Would You Consider Nintendo Switch The Most Commercially Successful Gaming Hardware Of All Time?

[Chrkeller]

HebrewGamer said:

Chrkeller said:

ps2 is the most successful of all time and it isn't even close.

Comparing ps2 to S1, straight up in sales, is misleading, the market has grown. It should be viewed as a percent.

ps2 had 77.67% market share.

Switch had 46.95% market share.

Not remotely close, nothing has dominated like the ps2 did, nothing.  Straight number comparisons don't factor in changes in market size, nor does it take into inflation.

Nothing touched the ps2, it was outsold the competition 8:1.  The S1 wasn't remotely close to 8:1.

I have to respectfully disagree with all points here. PS2 isn't even in the conversation.

It barely made any money for Sony in terms of profit with the PS4 making more money in one fiscal year than PS2 did for it's entire run.

It had no real competition like the Wii had with the PS3 and 360. The GC died in it's crib, SEGA was hemorrhaging money long before they released the Dreamcast, and Microsoft was a brand new player in the console space. Sony had the market all to themselves.

Take away getting a free DVD player with every purchase and it barely cracks 100m units. PS2 was a system bought by casuals who wanted a cheap DVD player which at the time was highly sought after new tech. For a system to sell some 160m units(allegedly) it doesn't have one game which sold 20 million. The Switch has 9, which is more than any game console ever.

The system was being sold for half price halfway through it's run and as low as $99 near end of life. The switch has gone up in price by $50 and has never had a price cut.

Inflation hurts the PS2's case even more as the dollar in 2000 had way more purchasing power than it does today or even in 2017. Gas was $1 in 2000. 

There's no case for the PS2...sorry.  

Link/proof?

Google and Copilot have the ps2 at 2.1 billion in profit. 

Link/proof that 50 million bought it as a DVD player?  I mean it sold billions of software titles.  Software attach ratio for the ps2 is higher than the Wii... same as the Gamecube.  

*really annoying seeing such strong claims with no evidence

Last edited by Chrkeller - on 15 May 2026