A video game console is a standardized computing device tailored for video gaming. The compact size of video game consoles allows them to be easily used in a variety of locations, making them portable. [2] Video game consoles may use one or more data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, optical discs, and memory cards for downloaded content. [2]
A home video game console requires a computer monitor or television set as an output. [3] Handheld controllers are commonly used as input devices. Sanders Associates engineer Ralph H. Baer along with company employees Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch licensed their television gaming technology to contemporary major TV manufacturer Magnavox. This resulted in the 1972 release of the Magnavox Odyssey—the first commercially available video game console. [4]
A handheld game console is a lightweight device with a built-in screen, controls, speakers, [6] and has greater portability than a standard video game console. [2] It is capable of playing multiple games unlike tabletop and handheld electronic game devices. The oldest handheld game console with interchangeable cartridges is the Milton Bradley Microvision from 1979. [7] Nintendo is credited with popularizing the handheld console concept with the Game Boy's release in 1989 [8] and continued to dominate the handheld console market into the early 2000s. [9] [10]
Dedicated consoles are a subset of game consoles that are only able to play built-in games. [11] [12] Video game consoles in general are also described as "dedicated" in distinction from the more versatile personal computer and other consumer electronics. [13] [14] [15]
The following table contains video game consoles that have sold at least 1 million units worldwide either through to consumers or inside retail channels. Each console include sales from every iteration unless otherwise noted. The years correspond to when the home or handheld game console was first released (excluding test markets).
Platform | Type | Firm | Released [2] | Units sold | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PlayStation 2 | Home | Sony | 2000 | >155 million | [note 1] |
Nintendo DS | Handheld | Nintendo | 2004 | 154.02 million | [17] |
Nintendo Switch # | Hybrid | Nintendo | 2017 | 141.32 million | [17] [note 2] |
Game Boy & Game Boy Color | Handheld | Nintendo | 1989, 1998 | 118.69 million | [17] [note 3] |
PlayStation 4 # | Home | Sony | 2013 | 117.2 million | [33] |
PlayStation | Home | Sony | 1994 | 102.49 million | [34] |
Wii | Home | Nintendo | 2006 | 101.63 million | [17] |
PlayStation 3 | Home | Sony | 2006 | >87.4 million | [note 1] |
Xbox 360 | Home | Microsoft | 2005 | >84 million | [note 4] |
Game Boy Advance | Handheld | Nintendo | 2001 | 81.51 million | [17] |
PlayStation Portable | Handheld | Sony | 2004 | 80–82 million (estimate) | [note 1] |
Nintendo 3DS | Handheld | Nintendo | 2011 | 75.94 million | [17] |
Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System | Home | Nintendo | 1983 | 61.91 million | [17] |
PlayStation 5 # | Home | Sony | 2020 | 59.3 million | [42] |
Xbox One | Home | Microsoft | 2013 | ~58 million | [43] |
Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Home | Nintendo | 1990 | 49.1 million | [17] |
Nintendo 64 | Home | Nintendo | 1996 | 32.93 million | [17] |
Mega Drive/Genesis | Home | Sega | 1988 | 30.75 million | [note 5] |
Atari 2600 | Home | Atari | 1977 | 30 million | [47] |
Xbox | Home | Microsoft | 2001 | 24 million | [48] |
Nintendo GameCube | Home | Nintendo | 2001 | 21.74 million | [17] |
Xbox Series X/S # | Home | Microsoft | 2020 | ~21 million | [49] |
Quest 2 # | VR headset | Reality Labs / Meta | 2020 | ~20 million | [50] |
Wii U | Home | Nintendo | 2012 | 13.56 million | [17] |
PlayStation Vita | Handheld | Sony | 2011 | 10–15 million (estimate) | [note 1] |
Master System | Home | Sega | 1986 | 10–13 million | [note 6] |
V.Smile & V.Motion | Home | VTech | 2004, 2007 | 11 million | [56] |
