Thats obviously! 

Don't know about the Playstation website, but Nintendo's IR website is for investors so I'm pretty sure that they are using internal documents to substantiate that number.

I can guarantee that Sony doesn't care about this even remotely close to how much people that get emotional about it do.
The only fear they have about Playstation are their bank accounts and stock portfolios.

While you worry about which console sold the most, they worry about how to maximize profits.
That's why they are in their position, and we are here.

Like Dragonball fans debating character power levels, while the creator even forgot the name of his own series.

The people that are aware of specific console sales across multiple systems are a very niche group. People like us that go on dedicated websites to nerd over these things. The vast majority don't.

I think this is a fun subject to discuss. For example, the sentence you're focusing on could very well have been added at the initiative of the web designer, and an executive looked it over and gave the approval.
Even the 160M figure could have been based on Jim Ryan's comment, for all we know.

PS2's status as the best seller or not has no bearing on their future business.
We're not seeing "successor to best selling console in history" plastered all over every Playstation add. I can't even recall if they ever relied on that in an ad campaign. Maybe decades ago leading up to the PS3 launch?
Nintendo likewise care just as little. It's a nice feather in the hat, but their concern is the system being successful financially long term.

So thinking that any of these companies are "terrified" over something that has no bearing on thier bottom line, when all they really care about is money, is projection.

It's fine to be passionate. But at least try to consider various possibilities.

Yeah, the Nintendo site is clearly sales figures oriented, and they barely even round the figures.
So web designers were presumably given the figures beforehand, with the primary purpose of relaying them.

The Playstation site is about the history of the systems. And there are different ways to highlight the journey. Sales being one factor.

Called it.

Sony gets terrefied that Switch could pass their 158,88- 159,2 million number. Thats why they keep moving the goalpost. I am by far not the only one doubting this fantasy number. If the Switch gets to 160 million be 100% sure Sony waits until discontinuation and then anounces 165 million sold. I do not understand why everyone is believing obvious lies. PS2's total has been moved up year over year as the Switch got closer. There is a source where Sony even said they would be "nearing the 160 million number" back in late 2012. 1 month later is "over 160 million units without that milestone being announced officially?! As an investor i would distance myself from a company thats so obviously lying. Like with the PSP. As a tax paying company they have to pay tax for every sold console. They hid ~2-5 million consoles they earned money for (for wich they have to pay taxes). Thats a criminal act. Sony is no company to be trusted. IF MS and Nintendo would do that i would say the same.
These are some cruel and hard words but that had to come out!!

Lol delusional

Some people have had enough internet for today I see.

That Nintendo DS sales data (along with other legacy system sales) comes from the Nintendo Yearly Fiscal Reports, so it's official and accurate, not rounded or invented by the web designer  =P

Technically the Nintendo sales data is rounded...to the nearest 10,000. But, yeah, Nintendo is by the best of the big three in reporting sales data. Even with the Wii U failure we got new data every quarter.