Top-Selling Video Game Consoles Ever

Sony's PlayStation 2 has long been celebrated as the best-selling video game console of all time, boasting an impressive 160 million units sold. Despite the massive success of the PlayStation 4, which sold approximately 117.2 million units, it finished its lifecycle about 40 million units shy of its legendary predecessor. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch has surged past the PS4, selling 150.86 million units, securing its place among the top echelons of best-selling consoles.

With both the Switch and PS4 firmly positioned among the all-time greats, we've taken a comprehensive look at how the rest of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft's hardware compare. Below, you'll find our curated list of the 28 best-selling video game consoles of all time. This list not only includes sales figures but also enriches your understanding with details on release dates and the highest-rated games for each console.

Please note that some sales figures are directly reported by the hardware manufacturers, while others are estimated from the latest reported numbers and market analysis. Unofficial sales totals are marked with an asterisk (*).

For those primarily interested in the top performers, here's a quick rundown of the Top 5 Best-Selling Consoles:

PlayStation 2 (Sony) – 160 million units Nintendo DS (Nintendo) – 154.02 million units Nintendo Switch (Nintendo) – 150.86 million units Game Boy/Game Boy Color (Nintendo) – 118.69 million units PlayStation 4 (Sony) – 117.2 million units

Scroll down for a more detailed exploration and breakdowns of these iconic consoles.