Game Gear | Handheld | Sega | 1990 | 10.62 million | [44] |
PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 | Home | NEC/ Hudson Soft [note 7] | 1987 | 10 million | [58] |
Sega Saturn | Home | Sega | 1994 | 9.26 million | [45] |
Dreamcast | Home | Sega | 1998 | 9.13 million | [45] [59] [60] [61] |
Master System (Brazilian variants) | Home | Tectoy | 1989 | 8 million | [62] |
Dendy ( Famiclone) | Home | Micro Genius | 1992 | 6 million | [63] |
Super NES Classic Edition | Dedicated | Nintendo | 2017 | 5.28 million | [64] |
Advanced Pico Beena | Home | Sega | 2005 | >4.1 million | [65] |
NES Classic Edition | Dedicated | Nintendo | 2016 | 3.56 million | [66] [67] |
WonderSwan & WonderSwan Color | Handheld | Bandai | 1999, 2000 | 3.5 million | [note 8] |
Sega Pico | Home | Sega | 1993 | >3.4 million | [note 9] |
Color TV-Game | Dedicated | Nintendo | 1977 | 3 million | [76] [77] |
Intellivision | Home | Mattel | 1980 | 3 million | [78] |
Mega Drive (Brazilian variants) | Home | Tectoy | 1990 | 3 million | [79] [80] |
N-Gage | Handheld | Nokia | 2003 | 3 million | [81] |
ColecoVision | Home | Coleco | 1982 | >2 million | [note 10] |
3DO Interactive Multiplayer | Home | The 3DO Company | 1993 | >2 million | [85] |
Neo Geo Pocket & Neo Geo Pocket Color | Handheld | SNK | 1998, 1999 | 2 million | [86] |
Magnavox Odyssey² | Home | Magnavox/ Philips | 1978 | 2 million | [87] |
Sega SG-1000 | Home | Sega | 1983 | 2 million | [88] [89] |
Oculus Go | VR headset | Oculus | 2018 | 2 million (estimate) | [90] |
Atari 7800 | Home | Atari | 1986 | >1 million | [note 11] |
Atari Lynx | Handheld | Atari | 1989 | >1 million | [note 12] |
Philips CD-i | Home | Philips | 1990 | >1 million | [note 13] |
Telstar | Dedicated | Coleco | 1976 | >1 million | [96] [note 14] |
Atari 5200 | Home | Atari | 1982 | 1 million | [98] |
Pegasus ( famiclone) | Home | Micro Genius | 1991 | 1 million | [99] |
>Final sales are greater than the reported figure. See notes.
{{
cite journal}}
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help)
popularizing the handheld console concept nintendo.
Finally, our gaming business is thriving with the Xbox One hitting 10 million units sold. I am thrilled to welcome Mojang and Minecraft community to Microsoft.
Nintendo moved 49.1 million Super NES consoles over the course of the generation and beyond, far surpassing the Genesis, which sold a still impressive 29 million units. [...] The Master System sold an anemic 13 million to the NES count of 62 million.
A total of 3.39 million hardware units and 23.87 million software units were sold worldwide during fiscal 2001, for respective totals of 8.20 million units and 51.63 million units since Dreamcast was first brought to market.
Regarding sales of Dreamcast hardware from inventory resulting from the withdrawal from Dreamcast production [...] the Company exceeded initial targets with domestic sales of 130,000 units and U.S. sales of 530,000 units for the first half. Consequently, at the end of the half, Dreamcast inventories totaled 40,000 units domestically and 230,000 units for the United States, and we anticipate being able to sell all remaining units by the holiday season as initially planned.
The year ended March 31, 2002 was a turning point for Sega. We exited the hardware business, ceasing production of Dreamcast and selling through the remaining inventory.
Comercializado no Brasil desde setembro de 1989, o saudoso Master System já vendeu mais de 8 milhões de unidades no país, segundo a Tectoy.
On July 12, toy giant Bandai unleashed a third iteration (in stylish red and blue models) of their handheld WonderSwan system, the new-and- improved SwanCrystal, in Japan.
A new colored version of Bandai Co.'s <7967> WonderSwan handheld game machine will hit Japanese stores in early December, the Japanese game maker said Wednesday. [...] The original WonderSwan, with its black-and-white displays, has sold 1.55 million units since its debut in March 1999.
