Video gaming history has been filled with some of the most iconic and memorable consoles of all time. Be it in modern times with the Nintendo Switch or the Playstation 2 almost every era is defined by greatness. But one question always stands, what is the best selling console ever? In this article, we will be looking at the top 10 best selling consoles in history and providing some sales numbers.

Top 10 Best Selling Consoles Of All Time

10. Game Boy Advance – 81.5 Million

9. Xbox 360 – 84 Million

8. Playstation 3 – 87.4 Million

7. Nintendo Wii – 101.63 Million

6. Playstation – 103.49 Million

5. Nintendo Switch – 111.08 Million

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We kick off the top 5 with one of the seven consoles to top 100 million units sold in its lifespan. Nobody could have predicted the success of the Nintendo Switch or the longevity it would enjoy. As we near 2023 the console is going from strength to strength off the back of its portability and frankly legendary library of games.

4. Playstation 4 – 117.2 Million

With the PS5 already released it’s likely we’ve hit the peak of the PS4’s life cycle, and chances are it gets overtaken by the Switch before long. That shouldn’t undermine the sheer dominance of the PS4 as it completely blew away the competition from Microsoft whose Xbox One is estimated to have sold roughly 55 million units.

3. Game Boy/Game Boy Color – 118.69 Million

The consoles that helped revolutionise gaming on the go were a smash hit with almost 120 million combined unites shifted. The consoles had a shelf life of over 13 years which went a long way to its high sales numbers.

2. Nintendo DS – 154 Million Units

We take a big jump from 118 million units to over 150 million. If the Game Boy revolutionised portable gaming then the DS effectively mastered it. For its time the DS was an incredible console that boasted some very popular exclusive titles like Nintendogs and the New Super Mario Bros games.

Nintendo had a vision with the DS for stylus-based touch screen gameplay and while that faded as time went on it carved out its own spot in pop culture, becoming the best selling Nintendo console in history by quite a margin. But, it isn’t the best selling console ever. That title goes to.

1. PlayStation 2 – 155 Million Units

Despite numbers totalling 155 million the PS2 just barely edges out the DS as the highest selling console in gaming history. It’s fitting that the console many consider to be the best of all time is also in the history books as the best-selling.

Ask anyone and they will tell you the PlayStation 2 had an almost unmatched lineup of games, arguably one of the greatest assortments of titles that gaming will ever see.