10 Best selling video game consoles of all time

Video games are a lucrative business, in recent years regularly outgrossing other major entertainment industries like music and even the film industry. This is in part due to a wider customer base worldwide, frequent game releases and hugely popular franchises. In fact, some of the most popular video game consoles have comfortably sold over 100 million units in their lifetime and these are the ten best-selling video game consoles of all time.

Launching worldwide in 2000 and five years after its predecessor, the PlayStation 2 still retains the title as the best-selling console of all time. Which is a title some think may never be broken in gaming.

There are a few reasons why the console sold so well, with the console also doubling up as a DVD player that could play other media, making it an impromptu entertainment centre. The PlayStation 2 was also backwards compatible and could play fan favourite PlayStation 1 games. Of course, it had a strong roster of games and graphics that were superior to its competition (the Xbox and GameCube). Over time the console stormed ahead to an impressive tally.

Nintendo’s most successful game console to date is, maybe surprisingly, a handheld. The Nintendo DS (dual screen) was a pioneer in handheld games, using two screens for innovative games/features. The console also made use of an additional element in the form of a stylus to interact with games and the console itself, setting it apart from its competition. With Nintendo’s strong first party offerings, the DS carried lasting appeal for many years while it was on sale and beyond.

The most recent entry on this list in the Nintendo Switch, which by all accounts has been a runaway success. The popular Nintendo console only debuted in 2017. In ways it feels like a spiritual successor to the Nintendo DS, offering gamers the ability to play it on the go, like a handheld, or at home like a home console.

The Switch’s unique selling point and having the ability to allow you to game on the go has undoubtedly contributed to its appeal and popularity. It also made use of a price point which came in lower than its competition, the PS4 and Xbox One.

Seen by many long-time gamers as one of the most important video game consoles, the Game Boy and Game Boy Colour were seminal handheld consoles that are fondly remembered. Kicking off in 1989 with the Game Boy which practically flew off shelves, it maintained its popularity for its whole run until the Game Boy Colour.

Their popularity was in part down to their simplicity. Both handhelds were easy to use, only requiring you to stick in a cartridge and start playing the game. The Game Boy was sturdy and had a long battery life and could be taken anywhere. Similarly, the Game Boy Colour had a long battery-life and improved on the Game Boy, with a brighter, full-colour screen and a variety of colourful shell designs.

The PlayStation 4 is one of the more recent entries on this list, launching globally in 2013. It was the fourth iteration in Sony’s console series and repeated past designs, as well as the popular dual-shock controller. It owes part of its success to Sony learning from mistakes, avoiding overpricing like they did with the PlayStation 3. Another reason it got off to a great start was because the Xbox One had an infamously rough launch.

You may be noticing a trend with some of the top-selling home consoles being made by Sony and you’d be right, with the first PlayStation at number six. The PlayStation debuted in Japan in 1994 and in the west in 1995. As Sony’s first games console, it introduced a lot of gamers to gaming on CDs, as opposed to on cartridges, allowing room for big improvements in graphics quality and audio.

At one point it may have seemed like the Nintendo Wii was everywhere. It was an unassuming console that managed to do the impossible and outsell its more powerful competition. The Wii was known for being easy to use and having broad appeal games like Wii Sports, Mario Party and the popular Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Despite a slightly rough launch, with concerns from gamers over a high price point, the PlayStation 3 is still seen as a widely successful console. This was buoyed by the console being technically impressive and improving considerably in key areas over its predecessor, the PlayStation 2.

Microsoft’s second console, the Xbox 360 launched in late 2005 and gradually tallied up an impressive haul in an overall high-selling generation. To date the Xbox 360 is the company’s highest selling console and it got that title with strong processing power which allowed for great graphics, a comfortable controller and great first party games.

PlayStation Portable, more commonly known as the PSP, was Sony’s first handheld console, launching in Japan in 2004 and the rest of the world the following year. It was a direct competitor to Nintendo’s DS, standing out with the use of optical discs as opposed to Nintendo’s cartridges, which allowed it to have better graphics and run more complex games.

Although it didn’t win the sales war with the DS, the PSP was generally well received by critics and gamers alike.