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And the Winner of the Console War Is…

And the Winner of the Console War Is…

The console wars are heating up, with the PS4 pushing back into the lead, Microsoft swearing it is doing things that are impossible on competitor’s platforms, and Nintendo simply trying to retain a fan base until the NX comes out. But who is really winning the console wars? For that, we have to look at a picture much bigger than our current generation. The console wars have been raging for years, ever since video games were invented, and strangely enough, consoles from back then have actually outsold some of our modern consoles that we love so much.

Note that I haven’t included sales figures for the current generation, as the generation is not over yet and those figures are not yet final. Besides the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U, here are the top twenty best-selling consoles of all time.

20. Sega Game Gear (11 million sales)

20. Sega Game Gear (11 million sales)

The Sega Game Gear was the first handheld device that features a full color screen. Unfortunately, it also features like 2 hours of battery life on six AA batteries, which made it something you usually played while plugged into a wall, portable only in name. It’s more telling, however, that the Game Gear sold better than the Wii U is selling now after several years, and it isn’t considered a commercial success by any means.

19. Sega Master System (16.39 million sales)

19. Sega Master System (16.39 million sales)

Does anyone even remember the Sega Master System? It was the Sega equivalent of the NES, and it really never caught on. Most of us only became aware of its existence after the SNES was on the shelves. Still, the Master System sold better than the Xbox One at current sales numbers, so that tells you something.

18. Sega Saturn (17 million sales)

18. Sega Saturn (17 million sales)

Some of you are waiting to see your beloved Dreamcast make the list after the Saturn, which by all accounts is remembered much less fondly. However, you would be wrong. The Dreamcast sold less than 10 million units, and didn’t even make this list. The Saturn outsold it, even with its small game library, buggy games, and lackluster graphics.

17. Nintendo GameCube (21.72 million sales)

17. Nintendo GameCube (21.72 million sales)

The GameCube is another console that we remember fondly, but which sold much worse than we actually remember. While not considered a flop by any standards, it sold worse than the frontrunner of its generation by a factor of 7.5. It largely sold itself on exclusives, such as Smash Bros. Melee , and continued the tradition that Nintendo set up for itself during the age of the N64.

16. Microsoft Xbox (24 million sales)

16. Microsoft Xbox (24 million sales)

Microsoft, the multinational software juggernaut, is actually kind of the underdog when it comes to the video game console wars. It’s only ever had three consoles in the race, and it’s never taken first place in any generation. The Xbox sold only about as well as the GameCube, and while Halo and Halo 2 were fantastic exclusives, many people were more interested in the ease of modding this console than anything the console could legitimately do.

15. Atari 2600 (30 million sales)

15. Atari 2600 (30 million sales)

This is why I say we remember things fondly, yet the numbers don’t support those warm and fuzzy feelings. The Atari 2600, arguably the first popular multi-cart video game console, outsold the GameCube and the Xbox, and this was in the 70s. Do you have any idea how much money Atari made when you take inflation into account? It blew our modern consoles out of the water!

14. Nintendo 64 (32 .93 million sales)

14. Nintendo 64 (32 .93 million sales)

The N64 marked a shift in Nintendo’s policies. Before this console came out, Nintendo was the console that all third parties developed on. The SNES had great titles from everyone from Capcom to Squaresoft. But when the N64 came out, Nintendo put its foot down and said, “you are going to do what we say or find some other console to publish on!” Instead of kowtowing to the Big N, most companies jumped ship to the PlayStation. The N64 was left with technology that was hard to program for, policies that made companies spend tons of money and gave Nintendo a ton of control over their IP, and family friendly standards that prevented otherwise mature games form launching on their platform. As a result, the N64 started making Nintendo consoles be known as the console you buy specifically for Nintendo titles, like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time .

13. Sega Genesis (43.644 million sales)

13. Sega Genesis (43.644 million sales)

The Sega Genesis is largely considered Sega’s best console and a worthy opponent to the Super Nintendo. By the sales both of these statements are true, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Genesis doesn’t break the top ten. No Sega console does. Sega was never really a powerhouse. They had one good console in the Genesis which, by the way, didn’t outsell the SNES, and then they faded into obscurity. They never won the console wars. Hell, they barely even won a console battle, and this is going to sound very familiar when we start talking about Microsoft’s “best” console down the line.

