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

HebrewGamer on 18 May 2026
Chrkeller said:
HebrewGamer said:

You would need to clarify what you mean by "digital sales" If you're not including in-game purchases of any kind. I would also need to see that data.

We can't make the determination if mobile gaming has or has not replaced consoles due to how well the Switch did(due almost exclusively to the success of Animal Crossing New Horizons). Microsoft is out of the running and Sony got a huge boost this past holiday due to a major price cut to $400. Point being, when people talk about how the pandemic brought in more gamers, Mobile gaming is where they went. COD mobile and Genshin Impact were smash hits in 2020.

Being a handheld is indeed a selling point, but they're offering you a significantly weaker system where many major 3rd party titles are either missing or run like $%@# on the system. You can't beat Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon though. The last 3rd party game to carry a Nintendo platform was Tetris for the Gameboy. The Switch has 21 games that sold 10 million or more(soon to be 22 with SMPJ at 9.96). ALL of them are Nintendo's games. The only thing the Switch does is play games and without compelling game titles, there's no reason for people to buy a substantially weaker and less capable system where most major 3rd party titles aren't on the platform, even if you can play on the go.

BTW, someone mentioned how the original Xbox had a DVD player. It did. The problem is you needed an add-on accessory to use it which was sold separately. 

I did, and the controller was the price of a DVD.  The argument the ps2 sold 160 because of dvd makes no sense, because the xbox played dvd too.  It appears illogical to me that dvd sold 160 million but a $20 add on to play dvd sold 20 million.

At the end of the day the answer is either ps2 or S1, both have arguments in their favor.  And like usual, Sony is beinf undersold here on VG (and I say that as a PC gamer).  

The controller was another thing you had to buy vs. something that worked out of the box. To a casual consumer, those types of barriers to entry are a deal breaker.



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Chrkeller on 18 May 2026
HebrewGamer said:
Chrkeller said:

I did, and the controller was the price of a DVD.  The argument the ps2 sold 160 because of dvd makes no sense, because the xbox played dvd too.  It appears illogical to me that dvd sold 160 million but a $20 add on to play dvd sold 20 million.

At the end of the day the answer is either ps2 or S1, both have arguments in their favor.  And like usual, Sony is beinf undersold here on VG (and I say that as a PC gamer).  

The controller was another thing you had to buy vs. something that worked out of the box. To a casual consumer, those types of barriers to entry are a deal breaker.

Lol, 8 to 1 barrier.  Nah.  The ps2 sold because of price and library.  The DVD was an additional selling point, but low on the list.



rtx 4090, 32 gb ram, i7-13700k

Switch 2

bdbdbd on 18 May 2026
HebrewGamer said:
Chrkeller said:

I did, and the controller was the price of a DVD.  The argument the ps2 sold 160 because of dvd makes no sense, because the xbox played dvd too.  It appears illogical to me that dvd sold 160 million but a $20 add on to play dvd sold 20 million.

At the end of the day the answer is either ps2 or S1, both have arguments in their favor.  And like usual, Sony is beinf undersold here on VG (and I say that as a PC gamer).  

The controller was another thing you had to buy vs. something that worked out of the box. To a casual consumer, those types of barriers to entry are a deal breaker.

It was cheaper to put Linux on it and use it as a set top box. 



Ei Kiinasti.

Eikä Japanisti.

Vaan pannaan jalalla koreasti.

 

Nintendo games sell only on Nintendo system.

bdbdbd on 18 May 2026
Chrkeller said:
HebrewGamer said:

The controller was another thing you had to buy vs. something that worked out of the box. To a casual consumer, those types of barriers to entry are a deal breaker.

Lol, 8 to 1 barrier.  Nah.  The ps2 sold because of price and library.  The DVD was an additional selling point, but low on the list.

It was quite good selling point in the first years. The amount of systems in people's homes contributed to to it having such huge library. People with existing systems were more likely to buy games for them that people without. 



Ei Kiinasti.

Eikä Japanisti.

Vaan pannaan jalalla koreasti.

 

Nintendo games sell only on Nintendo system.

