List of best-selling game consoles
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A home video game console is a standardized computing device tailored for video gaming that requires a computer monitor or television set as an output.[2] Video game consoles usually[2] weigh between 2 and 9 pounds (1–4 kg) on average,[3] and their compact size allows them to be easily used in a variety of locations, making them portable.[3] Handheld controllers are commonly used as input devices. Video game consoles may use one or more data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, optical discs, and memory cards for downloaded content.[3] Dedicated consoles are a subset of game consoles that are only able to play built-in games.[4][5] Video game consoles in general are also described as "dedicated" in distinction from the more versatile personal computer and other consumer electronics.[6][7][8] Sanders Associates engineer Ralph H. Baer along with company employees Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch licensed their television gaming technology to contemporary major TV manufacturer Magnavox. This resulted in the 1972 release of the Magnavox Odyssey—the first commercially available video game console.[9]
A handheld game console is a lightweight device with a built-in screen, controls, speakers,[11] and has greater portability than a standard video game console.[3] It is capable of playing multiple games unlike tabletop and handheld electronic game devices. Tabletop and handheld electronic game devices of the 1970s and early 1980s are the precursors of handheld game consoles.[12] Mattel introduced the first handheld electronic game with the 1977 release of Auto Race.[13] Later, several companies—including Coleco and Milton Bradley—made their own single-game, lightweight tabletop or handheld electronic game devices.[14] The oldest handheld game console with interchangeable cartridges is the Milton Bradley Microvision from 1979.[15] Nintendo is credited with popularizing the handheld console concept with the Game Boy's release in 1989[12] and continued to dominate the handheld console market into the early 2000s.[16][17]
The following table contains video game consoles that have sold at least 1 million units worldwide either through to consumers or inside retail channels. Each console include sales from every iteration unless otherwise noted. The years correspond to when the home or handheld game console was first released (excluding test markets).
- # Background shading indicates consoles currently on the market.
Platform | Type | Firm | Released[2] | Units sold | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PlayStation 2 | Home | Sony | 2000 | >155 million | [note 1] |
Nintendo DS | Handheld | Nintendo | 2004 | 154.02 million | [19] |
Nintendo Switch # | Hybrid | Nintendo | 2017 | 139.36 million | [19][note 2] |
Game Boy & Game Boy Color | Handheld | Nintendo | 1989, 1998 | 118.69 million | [19][note 3] |
PlayStation 4 # | Home | Sony | 2013 | 117.2 million | [34] |
PlayStation | Home | Sony | 1994 | 102.49 million | [35] |
Wii | Home | Nintendo | 2006 | 101.63 million | [19] |
PlayStation 3 | Home | Sony | 2006 | >87.4 million | [note 1] |
Xbox 360 | Home | Microsoft | 2005 | >84 million | [note 4] |
Game Boy Advance | Handheld | Nintendo | 2001 | 81.51 million | [19] |
PlayStation Portable | Handheld | Sony | 2004 | 80–82 million (estimate) | [note 1] |
Nintendo 3DS | Handheld | Nintendo | 2011 | 75.94 million | [19] |
NES/Famicom | Home | Nintendo | 1983 | 61.91 million | [19] |
Xbox One | Home | Microsoft | 2013 | ~58 million | [43] |
PlayStation 5 # | Home | Sony | 2020 | 50 million | [44] |
SNES/Super Famicom | Home | Nintendo | 1990 | 49.1 million | [19] |
Game & Watch | Dedicated handheld | Nintendo | 1980 | 43.4 million | [45] |
Nintendo 64 | Home | Nintendo | 1996 | 32.93 million | [19] |
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive | Home | Sega | 1988 | 30.75 million | [note 5] |
Atari 2600 | Home | Atari | 1977 | 30 million | [49] |
Xbox | Home | Microsoft | 2001 | 24 million | [50] |
GameCube | Home | Nintendo | 2001 | 21.74 million | [19] |
Xbox Series X/S # | Home | Microsoft | 2020 | ~21 million | [51] |
Quest 2 # | VR headset | Reality Labs / Meta | 2020 | ~20 million | [52] |
Wii U | Home | Nintendo | 2012 | 13.56 million | [19] |
PlayStation Vita | Handheld | Sony | 2011 | 10–15 million (estimate) | [note 1] |
Master System | Home | Sega | 1986 | 10–13 million | [note 6] |
V.Smile & V.Motion | Home | VTech | 2004, 2007 | 11 million | [58] |
Game Gear | Handheld | Sega | 1990 | 10.62 million | [46] |
PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 | Home | NEC/Hudson Soft[note 7] | 1987 | 10 million | [60] |
Sega Saturn | Home | Sega | 1994 | 9.26 million | [47] |
Dreamcast | Home | Sega | 1998 | 9.13 million | [47][61][62][63] |
Master System (Brazilian variants) | Home | Tectoy | 1989 | 8 million | [64] |
Dendy (famiclone) | Home | Micro Genius | 1992 | 6 million | [65] |
Super NES Classic Edition | Dedicated | Nintendo | 2017 | 5.28 million | [66] |
Famicom Disk System | Home console add-on | Nintendo | 1986 | 4.5 million | [67] |
Advanced Pico Beena | Home | Sega | 2005 | >4.1 million | [68] |
NES Classic Edition | Dedicated | Nintendo | 2016 | 3.56 million | [69][70] |
WonderSwan & WonderSwan Color | Handheld | Bandai | 1999, 2000 | 3.5 million | [note 8] |
Sega Pico | Home | Sega | 1993 | >3.4 million | [note 9] |
Color TV-Game | Dedicated | Nintendo | 1977 | 3 million | [79][80] |
Intellivision | Home | Mattel | 1980 | 3 million | [81] |
Mega Drive (Brazilian variants) | Home | Tectoy | 1990 | 3 million | [82][83] |
N-Gage | Handheld | Nokia | 2003 | 3 million | [84] |
Mega-CD/Sega CD | Home console add-on | Sega | 1991 | 2.24 million | [46] |
ColecoVision | Home | Coleco | 1982 | >2 million | [note 10] |
3DO Interactive Multiplayer | Home | The 3DO Company | 1993 | >2 million | [88] |
Neo Geo Pocket & Neo Geo Pocket Color | Handheld | SNK | 1998, 1999 | 2 million | [89] |
Magnavox Odyssey² | Home | Magnavox/Philips | 1978 | 2 million | [90] |
Sega SG-1000 | Home | Sega | 1983 | 2 million | [91][92] |
Oculus Go | VR headset | Oculus | 2018 | 2 million (estimate) | [93] |
PC Engine CD-ROM² | Home console add-on | NEC | 1988 | 1.92 million | [94][95] |
Atari 7800 | Home | Atari | 1986 | >1 million | [note 11] |
Atari Lynx | Handheld | Atari | 1989 | >1 million | [note 12] |
Philips CD-i | Home | Philips | 1990 | >1 million | [note 13] |
Telstar | Dedicated | Coleco | 1976 | >1 million | [101][note 14] |
Atari 5200 | Home | Atari | 1982 | 1 million | [103] |
Pegasus (famiclone) | Home | Micro Genius | 1991 | 1 million | [104] |
>Final sales are greater than the reported figure. See notes.