12. Nintendo 3DS (45 million sales)

12. Nintendo 3DS (45 million sales)

The Nintendo 3DS is the breakout handheld of this generation… sort of. It still sold less than the PSP, and for that matter the DS that came before it. Yes, there is now the NEW Nintendo 3DS, so called because it has “New” in the title and can do marginally more than its predecessor, but Nintendo is having a hard time making people trade up. In a way, the only reason why the 3DS is considered such a magnificent success is because it’s warring against the Vita, which sold worse than the Dreamcast and every other entrant on this list. Abandon ship, Sony. Abandon ship.

11. Super Nintendo Entertainment System (49.1 million sales)

11. Super Nintendo Entertainment System (49.1 million sales)

The SNES is also remembered as one of Nintendo’s best consoles with some of Nintendo’s best games. But you’ll note that it, too, doesn’t make the top ten list of best sold consoles of all time. When you start seeing some of the better selling consoles, you’ll see that it barely breaks a quarter of what the juggernauts of sales can do. A lot of people will argue it was because video games simply weren’t as popular back then but one of the best-selling consoles of all time actually pre-dates the SNES. That just goes to show you that the “current market” is just not an excuse. You hear that, Microsoft and Nintendo? For that matter, it also goes to show that quality of games does not necessarily correspond with sales of consoles.

10. Nintendo Entertainment System (61.9 million sales)

10. Nintendo Entertainment System (61.9 million sales)

We finally hit number ten in our top twenty list, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the granddaddy of all consoles and the first heavily sold console of all time. You’ll notice a marked difference in the sales numbers of the NES with all consoles that come before it, and a sharp spike in sales from this point forward. All previous consoles were consoles that you could have if you wanted them. All consoles following the NES were consoles that you must have. They were consoles that altered the face of video games as we know it. The NES did this by giving us 8-bit processing power, defining the 2D platformer, and introducing everyone to Mario, the most well-known video game icon ever.

9. Sony PSP (80 million sales)

9. Sony PSP (80 million sales)

Bet you didn’t expect this one. Yes, the Sony PSP was one of the best-selling consoles of all time. It had crap battery life and the disc drive was loud as all hell, but the console was a homebrewer’s paradise! Sure, piracy was rampant on the PSP, but it was rampant on the DS too, so everything kind of evens out. Despite pirates, however, the console sold magnificently, as did its software. Piracy just simply isn’t as much of a problem as AAA companies make it out to be. Maybe if Microsoft thought that way when the Xbox One was first announced, it would be doing better.

8. Sony PlayStation 3 (80 million sales)

8. Sony PlayStation 3 (80 million sales)

A lot of people look at the PS3 as a commercial flop. Sony seriously botched its announcement, overcharged for it, removed backward compatibility, removed the ability to run Linux on the system, and more. Heck, the only it did right was free online play, something Sony took out for the PS4. Nevertheless, in the end it sold almost as well as the Xbox 360 did. If anything, this says good things for the Xbox One, which had a similarly rough launch. If it follows in the PS3’s foosteps, then it’s likely that the Xbox One and PS4 will sell similarly by the time this generation ends.

7. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (81.51 million sales)

7. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (81.51 million sales)

You may notice that Nintendo has a lot of entries on this list. We love to give Nintendo shit about how much it is failing in this generation. But the truth is, Nintendo’s big hits are STILL carrying it to this day. Nintendo has succeeded more consistently than any other company in the console wars. So while we laugh at waggle controls and the Wii U GamePad, Nintendo doesn’t care because the Game Boy Advance sold 8 times better than the Wii U, and it’s not even their best-selling handheld.

6. Microsoft Xbox 360 (83.7 million sales)

6. Microsoft Xbox 360 (83.7 million sales)

This is Microsoft’s best-selling console. This one right here: the Xbox 360, the one we all bought last generation. Note that it’s only the sixth best-selling console of all time, and this is the most amount of money Microsoft has ever made from a console. There are five consoles above it, and they are only made by two companies. Microsoft is and always has been the underdog. It’s the Sega for our new generation. It’s edgy and cool, and tries to make it seem like it appeals to the hardcore gamer crowd, yet they have never won the console war in any generation. This is the closest they came, and the Wii still beat them by tens of millions of sales, while Sony was only behind by about 3 million. Microsoft, like Sega, is considered an equal contender because of its image and corporate backing, not because of the numbers it pulls. Don’t get me wrong, it’s OK to root for the underdog, but let’s keep in mind how much more the top five consoles sold than the Xbox 360.

