throughout all DS fashions.

The primary variations have been backward suitable with the Recreation Boy Advance’s library, which possible helped with early gross sales. Later {hardware} iterations included the slimmer and lighter DS Lite, the DSi (which added two cameras, an SD card slot and a digital store) and the larger-screened DSi XL.

The DS, which bought about 949 million video games, was referred to as a lot for quirky titles — like Nintendogs and Mind Age which took benefit of the distinctive {hardware} — because it was for its tentpole franchises. The platform’s best-selling video games have been New Tremendous Mario Bros. at 30.8 million models, Nintendogs at 24 million and Mario Kart DS at 23.6 million.

The original Game Boy was an train in restraint. Rivals just like the Atari Lynx and Sega Recreation Gear had colour screens, however they price extra and ate up batteries at a sooner clip. The Recreation Boy had a greenish display, was comparatively low-cost and sturdy and ran for hours on 4 AA batteries. In North America and Europe, it additionally got here with the last word pick-up-and-play recreation, Tetris.

Like most Nintendo consoles, the Recreation Boy had a number of iterations. The Recreation Boy Pocket arrived in 1996, with a smaller, lighter construct and a sharper black-and-white display. The Japan-only Recreation Boy Mild added a backlight to the Pocket.

However probably the most notable {hardware} replace was the Recreation Boy Colour, which Nintendo lumps along with the unique mannequin in lifetime totals. It arrived practically a decade after the unique in 1998, quickly after Pokémon took off, including a full-color display and compatibility with most older Recreation Boy video games. Collectively, the Recreation Boy household bought over 118 million consoles.

The Recreation Boy household’s top-selling video games illustrate the console’s pocketable enchantment. On prime was Pokémon Pink, Inexperienced and Blue at 31.4 million models, adopted by Tetris at 30.3 million and Pokémon Gold and Silver at 23.1 million.

The PS4’s early success arguably marked the start of the tip of the PlayStation-Xbox rivalry. Microsoft’s preliminary Xbox One pitch, which included a mandatory daily online check-in and a compulsory Kinect digicam, drew near-universal scorn. Though Microsoft reversed most of its plans earlier than launch, the injury was performed — and Sony was all too joyful to reap the advantages, to the tune of 117 million PS4s shipped.

Sony discovered from its errors with the PS3. The PS4 was a lot simpler on builders, with a PC-esque structure from AMD. Sony additionally continued to construct on its rising popularity for first-party exclusives, together with The Last of Us Part II and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s Finish. The console obtained two {hardware} revisions: a slimmer mannequin (recognized unofficially because the PS4 Slim) and the PS4 Pro, which added 4K assist.

The system’s best-selling video games have been Grand Theft Auto V at an estimated 24.7 million models, Marvel’s Spider-Man at 22.7 million and God of Conflict (2018) at 21 million.

Rounding out the highest 10 are the unique PlayStation at 102.4 million models shipped, the Nintendo Wii at 101.6 million, the PS5 at over 95 million (and counting) the PS3 at 87.4 million and the Xbox 360 (Microsoft’s solely entry on the listing) at an estimated 84 million.

One of many causes the PS2’s document has held up is that the trade modified. The gaming enterprise is far greater immediately, however cellular gaming, PCs and subscription companies now combat for a chunk of the pie. That makes it tougher for any single system to rack up PS2-like numbers. And current-gen {hardware} tends to get more expensive, not cheaper — particularly within the age of RAMageddon. Good luck discovering a present console for the PS2’s closing $99 value, and even the roughly $150 that works out to immediately, adjusting for inflation.

The OG Swap might take the crown inside the subsequent two or three years, assuming Nintendo does not discontinue it earlier than it crosses the road. However till then, the 26-year-old console that made its bones spinning The Matrix DVDs stays on its perch.