Top 10 best-selling video game consoles in the world

With Sony’s Playstation 5 ushering in the ninth generation of consoles in 2020, which consoles have been the most popular with gamers?

Here are the top 10 best-selling video game consoles in the world, the story of a merciless war waged by three major players in the sector: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

10. Game Boy Advance

Introduced by Nintendo in 2001, the Game Boy Advance (GBA) was the successor to the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, and immediately established itself as the most powerful portable console on the market. With its 32-bit ARM7 processor and vastly improved graphics, the GBA represented a quantum leap for the Japanese manufacturer, and was also backwards compatible. These are undeniable qualities for a small console that is as powerful as it is pleasant to hold, and which is rapidly going to crush the competition from portable consoles of the same generation. Who remembers the Nokia N-Gage, for example?

With over 81.5 million units sold between 2001 and 2007, and two versions (the foldable SP version and the micro version), the Game Boy Advance more than deserves its place in our top 10.

Top 5 games :

9. Xbox 360

A direct descendant of the Xbox, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 stands out for the integration of Xbox Live, a small revolution in online video games, heralding a new era for consoles. In this way, Microsoft set itself apart from the competition, while continuing to offer exclusive titles of the highest calibre, such as Halo and Forza Motorsport. In response to the release of the Wii, the company successfully developed the Kinect system, which quickly transformed the Xbox 360 into a multi-experience console.

Exclusives and added value boost sales. With 84 million units sold between 2005 and 2016, it has long been the best-selling 7th generation console.

Top 5 games :

8. Playstation 3

Between 2006 and 2017, Sony’s Playstation 3 struggled to reign supreme in the 7th-generation console market, facing fierce competition from the Xbox 360, with its often more enticing games, and the Nintendo Wii, which was far more accessible. Despite this, the console managed to hold its own, ending the year with an impressive 87.4 million units sold.

This success can be attributed to the expansion of the catalogue with cult franchises such as Uncharted and The Last of Us, as well as the development of less expensive versions (Playstation Slim). The PS3 has also democratised Blu-ray, a medium that is now virtually unavoidable for physical purists.

Top 5 games :

7. Wii

While the Kinect had a decisive impact on sales of the Xbox 360, the top spot in the seventh generation of consoles undoubtedly goes to Nintendo’s Wii, the first real home console and the first to incorporate motion into its controller system. With its revolutionary Wiimote in 2006, its very low launch price (€249.99 on release), and its focus on a wide audience, the Wii quickly established itself as a real social phenomenon with titles such as Wii Sports, triggering a new evolution in video game consoles. It was also through this console that Nintendo democratised dematerialised gaming, via a well-stocked Nintendo Shop, very well integrated into the Wii interface.

Between 2006 and 2013, more than 101 million units were sold, often bundled with successful titles(Mario Kart, Mario Bros, Wii Sports). The WiiU, the direct descendant of the Wii, was a resounding failure, however, putting Nintendo out of the running in the home console war for several years.

Top 5 games :

6. Playstation

Sony’s first console, the PlayStation was a bombshell in the video games market when it came out in 1994. It was also the first console to openly oppose Nintendo’s domination, even though its development had begun because Sony wanted to create a partnership with Nintendo around the SNES.

This project having fallen through, Ken Kutaragi, Japanese engineer and inventor of the PlayStation, set about creating a console with Sony Computer Entertainment. This console was revolutionary in more ways than one, from its use of 3D as the standard for video games to its choice of the CD as a replacement for the cartridge, which also imposed this medium throughout the industry.

In less than ten years, Playstation sold a colossal 102.49 million units, and launched flagship series such as Tomb Raider, Gran Turismo, and Resident Evil .

Top 5 games :

5. Playstation 4

Sony, which had been dethroned by Nintendo and its Wii, launched the successor to the over-complex Playstation 3 in 2013, going back to basics: a super-powered console that was easy to produce, while incorporating social and multiplayer features.

The verdict: a worldwide success, with 117.2 million units sold in less than ten years, and innovations such as Playstation VR that are a huge hit. It’s enough to dominate the eighth generation of home consoles, at a time when Microsoft is getting bogged down promoting the Xbox One (remember the viral video released by Sony), and Nintendo is facing the failure of the WiiU.

Even today, the PS4 remains one of the best-selling consoles of all time, and is still produced by Sony. Its iconic games, such as The Last of Us: Part II and the reboot of the God of War saga, are considered must-have titles.

Top 5 games (to date) :

4. Game Boy (Color)

Launched in 1989, and improved seven years later with its evolution, the Game Boy Color, this portable console also represents a turning point in the video game industry. From then on, this console could be taken anywhere, on public transport or at work, and became an integral part of everyday life.

A paradigm shift for an entire industry, with the introduction of cartridges and an impressive catalogue of games, where portable games had previously been unique and non-interchangeable. Despite a few rivals, such as the Sega Game Gear, Game Boy and its successors dominated the portable console market in the 1990s, selling over 118 million units.

Top 5 games :

3. Switch

After the resounding failure of the WiiU (13.5 million units sold), Nintendo had to get its act together. In 2015, the manufacturer began work on a replacement, retaining some of the ideas from that commercial flop: a hybrid console that could be used both in the living room and on the move. In early 2017, the Nintendo Switch went on sale for €329 (or $299 in the US), with flagship titles such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

By the end of the year, the Switch had almost reached the number of units sold over the entire WiiU run. Games like Super Mario Odyssey have been a big hit, with over two million units sold in three days.

Since then, the popularity of the Switch and its derivatives (Switch Lite, 2019; Switch OLED, 2021) has only grown, and in March 2025 it will have sold over 152 million units. A figure that, despite the release of the Switch 2, is likely to continue to grow and make this console Nintendo’s best ever.

Top 5 games :

2. Nintendo DS

Do you know the origin of the name Nintendo DS? It’s very simple: DS stands for Dual Screen, one of the innovative features of Nintendo’s handheld console, which sold over 154 million units between 2005 and 2013. A phenomenal success, complementing that of the Wii, which helped make Nintendo a major player in the console wars at the start of the 21st century.

With its many assets (online gaming, backward compatibility, dual screen), it won over an entire generation, before the era of mobile gaming. It remains the second best-selling console in the world and the number one handheld console in this ranking.

Top 5 games :

1. Playstation 2

Released at the turn of the year 2000, the Playstation 2 or PS2 is still, 25 years after its release, the best-selling console of all time. With 160 million units sold, and active production until 2013 (making it also the console with the longest lifespan), the PS2 conquered the gamer market and transformed the industry in more ways than one. Its iconic, aggressive marketing, ability to play DVDs and cult titles such as GTA: San Andreas , Metal Gear Solid 3, Resident Evil 4 and Dragon Quest: Odyssey have made it an essential console that deserves its place at the top of this list.

Top 5 games :