5. Nintendo Wii (101.23 million sales)

5. Nintendo Wii (101.23 million sales)

The Nintendo Wii was such an oddity. It easily won last generation’s console war, yet people act like it doesn’t exist. Gamers continue to talk about the PS3 versus the Xbox 360 while Nintendo is sailing a yacht made out of money to Yoshi’s Island. Nintendo took a gamble on making a console with SD graphics in a blooming HD world, with less focus on online functionality and more focus on innovative game controls, and it worked. Simply put, the Xbox 360 and PS3 were too advanced for their own good when they first came out. Unfortunately, Nintendo tried that gamble again with the Wii U and didn’t count on the fact that people had become comfortable with graphical powerhouses and online gaming in the meantime.

4. Sony PlayStation (102.49 million sales)

4. Sony PlayStation (102.49 million sales)

The original PlayStation was an unprecedented hit. Sony was the new kid on the block when the PlayStation came about, entering in as a third party in a long standing feud between Nintendo and Sega. But Sony had something that Nintendo didn’t have: disc drive technology. CDs could hold so much more than cartridges could, and allowed for full motion video and CD quality audio. At the time when Nintendo was starting to become too overbearing with their IP and copyright standards, Sony opened it’s doors, said, “everyone come in” and they did. Series like Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, and more all made their way to Sony. Fun fact: the PlayStation was originally going to be a Super Nintendo disc add on, but the Nintendo kicked Sony out. Bet Nintendo is kicking itself now!

3. Nintendo Game Boy (118.69 million sales)

3. Nintendo Game Boy (118.69 million sales)

Nintendo’s best-selling consoles are and always will be handhelds. That’s partially because they’ve always marketed their consoles as toys, and handheld consoles are just easier to market that way. But it isn’t just kids that love these toy video game systems. Adults, especially adults with long commutes, love the ability to keep busy on the train. Tetris alone practically sold the Gameboy to middle aged workers everywhere. It sold nearly 40 million more consoles than either the PS3 or the Xbox 360 – and sold 100 million more than any home console on the market now.

2. Nintendo DS (154.01 million sales)

2. Nintendo DS (154.01 million sales)

The only one who can beat Nintendo at handhelds is… Nintendo! The Nintendo DS, which was available just last generation, was the best-selling handheld console, period. Have you ever seen that image meme with Iwata and Miyamoto holding a DS and saying it prints money? Well, it did. Everyone wanted a DS. Heck, everyone wanted a PSP at 80 million PSPs sold, but they wanted a DS even more. This was evidence that innovation really sold. Touch screen gaming was new, interesting, and innovative and everyone wanted a piece, much like they wanted a piece with motion controlled gaming on the Wii. If Project Morpheus becomes big, maybe the same sales push will help out the PS4.

1. Sony PlayStation 2 (156 million sales)

1. Sony PlayStation 2 (156 million sales)

Finally, we come to the greatest selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2. At 156 million sales, no console has ever had bigger domination over the market. Of course, Sony screwed it all up with the PS3, but this goes to show you the sheer potential that Sony has to market consoles. Frankly, all Sony has ever been doing is trying to pull itself back together from its PS2 glory days. Other consoles are kind of on borrowed time. The question, is whether or not Sony can remember what made itself so appealing to consumers in the first place. If they do, they can easily win the day with the PS4.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Let’s do some math, shall we? Tallying up all the sales from all the consoles in the top 20 we have:

Sega 88.034 Million Console Sales

Microsoft 107.7 Million Console Sales

Sony 418.49 Million Console Sales

Nintendo 665.1 Million Console Sales

And that should paint a very clear picture. Microsoft is only doing a little better than Sega did over its entire lifespan. As much as Xbox has its fans, it is the clear loser in the long-term picture of the console wars.

Sony has been a powerhouse for a long time, and is the company behind the best selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2, but it is at 4 times as many sales than Microsoft with only a single generation’s head start. We can see on this list that a single generation of consoles can generate as little as 10 million sales, so that 300 million extra sales did not only come from their head start.

Finally, Nintendo is the clear winner at 665.1 million consoles sold. This is why Nintendo is isn’t phased by everyone saying how much they are losing. This is why Nintendo can take so many risks, because they have so much money lying around. This is why Nintendo will always be kooky, weird, and attached to the old ways even when everyone is telling them to “ditch friend codes.”

Nintendo has already won, and they know it.

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