The move reflects declining sales of Bandai's WonderSwan mobile game machine. The major Japanese toy maker is looking to supply two or three software titles for the rival company's popular game machine by March next year. Bandai will shift its focus from sales of hardware to software for "multiple platforms," including personal digital assistants, Takasu told a press conference.
Base instalada: 5 milhões de Master System; 3 milhões de Mega Drive
We had 700,000 active users and we had 3 million N-Gage devices out there.
'First quarter sales of ColecoVision were substantial, although much less that [ sic] those for the year ago quarter,' Greenberg said in a prepared statement. He said the company has sold 2 million ColecoVision games since its introduction in 1982.
Coleco is now debating whether to withdraw from electronics altogether. Colecovision still sells, but it is a shadow of its former self.
Thursday, Coleco said the entire inventory of its troubled Adam personal computer has been sold, along with much of its Colecovision inventory. The company's chairman, Arnold Greenberg, said Coleco expects no more charges against earnings from the two discontinued products.
The 7800 system with its enhanced graphics capabilities was introduced in 1986 and has sold more than million units to date.
Meanwhile, Nintendo, the first on the market with its black-and-white Game Boy, has sold approximately 7.5 million portable systems, analysts estimate. Sega has sold about 1.6 million units of its color Game Gear system, while Atari Inc. has sold about one million units of its $99 Lynx color portable system.
The Jaguar looked to be a winner, with popular new games and hot sales. Around June of 1994 the company decided to stop supporting the Lynx and concentrate on the Jaguar.
According to Philips, there are 1 million CD-i owners worldwide.
When the game [Telstar] crashed hard, earnings fell 50 percent in 1977 and the company lost $22 million in 1978, barely skirting bankruptcy after Handel -- then chief financial officer -- found new credit and mollified angry creditors after months of tough negotiation.
The company has stopped producing its 5200 SuperSystem games player, more than 1 million of which were sold.
1 WonderSwan Famitsu sources
2 Release year sources
After successful test marketing in 1979, Mattel Electronics released its Intellivision system nationwide in late 1980.
So, in 1976, Coleco introduced Telstar, a Pong clone, for $50, about half Atari's price.
Bibliography
A video game console is a standardized computing device tailored for video gaming. The compact size of video game consoles allows them to be easily used in a variety of locations, making them portable. [2] Video game consoles may use one or more data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, optical discs, and memory cards for downloaded content. [2]
A home video game console requires a computer monitor or television set as an output. [3] Handheld controllers are commonly used as input devices. Sanders Associates engineer Ralph H. Baer along with company employees Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch licensed their television gaming technology to contemporary major TV manufacturer Magnavox. This resulted in the 1972 release of the Magnavox Odyssey—the first commercially available video game console. [4]
A handheld game console is a lightweight device with a built-in screen, controls, speakers, [6] and has greater portability than a standard video game console. [2] It is capable of playing multiple games unlike tabletop and handheld electronic game devices. The oldest handheld game console with interchangeable cartridges is the Milton Bradley Microvision from 1979. [7] Nintendo is credited with popularizing the handheld console concept with the Game Boy's release in 1989 [8] and continued to dominate the handheld console market into the early 2000s. [9] [10]
Dedicated consoles are a subset of game consoles that are only able to play built-in games. [11] [12] Video game consoles in general are also described as "dedicated" in distinction from the more versatile personal computer and other consumer electronics. [13] [14] [15]
The following table contains video game consoles that have sold at least 1 million units worldwide either through to consumers or inside retail channels. Each console include sales from every iteration unless otherwise noted. The years correspond to when the home or handheld game console was first released (excluding test markets).
