Technology

This Gaming Console Sold 158 Million Units, and They Don't Even Make It Anymore

David Beren

Published: August 21, 2024 9:30 am

24/7 Insights

• The title “best-selling video game console of all time” could soon change hands. 
• This list of consoles includes both old and new console generations. 
• Nintendo has been pretty dominant over the years with its console releases. 
• Also: Discover “The Next NVIDIA” 

Since the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the first Atari, the video game console wars have been a reality. As part of these console wars, the Sony PlayStation 2 has been the reigning video game sales champion, but the Nintendo Switch is catching up fast. There’s even a solid argument that the Switch deserves the title more than the PlayStation 2. 

Unlike a PC, a video game console requires little more than a television screen or, in the Switch case, just a set of hands. While the games on these consoles can vary in pricing, some of the biggest names in entertainment history, like Mario and Sonic, owe their successes to video game consoles that sold millions. Using online data from Statista, we can see which consoles are considered among the best-selling of all time in descending order. 

Why Is This Important?  

When you think about the size of the video game industry and the billions in revenue it earns yearly, it’s not to be ignored. More importantly, considering that video games earn more money than the music and movie industries, the power of video games becomes increasingly clear. When you factor in big names like Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Apple, and Google, which all have a role in the video game world today, it’s easy to understand why 24/7 Wall St is interested in covering this topic. 

10. Game Boy Advance

• Release date: June 2001
• Manufacturer: Nintendo
• Consoles sold: 81.51 million
• Best-selling game: Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire (16.22 million) 

Portable Greatness

While the original Game Boy opened the door to portable console success, the Game Boy Advance showed what was possible. As a 32-bit unit, the Game Boy Advance offered graphical fidelity twice that of the Super Nintendo while being incredibly portable and having great battery life. Nintendo launched the console in response to the Neo Geo Pocket and WonderSwan, neither of which are remembered when compared to the Game Boy Advance. 

9. Xbox 360 

• Release date: November 2005
• Manufacturer: Microsoft
• Consoles sold: 85.73 million
• Best-selling game: Kinect Adventures (24 million)

Microsoft Enters the Arena

As soon as Microsoft decided to enter the video game arena, it launched a million questions about whether the software giant could succeed. While the company’s first entry with the original Xbox still sold a respectable 24 million units, the Xbox 360 gave Microsoft the street cred it needed to be taken seriously in the video game world. Thanks to the launch of Xbox Live, which allowed users to download games and play online, the Xbox 360 was sold by truckload. 

8. PlayStation 3

• Release date: November 2006
• Manufacturer: Sony
• Consoles sold: 87.4 million
• Best-selling game: Grand Theft Auto V (29.52 million) 

Blu-Ray Entertainment

The experience leap from the Sony PlayStation 2 to the PlayStation 3 cannot be understated. Whereas the PlayStation 2 focused solely on gaming, the PlayStation 3 was both a video game console and Blu-Ray player. While the console had some difficulty initially with sales due to its high price tag and low memory, Sony eventually found the right formula for both, and the PlayStation 3 became a huge hit as the second biggest seller of the seventh console generation behind the Nintendo Wii. 

7. Nintendo Wii

• Release date: November 2006
• Manufacturer: Nintendo
• Consoles sold: 101.63 million
• Best-selling game: Mario Kart Wii (37.32 million) 

Motion Control Everything

After the Nintendo GameCube lagged behind competitors, Nintendo needed a big win to stay in the console business. Instead of focusing on graphics, Nintendo focused on experience and launched the Wii, which offered motion sensing alongside traditional controls. While Sony’s PlayStation consoles were selling well with die-hard gamers, the Nintendo Wii was a huge hit with casual gamers who loved the originality of Nintendo’s games with the included Wii remotes. 

6. PlayStation 

• Release date: September 1995
• Manufacturer: Sony
• Consoles sold: 102.49 million
• Best-selling game: Gran Turismo (10.85 million) 

Sony Enters Gaming

Sony’s entry into gaming wasn’t a complete surprise, but how it did it is textbook excellence. Selling over 967 million games across 4,000 titles, the Sony PlayStation turned the video game world on its head, put Nintendo and Sega on defense, and ultimately crushed the latter. As history goes, Sony’s attempts to ink a deal with Nintendo as a joint venture failed, so the company went into video games on its own. The rest is history. 

5. PlayStation 4

• Release date: November 2013
• Manufacturer: Sony
• Consoles sold: 117.16 million
• Best-selling game: Marvel’s Spider-Man (20 million) 

Codename Neo

The PlayStation 4, famously developed as Codename Neo by Sony, is the fifth best-selling video game console ever. Part video game console, part entertainment system, the PS4 offered the most realistic video game experience to date. Games like Marvel’s Spider-Man, the console’s best-selling game, let you swing around a lifelike Manhattan and you immediately feel like you are in the city thanks to the power of the PS4 console. 

4. Game Boy/Game Boy Color

• Release date: July 1989/November 1998
• Manufacturer: Nintendo 
• Consoles sold: 118.69 million
• Best-selling game: Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow (46 million)/Pokemon Gold and Silver (23 million)

The Original Portable Console

While the video game industry groups both the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Color together sales-wise, the OG Game Boy sets the stage for every portable console to come. While the Game Boy Color added a color screen and a more powerful processor, there wasn’t much difference between the two consoles. What matters most is that the Game Boy launched a revolution in gaming, as you saw the Game Boy everywhere. 

3. Nintendo Switch

• Release date: March 2017
• Manufacturer: Nintendo 
• Consoles sold: 143.4 million (and counting) 
• Best-selling game: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (62.9 million and counting) 

Handheld Gaming Love

With a strong likelihood that it could become the best-selling console ever, the Nintendo Switch is the most popular eighth-generation console and is growing. Competing with the current generation Xbox Series X/S and Sony PlayStation 5, the dual ability of the Nintendo Switch to work both in handheld or console has helped popularize the Switch in a way few consoles could ever dream of. There is little question about whether Switch has changed gaming and will likely go on to take the top spot. 

2. Nintendo DS

• Release date: November 2004
• Manufacturer: Nintnedo
• Consoles sold: 154.02 million
• Best-selling game: New Super Mario Bros. (30.8 million)

Portable Power

One of the most popular portable consoles ever, the Nintendo DS helped revitalize Nintendo when it was in a state of flux. When Game Boy Advance sales fell, the Nintendo DS launch secured the brand’s place within the casual gaming market, which Sony and Microsoft have yet to accomplish. The dual-screen approach of the DS, along with the stylus, allowed for a unique style of games that home consoles have been unable to duplicate. 

1. PlayStation 2 

• Release date: October 2000
• Manufacturer: Sony
• Consoles sold:  158.7 million
• Best-selling game: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (17.33 million) 

Best-Seller

The current title holder as the “best-selling video game console of all time” is the Sony PlayStation 2. First released in Japan in March 2000 and later in North America in October of the same year, the PlayStation 2 made Sony into the video game behemoth it is today. While the original PlayStation succeeded, the PS2 offered over 4,000 video game titles that sold over 1.5 billion copies worldwide. Sony even released a lighter version, the PS2 Slim, which helped boost overall sales.