Looks Like PlayStation 2 Will Remain Best-Selling Console of All Time, as Nintendo Switch Sales Drop Off

Nintendo has forecasted conscionable 2 cardinal much income for its aging Switch 1 console implicit the coming fiscal year, leaving it inactive respective cardinal abbreviated of PlayStation 2's record-breaking total.

PS2, archetypal released successful Japan connected March 4, 2000, followed by North America connected October 26, 2000, and Europe connected November 24, 2000, officially remains the best-selling console of each time, with Sony's number placing it astatine 160 cardinal units sold. Switch 1, meanwhile, present stands astatine 155.92 cardinal beingness sales, with its yearly full expanding astatine an ever-slower gait each year.

In its latest fiscal results, Nintendo revealed it had sold 3.86 cardinal Switch 1 consoles during the past fiscal year. Switch 1 console income person been falling each twelvemonth since 2021, and this latest full marks a further alteration of 64% connected the 10.80 cardinal units that Nintendo shifted successful 2024.

All of this places Switch 1 presently astatine 4.08 cardinal consoles shy of the PS2, and inactive 2.08 cardinal abbreviated adjacent successful a year's time. Could Switch inactive bushed PS2 successful 2028? While technically possible, the console volition past beryllium good implicit a decennary aged and Switch 2 volition person been launched for respective years.

Switch 1 income person been falling since FY2021, with Switch 2 besides present established. Image credit: Nintendo.

Nintendo, however, has shown nary motion of discontinuing its aging hardware — possibly with that PS2 beingness income fig successful mind. Indeed, it's hard to shingle the feeling there's immoderate rivalry going connected implicit that apical spot.

Remember that Sony lone upped its authoritative PS2 income tally a mates of years ago, erstwhile then-PlayStation brag Jim Ryan declared the 24-year-old console had really sold 160 cardinal during a podcast appearance. Prior to that, the instrumentality had agelong been listed arsenic lone managing 155 cardinal income — a people Switch 1 looked adjacent to eclipsing (and which it has so present surpassed).

Looking astatine the past year's hardware income successful detail, a 3rd of the Switch 1 consoles that Nintendo sold were successful Japan. Roughly the aforesaid magnitude was sold crossed some North and South America combined, with the aforesaid magnitude again crossed Europe and the remainder of the world.

It's wide that Japan remains a hugely important territory for Nintendo — arsenic good arsenic being the company's homeland, it is besides a marketplace which powerfully favors handheld (or hybrid) consoles. But today's fiscal results besides brought connection of terms rises — including for Switch 1, specifically successful Japan.

While Switch 2 console costs are acceptable to beryllium raised globally, Nintendo stated that it would besides beryllium expanding the terms of Switch 1 successful its location country. This, coupled with the information that Switch 2 is present well-established successful the region, makes the aging console's income aboriginal adjacent little definite — adjacent successful a state wherever it remains hugely popular.

As for PlayStation, if Switch doesn't bushed PS2, Sony's retro console whitethorn stay the best-selling gaming hardware for immoderate time. PS5 income are presently trending down PS4 astatine the aforesaid constituent successful its lifecycle, Sony admitted today, amid a gloomy planetary representation wherever console costs are lone continuing to increase.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social