Platform | Type | Firm | Released [2] | Units sold | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PlayStation 2 | Home | Sony | 2000 | >155 million | [note 1] |
Nintendo DS | Handheld | Nintendo | 2004 | 154.02 million | [17] |
Nintendo Switch # | Hybrid | Nintendo | 2017 | 141.32 million | [17] [note 2] |
Game Boy & Game Boy Color | Handheld | Nintendo | 1989, 1998 | 118.69 million | [17] [note 3] |
PlayStation 4 # | Home | Sony | 2013 | 117.2 million | [33] |
PlayStation | Home | Sony | 1994 | 102.49 million | [34] |
Wii | Home | Nintendo | 2006 | 101.63 million | [17] |
PlayStation 3 | Home | Sony | 2006 | >87.4 million | [note 1] |
Xbox 360 | Home | Microsoft | 2005 | >84 million | [note 4] |
Game Boy Advance | Handheld | Nintendo | 2001 | 81.51 million | [17] |
PlayStation Portable | Handheld | Sony | 2004 | 80–82 million (estimate) | [note 1] |
Nintendo 3DS | Handheld | Nintendo | 2011 | 75.94 million | [17] |
Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System | Home | Nintendo | 1983 | 61.91 million | [17] |
PlayStation 5 # | Home | Sony | 2020 | 59.3 million | [42] |
Xbox One | Home | Microsoft | 2013 | ~58 million | [43] |
Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Home | Nintendo | 1990 | 49.1 million | [17] |
Nintendo 64 | Home | Nintendo | 1996 | 32.93 million | [17] |
Mega Drive/Genesis | Home | Sega | 1988 | 30.75 million | [note 5] |
Atari 2600 | Home | Atari | 1977 | 30 million | [47] |
Xbox | Home | Microsoft | 2001 | 24 million | [48] |
Nintendo GameCube | Home | Nintendo | 2001 | 21.74 million | [17] |
Xbox Series X/S # | Home | Microsoft | 2020 | ~21 million | [49] |
Quest 2 # | VR headset | Reality Labs / Meta | 2020 | ~20 million | [50] |
Wii U | Home | Nintendo | 2012 | 13.56 million | [17] |
PlayStation Vita | Handheld | Sony | 2011 | 10–15 million (estimate) | [note 1] |
Master System | Home | Sega | 1986 | 10–13 million | [note 6] |
V.Smile & V.Motion | Home | VTech | 2004, 2007 | 11 million | [56] |
Game Gear | Handheld | Sega | 1990 | 10.62 million | [44] |
PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 | Home | NEC/ Hudson Soft [note 7] | 1987 | 10 million | [58] |
Sega Saturn | Home | Sega | 1994 | 9.26 million | [45] |
Dreamcast | Home | Sega | 1998 | 9.13 million | [45] [59] [60] [61] |
Master System (Brazilian variants) | Home | Tectoy | 1989 | 8 million | [62] |
Dendy ( Famiclone) | Home | Micro Genius | 1992 | 6 million | [63] |
Super NES Classic Edition | Dedicated | Nintendo | 2017 | 5.28 million | [64] |
Advanced Pico Beena | Home | Sega | 2005 | >4.1 million | [65] |
NES Classic Edition | Dedicated | Nintendo | 2016 | 3.56 million | [66] [67] |
WonderSwan & WonderSwan Color | Handheld | Bandai | 1999, 2000 | 3.5 million | [note 8] |
Sega Pico | Home | Sega | 1993 | >3.4 million | [note 9] |
Color TV-Game | Dedicated | Nintendo | 1977 | 3 million | [76] [77] |
Intellivision | Home | Mattel | 1980 | 3 million | [78] |
Mega Drive (Brazilian variants) | Home | Tectoy | 1990 | 3 million | [79] [80] |
N-Gage | Handheld | Nokia | 2003 | 3 million | [81] |
ColecoVision | Home | Coleco | 1982 | >2 million | [note 10] |
3DO Interactive Multiplayer | Home | The 3DO Company | 1993 | >2 million | [85] |
Neo Geo Pocket & Neo Geo Pocket Color | Handheld | SNK | 1998, 1999 | 2 million | [86] |
Magnavox Odyssey² | Home | Magnavox/ Philips | 1978 | 2 million | [87] |
Sega SG-1000 | Home | Sega | 1983 | 2 million | [88] [89] |
Oculus Go | VR headset | Oculus | 2018 | 2 million (estimate) | [90] |
Atari 7800 | Home | Atari | 1986 | >1 million | [note 11] |
Atari Lynx | Handheld | Atari | 1989 | >1 million | [note 12] |
Philips CD-i | Home | Philips | 1990 | >1 million | [note 13] |
Telstar | Dedicated | Coleco | 1976 | >1 million | [96] [note 14] |
Atari 5200 | Home | Atari | 1982 | 1 million | [98] |
Pegasus ( famiclone) | Home | Micro Genius | 1991 | 1 million | [99] |
>Final sales are greater than the reported figure. See notes.
