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.
21. Xbox Series X/S – 30 million
As a current generation console from Microsoft, sales figures for the Xbox Series X/S are hard to come by – however, a report from GTA publisher Take Two Interactive revealed that an estimate of around 30 million consoles have been sold since its release in 2020. | AFP via Getty Images
22. Nintendo GameCube – 21.74 million
Nintendo followed up the N64 with the GameCube in 2001, with the home console going against systems such as the PS2 and the Xbox. Discontinued in 2007, the GameCube only sold 21.74 million units which led to Nintendo repackaging many aspects of the console into the Wii. | Matthieu Tuffet - stock.adobe.com
23. Sega Master System – 20 million
First released in Japan in 1985, the Sega Master System enjoyed fair success – and a decently long lifespan depending on where in the world you lived. However, Sega released the much more successful Genesis just a few years later, with total sales for the Master System reportedly sitting at around 20.84 million. | dannyburn - stock.adobe.com
24. PlayStation Vita – 15.82 million
Intended to be Sony’s follow up to the PSP, the PlayStation Vita was unable to gain a decent foothold in the market. Released in 2011, Sony stopped revealing sales figures for the Vita fairly early on in its life span. Only discontinued in 2019, it is estimated that there were around 10 - 15 million PS Vita consoles sold during this time. | Travers - stock.adobe.com