For over two decades, the PlayStation 2 has stood alone as the best selling console of all time. But as the Nintendo Switch continues to sell, that title may now be in jeopardy.
According to Nintendo, the Nintendo Switch has sold over 146 million units in its nearly eight-year lifespan, just 12 million shy of the PlayStation 2’s 158 million unit mark. And although Switch unit sales have slowed in anticipation of the console’s successor, highly anticipated Switch games such as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and certain special edition Switch units continue to generate sales for Nintendo’s hybrid console.
During its lifetime, the PlayStation 2 sold over twice as many units as the GameCube, XBox and Dreamcast combined. Much of its success is attributed to the console’s ability to play DVDs at a lower price than many DVD players on the market at the time, appealing even to those who had no interest in video games at all. Additionally, Sony offered a very competitive game library contained within discs that could hold far more data than CDs and that were cheap to produce, making it a massive hit among gamers and truly establishing a brand fan base.
The Switch, meanwhile, gained massive success in a similar way to the Nintendo Wii, appealing to the casual audience and those who did not usually play video games. Nintendo accomplished this with games such as Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, though the latter also appealed to a broader audience of gamers. Additionally, the Switch has massive appeal as a truly portable home console, a feat which had never been attempted at that scale.
Experts do not expect Nintendo to announce the second iteration of the Switch, allowing the console another few months to catch the PlayStation 2.






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