- Sony stopped reporting individual platform sales on a regular basis in 2012[20][21] but continues to do so sporadically.[22] PlayStation 2: 155 million units sold as of March 31, 2012.[23] It was discontinued worldwide on January 4, 2013.[24] PlayStation 3: Sony corporate data reports 87.4 million sold as of March 31, 2017.[23] PS3 shipments to Japanese retailers, the last country Sony was selling units to, ceased by May.[25] PlayStation Portable: 76.4 million units sold as of March 31, 2012.[23] A June 3, 2014 Associated Press report noted this was "the last time a tally was taken."[26] IGN's Evan Campbell reported on the same day around 80 million sold,[27] and Jordan Sirani reaffirmed Campbell's estimate 5 years later.[28] Shipments to North America ended in January 2014, and to Japan in June 2014; shipments to Europe ended during the latter part of the year.[26] IGN's Colin Moriarty reported in mid-November that 82 million PSPs were manufactured and shipped at the end of production.[29] PlayStation Vita: Third-party estimates range from 10–15 million.[30] Glixel stated in June 2017 that 15 million were sold,[31] while the Electronic Entertainment Design and Research suggests several million less by the end of 2015.[32] Production ceased in Japan in March 2019.[30]
- Including Nintendo Switch Lite units
- Microsoft announced in October 2015 that individual platform sales in their fiscal reports will no longer be disclosed. The company shifted focus to the amount of active users on Xbox Live as its "primary metric for [sic] success".[36] Monthly active Xbox Live users reached nearly 90 million by Q3 2020.[37] Xbox 360: Production ended in 2016; 84 million in total lifetime sales.[38] Xbox One: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled at a December 3, 2014, shareholder presentation that 10 million units were sold.[39] Most third-party estimates put the total number of Xbox One units sold by the end of 2019 at "around 50 million".[40] Market data and analytics firm Ampere Analysis Insights estimated the Xbox One had sold 51 million units by Q2 2020.[41] Microsoft announced on July 17, 2020, that they would cease manufacturing the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition and Xbox One X, though production of the Xbox One S would continue.[42]
- 10–13 million, not including Brazilian variants.[53][54] Screen Digest wrote in a 1995 publication that the Master System's active installed user base in Western Europe peaked at 6.25 million in 1993. Those countries that peaked are France at 1.6 million, the United Kingdom at 1.35 million, Germany at 700 thousand, Spain at 550 thousand, the Netherlands at 200 thousand, and other Western European countries at 1.4 million. However, Belgium peaked in 1991 with 600 thousand, and Italy in 1992 with 400 thousand. Thus it is estimated approximately 6.8 million units were purchased in this part of Europe.[55] 1 million were sold in Japan as of 1986.[56] 2 million were sold in the United States.[57] Not including sales of licensed Tectoy variants in Brazil (listed separately).
- Bandai released three WonderSwan iterations.[71] A March 2003 Famitsu article reported the original (March 1999)[72] and color (December 2000)[72] versions sold approximately 3 million units combined,[73] while the SwanCrystal (July 2002)[71] sold over 200 thousand units.[73] Bandai announced the transition from hardware to third-party development in February 2003 due to declining sales and will supply software to the competitor's Game Boy Advance by March 2004.[74] Average weekly Famitsu sales during the transition were only a couple hundred units,[1] and the SwanCrystal went build to order starting in autumn 2003.[73] WonderSwan hardware designer Koto claimed over 3.5 million were sold.[75]
- The Wall Street Journal reported in November 1992 approximately 1 million were sold.[97] Around June 1994, Atari shifted its focus from the Lynx to its Jaguar console.[98]
- This Philips-reported figure was in The New York Times on September 15, 1994.[99] The CD-i was discontinued in 1998.[100]
- Coleco launched Telstar in 1976 and sold a million. Production and delivery issues, and dedicated consoles being replaced by electronic handheld games dramatically reduced sales in 1977. Over a million Telstars were scrapped in 1978, and it cost Coleco $22.3 million that year[86]—almost bankrupting the company.[102]