It is set to be a huge year for game consoles with the Nintendo Switch 2 having been announced and Grand Theft Auto 6 arriving on PlayStation and Xbox ahead of PC.
Whether your first experience of playing games was on a handheld device or on a more traditional home machine, consoles have only gotten better as time has went on.
While the PlayStation 2 continues its reign as the best-selling video game console of all time, sales of Sony’s PS5 have climbed since it first came out in 2020. Despite this, the current generation console hasn’t been able to beat out its predecessor and the newest console to make the top 5 is the Nintendo Switch.
With the Switch 2 hitting shelves later this year, here we take a look at the best-selling games consoles of all time.
1. PlayStation 2 (PS2) – 160 million
First released in 2000, the PlayStation 2 kicked off a new generation of gaming. In addition to offering backwards compatibility with the PS1, the PS2 was also among the cheapest DVD players available for sale at that point in time – another key selling point. Sony continued to support the PS2 until 2013 and by the end of its more than decade-long lifespan there was a bursting catalogue of more than 2,500 games, with more than 160 million consoles sold worldwide. | AFP via Getty Images
2. Nintendo DS – 154.02 million
A completely different beast than the PS2, the Nintendo DS was first released in 2004. The handheld console remains one of Nintendo’s biggest consoles, with official figures showing that 154.02 million units were sold during its lifetime. These figures also include the DS Lite and the DSi. | Denise Jans on Unsplash
3. Nintendo Switch – 150.86 million
The Nintendo Switch is the third best selling video game console of all time, with more than 150.86 million sold as of December 2024. First released in 2017, the unique design allowed the console to be used either as a handheld or a home console with several variations – such as the Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch OLED – having been released in the years since. After plenty of speculation, the Switch 2 is set to be released later this year but that still leaves plenty of time for the original to potentially overtake the DS. | travelbook - stock.adobe.com
4. Game Boy – 118.69 million
Including both the GameBoy and the GameBoy Colour, Nintendo report that 118.69 million units of this handheld console were sold during its lifetime. Having been released in 1989, it won over fans for its affordability, battery life and games library which was backward compatible upon the release of the Game Boy Color in 1998. | Matthieu Tuffet - stock.adobe.co