{{
cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(
help)
popularizing the handheld console concept nintendo.
Finally, our gaming business is thriving with the Xbox One hitting 10 million units sold. I am thrilled to welcome Mojang and Minecraft community to Microsoft.
Nintendo moved 49.1 million Super NES consoles over the course of the generation and beyond, far surpassing the Genesis, which sold a still impressive 29 million units. [...] The Master System sold an anemic 13 million to the NES count of 62 million.
A total of 3.39 million hardware units and 23.87 million software units were sold worldwide during fiscal 2001, for respective totals of 8.20 million units and 51.63 million units since Dreamcast was first brought to market.
Regarding sales of Dreamcast hardware from inventory resulting from the withdrawal from Dreamcast production [...] the Company exceeded initial targets with domestic sales of 130,000 units and U.S. sales of 530,000 units for the first half. Consequently, at the end of the half, Dreamcast inventories totaled 40,000 units domestically and 230,000 units for the United States, and we anticipate being able to sell all remaining units by the holiday season as initially planned.
The year ended March 31, 2002 was a turning point for Sega. We exited the hardware business, ceasing production of Dreamcast and selling through the remaining inventory.
Comercializado no Brasil desde setembro de 1989, o saudoso Master System já vendeu mais de 8 milhões de unidades no país, segundo a Tectoy.
On July 12, toy giant Bandai unleashed a third iteration (in stylish red and blue models) of their handheld WonderSwan system, the new-and- improved SwanCrystal, in Japan.
A new colored version of Bandai Co.'s <7967> WonderSwan handheld game machine will hit Japanese stores in early December, the Japanese game maker said Wednesday. [...] The original WonderSwan, with its black-and-white displays, has sold 1.55 million units since its debut in March 1999.
The move reflects declining sales of Bandai's WonderSwan mobile game machine. The major Japanese toy maker is looking to supply two or three software titles for the rival company's popular game machine by March next year. Bandai will shift its focus from sales of hardware to software for "multiple platforms," including personal digital assistants, Takasu told a press conference.
Base instalada: 5 milhões de Master System; 3 milhões de Mega Drive
We had 700,000 active users and we had 3 million N-Gage devices out there.
'First quarter sales of ColecoVision were substantial, although much less that [ sic] those for the year ago quarter,' Greenberg said in a prepared statement. He said the company has sold 2 million ColecoVision games since its introduction in 1982.
Coleco is now debating whether to withdraw from electronics altogether. Colecovision still sells, but it is a shadow of its former self.
Thursday, Coleco said the entire inventory of its troubled Adam personal computer has been sold, along with much of its Colecovision inventory. The company's chairman, Arnold Greenberg, said Coleco expects no more charges against earnings from the two discontinued products.
The 7800 system with its enhanced graphics capabilities was introduced in 1986 and has sold more than million units to date.
Meanwhile, Nintendo, the first on the market with its black-and-white Game Boy, has sold approximately 7.5 million portable systems, analysts estimate. Sega has sold about 1.6 million units of its color Game Gear system, while Atari Inc. has sold about one million units of its $99 Lynx color portable system.
The Jaguar looked to be a winner, with popular new games and hot sales. Around June of 1994 the company decided to stop supporting the Lynx and concentrate on the Jaguar.
According to Philips, there are 1 million CD-i owners worldwide.
When the game [Telstar] crashed hard, earnings fell 50 percent in 1977 and the company lost $22 million in 1978, barely skirting bankruptcy after Handel -- then chief financial officer -- found new credit and mollified angry creditors after months of tough negotiation.
The company has stopped producing its 5200 SuperSystem games player, more than 1 million of which were sold.
1 WonderSwan Famitsu sources
2 Release year sources
After successful test marketing in 1979, Mattel Electronics released its Intellivision system nationwide in late 1980.
So, in 1976, Coleco introduced Telstar, a Pong clone, for $50, about half Atari's price.
Bibliography