Honestly the most fair way to compare actual "popularity" is to divide the total amount of systems sold over a time unit like months (given a minimum of lets say 6-7 years). That gives you an accurate average of sales per month (or year if you want to use that metric). The NBA uses this to determine the scoring games (points per game) rather than total points because totals points doesn't really tell you who the best scorer is, one player could have played in 5+ more games and thus having more total points though another player has a higher points per game. This is a way to compare actual sales performance of a system and not let late gen politics (whether a company wants to move on to a new system or if the new system is flopping and they want to continue to make money off the old system as a result) get in the way. 

Using that metric on a monthly basis

DS was on market for 100 months before discontinued and shipped 154 million units in that time.

Nintendo Switch as of 103 months (September 2025 end) had shipped 154 million as well.

PS2 wasn't discontinued until a whopping 154 months. That's basically *4+ extra years* the PS2 had. It has sold 160-ish million units according to Sony.

By that metric you get

1.) Nintendo DS - 1.54 million systems sold/month of lifecycle (discontinued 2014)
2.) Nintendo Switch - 1.495 million systems sold/month of lifecycle (as of Sept. 30th, 2025)
3.) Sony PS2 - 1.0389 million systems sold/month of lifecycle (discontinued in Jan 2013)

Like I'm sorry but I'm not impressed by the PS2 needing 4 1/2 extra years of sales just to get 6 million more than the DS. That's a much, much longer sales window.

Not a fair metric for judging popularity at all. You are again ignoring the date the successor released to the benefit of the Switch and detriment of the PS2/NDS. DS was a huge margin ahead of the Switch before the 3DS release launch aligned. Switch is still behind now years after the 3DS launch.

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/458024/switch-vs-ds-sales-comparison-june-2023/

But carry on with this. There is literally no way to have a fair comparison between all of these systems and downplaying/discrediting any of these great consoles is a disservice to everyone.

cant u also argue that the switch is a handheld and thus is more likely to be bought by multiple people in the same household. this isnt done with home consoles often especially not back than when ps2 is all u needed. if 2 siblings want to game on a switch they both need 1. if we are talking about bad logic like yours this is a fair argument. also without covid it wouldnt even have touched 150m to begin with.

These comments are unreal. Any who cares arbout popularity. This is about total units sold. Soundwave is trying to turning it into a topic about fastest sold. Which is not total units sold. The Switch has plenty of accolades we can give it without trying to disparage the record of the PS2. This isn't about personal approval. In all likihood, the Switch will not pass the PS2's total sold... and thats okay.

Initiating obnoxious fanboy mode:

If PS2 was boosted by COVID, had a portable version, and two more years before its successor launched, it would have sold a billion units minimum. Anyone who disagrees is delusional. Software sales without piracy could have hit 10 billion. The facts don't care about your feelings.

Switch is the spiritual successor of Wii, DS, and PSP, and yet it could barely manage outsell the DS despite the much longer lifecycle, COVID, and all of these cheap cheat codes. What a piece of shit!

Not my problem if PS2 fans want to get upset that someone dared to say selling an extra 6 million units but needing more 4 1/2 extra years to do it with is not terribly impressive. If you disagree with that, fine.

Switch really is by far the most impressive seller in my opinion even if doesn't sell another single unit because it sold 154 million basically with no price cuts other than a cheaper watered down variant and even a price increase at this point for 8 years+.

There's no way the PS2 could pull that off, even the DS I don't think would do it without price reductions.

Though I suppose because I dared to point that a perfectly rational point with context, some people are going to throw a little tantrum about how you can't talk about that.

PS5 is $499! Even with less sales more impressive than Switch! Beast! 👏👏👏

Am I doing it right?

If it were to sell 154 million units, sure that would be perfectly valid. That would be far more impressive than the PS2. 

That's called critical thinking and applying context to numbers. 

But it's not going to sell 154 million units, not even close. Probably not even 120 million unless Sony delays the PS6 by a year or two (which at this rate could happen). 

Console warriors will also remember or forget inflation whenever convenient.

No... what you are trying to do is create the appearance that people are arguing with you because they aren't acceptable your own subjective meterics.  PS2 fans? Really lol come on now.  You are saying what should and shouldn't be considered impressive and daring people to have any other oponions.  Well I think any system that sells over 100 million is really impressive.  Prove me wrong lol.