Which Gaming Consoles Have Sold the Most Globally?

Will the PS5 eventually rule the world?

When it comes to incredible technology that is used everyday, it doesn't get much better than video games consoles. These seemingly miraculous machines have been a feature of households since the 80's. The most state-of-the-art console currently available is the PlayStation 5, which has just recently broken the 20 million mark for units sold worldwide.

It seems crazy that it's only happened so recently, a full 18 months after it was first released in November 2020. This has been down to the fact that it's been so difficult for eager gamers to actually get their hands on one of them, mostly due to the major global chip shortage, which meant that Sony just couldn't produce as many of the consoles as they wanted to. This resulted in scalpers purchasing the few products that were actually available, and then selling them on at ridiculously inflated prices.

Now that Sony are hoping to ramp up production of the console in the latter part of this year, it will be fascinating to see just how many units they will sell around the world. Let's take a look at some of the gaming consoles that have sold the most units globally then, to see what the PS5 is up against if it is set to become a record breaker.

The PlayStation 2
Sony have already achieved the top spot mind, with their 2000 release of the PS2, which sold an insane 158 million units globally, making it currently the best-selling video game console of all-time. The PS2 was so popular due to a variety of reasons, but perhaps the biggest was simply that it had absolutely amazing games consistently released for it during its heyday. Just some of the incredible titles that first graced this magical console are; Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Grand Theft Auto 3, Final Fantasy 10, and Gran Turismo 4.

The sleek black machine sold massively on most continents, but was particularly popular in North America, Europe, and Asia. Selling so well in the latter region isn't surprising, as numerous countries in the Asian continent are super serious about their gaming. Nations such as Thailand enjoy playing games of all genres, including RPG's, driving simulators, and even online casino games, like the ones available over at Asiabet.

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The Nintendo DS
Just trailing behind Sony's PS2 is the Nintendo DS, with the handheld console having sold an impressive 154. 2 million units sold globally. Nintendo have been the dominant force in handheld gaming since the late 80's, when they released the cherished original Game Boy. The Nintendo DS, released in 2004, had the beloved Japanese company once again revolutionising the gaming on-the-go market, thanks to its incredible dual screen technology. The two LCD screens worked in-tandem with each other, allowing users to experience games like they'd never before.

Rather amazingly, most of the huge amount of the Nintendo DS' units that were shifted, weren't of its basic model, but were rather of the slimmer, more lightweight version. This was called the Nintendo DS Lite, and was released in 2006. It was identical to the larger model technically, but just easier to fit into a pocket, making it even more of a dream for gaming on the move. The original Nintendo DS sold 18.79 million units worldwide, whereas the DS Lite trumped that, with a massive 93.86 million units sold.

The Nintendo Switch
We're cheating a bit here, as the Nintendo Switch currently sits fifth in the all-time list, having sold 107.65 million units at the time of writing, since its release in 2017. However, with the hybrid console still being regularly bought, we have very little doubt that it won't climb the two places by the time its production is eventually ceased. With many great games still to come on this marvellous machine, we can easily envision it selling the just under 12 million consoles needed to cement the third place in the all-time list.

The console can astonishingly be used both as a handheld, and also easily played back home on a TV screen, completely transforming the gaming scene. This has made it immensely cherished on nearly every continent, including Oceania, where it adds beautifully to the history of gaming in NZ, which is extremely engrossing.