Which Consoles Have Sold the Most Units Ever?

The best selling consoles list is still led by the PlayStation 2, with Nintendo Switch now close enough that every new sales update matters. If you only need the practical answer: PS2 is number one, Switch is the nearest challenger, and Nintendo DS has dropped to third after being passed by Switch.

What Is the Best-Selling Console of All Time?

The best-selling console of all time is the PlayStation 2, with more than 160 million units sold worldwide based on the latest widely cited figures. The main thing to watch is whether a ranking counts dedicated handhelds together with home consoles, because that is what puts systems like Nintendo DS and Game Boy so high on the all-time chart.

For a quick fact-check, the current top tier looks like this:

PlayStation 2 remains number one

PS2 keeps the record because it was not just a strong launch console. It stayed useful for years, dropped into a more affordable price range over time, and built one of the deepest game libraries ever attached to a single platform.

Its timing also helped. DVD playback gave some households a reason to buy it even before they cared about the full game lineup, while players had sports games, RPGs, action titles, racing games, and local multiplayer releases pulling them in from different directions.

Nintendo Switch is the closest challenger

Nintendo Switch sits just behind PS2 at 155.92 million units. The gap is now small by all-time console standards, but it still needs more confirmed sales before it can take the top spot.

• For families: one system can move between TV play and handheld use.
• For commuters or students: the same games work away from the living room.
• For casual players: Nintendo's evergreen games make the console easy to return to years later.

Nintendo DS now ranks third

Nintendo DS ranks third with 154.02 million units. That is still a huge number, but Switch passing it changed Nintendo's own sales history: the company's biggest seller is now a hybrid system rather than a traditional handheld.

The DS reached people who did not always think of themselves as console players. Touch controls, Brain Training-style software, Pokémon, Mario, and portable play made it feel approachable in a way that many living-room consoles did not.

PS2 vs Nintendo Switch

PS2 and Nintendo Switch are close in lifetime sales, but they reached that position in very different markets. PS2 won through long shelf life, a massive third-party library, DVD value, and later budget appeal. Switch has grown through flexibility, Nintendo's first-party games, and a play style that fits modern households better than a fixed TV-only box.

PS2 still holds the sales record

The PS2 still holds the record because its lead remains above the latest reported Switch total. The safer wording is "more than 160 million" for PS2, since exact public totals are often cited slightly differently depending on the source.

Switch has already passed Nintendo DS

Switch has already passed Nintendo DS, which is the more important confirmed milestone for Nintendo. At 155.92 million versus DS at 154.02 million, Switch is now Nintendo's best-selling console.

Switch continues to close the gap

Switch continues to close the gap, but the final outcome depends on future sales updates rather than momentum alone. A few million units sounds small, yet at the end of a console's life cycle those final units can be harder to add than they look.

For a practical comparison, think of two buyer situations. Someone buying one shared family system may still see Switch as the easier choice today because it works on the TV and as a handheld. Someone comparing historic market dominance, though, should still give PS2 the edge until Switch officially passes the record.

Best-Selling Console by Brand

Looking by brand gives a cleaner comparison because Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have different hardware histories. Sony's leader is the PS2, Nintendo's is the Switch, and Microsoft's is the Xbox 360.

This is also where sales lists can become misleading. Sony and Nintendo both have several systems above 100 million, while Microsoft's strongest result is lower but still important because Xbox 360 shaped online console gaming for a large audience.

PlayStation 2 for Sony

Sony's best-selling console is the PlayStation 2, and it is still the overall industry leader. Its strength came from being many things at once: a game console for core players, a DVD player for homes, and later an affordable system with a huge back catalog.

Nintendo Switch for Nintendo

Nintendo's best-selling console is the Switch. It passed the DS because it did not force buyers to choose between portable and home play, which gave it a wider everyday use case than either category alone.

That matters if you are comparing Nintendo generations. A DS was mainly a personal portable. A Switch can be a child's handheld, a family TV console, or a party system on the same weekend, and that flexibility helped it keep selling long after launch excitement faded.

Xbox 360 for Microsoft

Microsoft's best-selling console is the Xbox 360, at about 85 million units worldwide. Its place on the list is not only about raw sales; it was the Xbox generation that made online multiplayer, voice chat, digital purchases, and downloadable content feel central to console play.

For players who mostly cared about shooters, racing games, sports games, and online competition, the 360 was often the obvious choice in its strongest markets. That kind of identity is why it remains Microsoft's benchmark console.

Conclusion

PS2 is still the console to beat, but Switch has made the race unusually close for a record that once looked untouchable. For a quick answer, use PS2 as the all-time number one, Switch as the active challenger, DS as third, and Xbox 360 as Microsoft's top seller; just check the latest official or widely reported figures if you need the number for a current comparison.