Nintendo Switch Nears PlayStation 2‘s All-Time Sales Record
November 2024 - The race for the title of best-selling game console in history is tightening. Sony’s playstation 2, long considered the champion with 160 million units sold, is now facing a serious challenge from Nintendo. The Nintendo Switch has reached 154.01 million units sold, surpassing the nintendo DS’s 154.02 million and rapidly approaching the PlayStation 2’s record.
The PlayStation 2 dominated the market against competitors like the original Xbox, Sega’s Dreamcast, and Nintendo’s Gamecube. Its success stemmed from backwards compatibility with the PlayStation 1, its integrated DVD player offering superior video quality for the time, and a library of critically acclaimed games including Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 4, Grand Theft auto 3 (and Vice City and San Andreas), God of War, Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Ico.
While often overlooked in rankings due to being a handheld console, the Nintendo DS achieved 154 million sales through innovations like a touch screen and microphone, coupled with accessible pricing and a thriving modding community - notably the popular R4 card.
However, the Nintendo Switch holds a unique advantage: it is still in production. This allows it to continue accumulating sales and potentially surpass both the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2. Nintendo would need to sell an additional 6 million units, a feat that may prove challenging with the anticipated release of the Nintendo Switch 2 on the horizon.Maintaining current sales for another year will be crucial to achieving this goal.
