I think it's an easy yes, in pretty much every metric as well and I don't think any other console comes close either.

It is the bestselling home console in U.S History, bestselling console in Japan's history and many other countries.

And it became the 2nd bestselling console of all time while having price INCREASES instead of something like the PS2 that was being sold for impulse price cheap for many years.

When it comes to profit, the Switch alone in 7 years made more money than the 35+ years worth of prior Nintendo consoles combined. And even compared to Playstation, the Switch made more profit than Playstation's combined history between 1994-2022. That is unreal to think about.

Software sales were arguably the best of all time. While 1.5 Billion may be less than the PS4's 1.7 Billion sold, it's important to keep in mind that Sony includes digital only games in that number while Nintendo doesn't. And with how many successful digital only games are on Switch, that number could very well be higher than PS4.

The shear amount of great games can't be ignored either, one of the best console libraries ever.

Yes. It never got GTA V, Call of Cuty or Madden, it's a pure gaming machine (no non-gaming gimmicks at all), it never had a price cut (to ANY model, not just the base model), and yet, it still managed to be the second best selling platform of all time, and there's still a chance of being the best selling ever. That's mindblowing. As other people have pointed out, the first party game sales and profit are very high as well. If it's not, it's at least the greatest comeback story in gaming history. 

Where are you getting PS4's "1.7 billion" figure from? I haven't done the proper maths in a while, but it should easily be above 2 billion at this point, unless PS5 is overperforming.

Switch's software sales can't be higher than Playstation's which dominate in revenue. PS digital revenue alone is comparable to Nintendo's services + games (including digital only) + MTX combined. There is no evidence whatsoever that Switch beats PS4's software. Digital only software that have no physical versions are almost irrelevant (barring f2p's which go under "MTX/add-on" on both platforms). Nintendo puts services together with digital-only and MTX in one segment. The segment makes a fraction of Playstation's digital sales, nevermind services and MTX which are even bigger.

The only software metric where Switch probably beat PS4 is physical sales. At everything else (digital, services, MTX, f2p, downloads) Playstation dwarfes it. They are not even comparable unless I'm going senile and misremembering things!

Nintendo beat Sony gaming in profitability due to hardware profit margins, merchanise, a high first party software split, and COVID among other things. Sony's acquisitions and failed live service projects put a dent on their profitability as well. But total software volumes and dollar sales weren't higher on the Switch.

PS4 official software sales do not include digital only games or pack-in titles(Switch software includes pack-in titles). Sony only started to include both during the PS5 generation according to their financial releases. Why do people keep repeating this? Where does those information come from? 

Also, total PS4+PS5 software is over 3b so if PS4 is only 1.7m then that would put the PS5 at 1.3b already and currently selling 300m+ a year. Regardless, countng individual software at this point is hard, which is why Sony don’t do it. Nintendo still gives Switch software separately, but it’s not actually accurate. They include Switch 2 digital versions of Switch games as a Switch 1 software sale. This also doesn’t account for people have a new console but buy a previous gen game to play through backward compatibility. So the idea of generational software totals is probably not a thing anymore. You probably need to pick a timeframe and say Sony/Nintendo/Xbox ecosystem sold X amount of software during this time period. 

PS4 software sales exceeded 1.577 billion as of March 2021~. Since the PS5 launch quarter (Oct-Dec 2020) and until March 2026, they sold 1.64 billion software between PS4 and PS5.

Having the PS4 software sales at 2 billion would put the current PS5 software at around 1.1 billion. Context: the PS4 needed 6 years and two months to sell 1.2 billion software.

Well than let me ChatGPT that for you:  (sources included)

Yes — there are solid sources showing this was common, not just anecdotal.

1) Industry survey evidence (Sony / Japan market research)

A major early survey of PS2 owners found that:

• A significant portion used the PS2 for DVD playback
• About 60%+ said they were using it primarily as a DVD player
• And only about 52% were actually using it mainly for games at the time of the survey

This shows that DVD usage wasn’t just a “bonus feature” — it was often the dominant use case for many buyers.  

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps2-primarily-used-as-dvd-player/1100-2542136/

2) Academic / industry analysis of PS2’s market impact

Retrospective industry analysis notes that:

• The PS2 was positioned as a cheap DVD player alternative
• This significantly expanded its buyer base beyond gamers
• It helped drive early adoption because standalone DVD players were expensive at the time

This is widely cited as one of the key reasons PS2 became the best-selling console ever.  

https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/10-reasons-why-the-ps2-beat-the-xbox-and-gamecube.htm

3) Later historical summaries (industry retrospectives)

Historical summaries and reporting consistently note that:

• Some consumers bought the PS2 primarily for DVD playback
• The console functioned as a “dual-purpose entertainment device”
• It helped households transition from VHS to DVD without buying a separate player

https://as.com/meristation/noticias/aunque-la-pirateria-y-los-juegos-exclusivos-ayudaron-este-fue-el-otro-gran-motivo-por-el-que-ps2-arraso-en-ventas-n/

Bottom line

Yes — it wasn’t just marketing hype:

• Many people bought it mainly for DVDs
• A smaller but real group bought it almost exclusively as a DVD player
• And that demand meaningfully contributed to PS2’s massive success

a little free advice, try to be more friendly and respectful when chatting with others. Given your 45+ I’m surprised you haven’t learned that yet. Cheers. 

I get it, but this isn't one of them. 

The survey referenced in the article does not seem to actually say that though? The survey says 6% of people bought it as a DVD player only.

You also need to understand that the PS2 launched in Japan earlier than the west, by over half a year, when DVD players would have cost more than they did by the time of the western lunch. So, it’s possible that some people them are buying it solely for DVDs but that effect would diminish quickly over time as DVD players got cheaper much faster than the PS2 received price reductions, and the PS2 DVD player quality would be quickly outdated. 6% of people that bought the PS2 in its launch month in Japan would be a tiny number of overall buys, less than 0.1% of total lifetime owners. 

Lol.  Your article is from 2000, when the ps2 launched.  The ps2 went onto sell for a decade, well over a hundred million more consumers.  A survey in the first few months doesn't accurately represent the lifespan.  I don't think you know what data is.

Per your own "data":

• Some consumers bought the PS2 primarily for DVD playback

Exactly.  Some did.  The idea that millions upon millions bought it only as a DVD player is nonsense.  

Two major points you cannot address:

1) the xbox played DVDs.  Being able to play DVDs was not an exclusive ability to the ps2.  So why didn't the xbox sell 160 million?  

2) the ps2 had the same (slightly higher actually)  software attach ratio as the GC, which couldn't play DVDs.  If people bought the ps2 for DVDs while people bought the GC only for games, why is the attach ratio the same?  

But the best part is you Daffy Ducking yourself (again).  From YOUR data:

"Among those who bought the system, 74 percent said they bought it for games and DVD movies, 20 percent for games alone, and six percent for DVD movies only.'

So 94% used it for gaming and only 6% bought it as a DVD player only.  Cool, thanks for literally proving me right.  Much appreciated.

Some friendly advice, you might actually want to read your sources before leaning on them.  I would have thought you would have learned that by your age.  I guess not.  

Edit

Your top ten reasons they ps2 sold well also proves me right..  the article has DVD playback as 9th out of 10..  Meaning there where 8 superior reasons why people bought the ps2, including library.  Meaning it wasn't remotely close to being the reason it sold 160 million.  

I will be curious if you admit to being wrong like an adult or continue to spin nonsense.  

Exactly.  Well said.