HebrewGamer on 18 May 2026
curl-6 said:
Kyuu said:

Trying to spin Switch's access to a much larger market as some sort of disadvantage is peak comedy. And COVID econimics objectively benefited Nintendo and hindered Sony which had 3 years of severe production challenges and more price hikes.

Covid economics benefitted Switch in the short term by driving up demand for entertainment during lockdown, but in the long term the downturn followed the boom and the inflation that followed forced a price hike and reduced people's disposable income during Switch 1's closing years.

Animal Crossing New Horizons doesn't get enough credit for carrying Nintendo through that time period. Remove it and Nintendo doesn't do nearly as well.



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HebrewGamer on 18 May 2026
Chrkeller said:
HebrewGamer said:

The controller was another thing you had to buy vs. something that worked out of the box. To a casual consumer, those types of barriers to entry are a deal breaker.

Lol, 8 to 1 barrier.  Nah.  The ps2 sold because of price and library.  The DVD was an additional selling point, but low on the list.

Yes. an 8 to 1 barrier. If I want to buy a gaming system for its DVD capability I'm buying the one that works out of the box over the one where I need extra accessories for it to work. 

Not even mentioning the PS2 being discounted $50 every 2 years.



Chrkeller on 18 May 2026
HebrewGamer said:
Chrkeller said:

Lol, 8 to 1 barrier.  Nah.  The ps2 sold because of price and library.  The DVD was an additional selling point, but low on the list.

Yes. an 8 to 1 barrier. If I want to buy a gaming system for its DVD capability I'm buying the one that works out of the box over the one where I need extra accessories for it to work. 

Not even mentioning the PS2 being discounted $50 every 2 years.

Lol, $20 controller caused a 8 to 1 barrier.  That legit makes me laugh.  The ps2 crushed the xbox and GC because it's game lineup was massive in comparison.  Getting GTA3 as a two year exclusive mattered more than $20 remote.  Same with MGS, final fantasy, Kingdom hearts, persona, Jake, ratchet, sly, gow, etc, etc.

The ps2 lineup deserves way more respect.  

Nobody is going to buy a system with games they don't want because of a $20 remote.  



rtx 4090, 32 gb ram, i7-13700k

Switch 2

Valdney on 18 May 2026

It is, and no other console comes close.



160rmf on 18 May 2026

What pandemic booster are we talking again? The H1N1 swine flu in 2009?



 

 

We reap what we sow

zorg1000 on 18 May 2026
Chrkeller said:
MadDogg said:

PS2 DVD debate

Not all of this is directed specifically at you, just giving my two cents on the whole DVD debate and I like bantering with you so decided to quote you lol


I agree that the number of people who bought a PS2 solely or even primarily for its DVD player is probably pretty small but I do believe its ability to play DVDs right out of the box was a major factor in its overall appeal. An all-in-one multimedia device that allows you to play games, watch movies and listen to music was a novel idea and big deal in the early 00s.

As for price, I think a lot of people are looking at it the wrong way. We shouldn’t be looking at it in terms of “was PS2 cheaper than standalone DVD players” but rather does a gaming console with a built in DVD player offer a better value proposition than other gaming consoles or standalone DVD players?

If I was looking to buy a gaming console in 2002, what offers the better value? The $149 GameCube with no ability to play DVDs, the $199 Xbox that can play DVDs with an additional $29 add-on or the $199 PS2 that plays DVDs out of the box?

If I was looking to get a DVD player around the same time and also like to play games or have kids who play games, what offers the better value? A $149 DVD player (google search said average cost was around this price in 02) or for an extra $50 one that also plays the biggest games?



Now with all that said, PS2 would have dominated with or without DVD playback for a few reasons.

1. It was the successor to PS1 which sold over 100 million and was the highest selling home console ever at the time.

2. Sony didn’t make any major mistakes for the competitors to capitalize on and steal marketshare.

3. Year head start gave it a solid install base before competitors made it to market.

4. Exclusive/timed-exclusive home to major franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, etc.

Without DVD playback maybe things would have been a bit closer, something like

PlayStation 2-125 million (actual ~160 million)

Xbox-40 million (actual ~25 million)

GameCube-30 million (actual ~22 million)



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.