Game Consoles Sales

A video game console is a standardized computing device designed primarily for playing video games. Consoles are typically compact and can be used in various settings. They may utilize one or more data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, optical discs, or memory cards, to store game content.

A home video game console connects to an external display device such as a television set or computer monitor. Games are usually controlled with handheld game controllers. The first commercially available video game console was the Magnavox Odyssey, released in 1972 by Magnavox based on television gaming technology developed by Ralph H. Baer and his colleagues at Sanders Associates.

A handheld game console is a portable device with a built-in screen, controls, and speakers, offering greater portability than home consoles. Unlike handheld electronic game devices, which play only one game, handheld consoles can play multiple games. The first such console with interchangeable cartridges was the Milton Bradley Microvision (1979). Nintendo popularized handheld gaming with the Game Boy in 1989 and maintained market dominance into the early 2000s.

Virtual reality headsets are head-mounted displays with built-in screens positioned in front of the user’s eyes. VR headsets for gaming may include handheld controllers and position-tracking accelerometers for user input. Most require connection to a game console or gaming PC, though some, such as the Quest 2 by Meta Platforms, are standalone consoles.

Dedicated consoles are a subset of consoles with built-in games. More broadly, video game consoles are sometimes described as "dedicated" in contrast to versatile devices such as personal computers.

Best-selling game consoles

The following table contains video game consoles that have sold at least 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 initial iteration of the console was first released (excluding test markets).

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Notes

References

WonderSwan ''Famitsu'' sources

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Release year sources

* Atari consoles
** : "The test release of the Atari 7800 went by practically unnoticed ..And so the Atari 7800 collected dust for two years, until the international success of the Nintendo Entertainment System quickly changed the minds of Atari's new management. ..Atari shipped the now slightly outdated 7800 across the world. ..Only a few thousand 7800 consoles were shipped in the US during the first marketing attempt."
** : Atari VCS 2600, Atari 5200, Atari Lynx.
* Microsoft consoles
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* Nintendo consoles
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** : "Nintendo teamed with Mitsubishi to build the video-game system and, in 1977, Nintendo entered the home market in Japan with the dramatic unveiling of Color TV Game 6 ..
* Sega consoles
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* Sony consoles
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* Others
** : Bandai Wonderswan and ColecoVision.
** : Nokia N-Gage.
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** : "To push its first video-game system, NEC formed a home-entertainment group and released PC Engine in Japan in October 1987."
** : "Philips released CD-I years behind schedule, in October 1991, months after CDTV, because of technical problems."
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Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Best-selling game consoles
Lists of video game consoles
Video game consoles

Video game console sales