Just to let you know Frybread.

The NES hardware was still being shipped all the way into 2003.... which would be 20 years from release.

But even by your software definition. The NES was still selling new software in 1999... then Nintendo stopped the software flow, but re-started it in Japan for 2002-4.

The Gameboy was selling software still in 2007 for "others" region, and 2006 for Japan and Americas

I could give you similar information for the SNES, N64 etc.

That is awesome, but doesn't apply to this list since it's unofficial :(

 Crazy, that would further complicate a hardware-method of judging lifespan that so many above suggested!  No wonder Wikipedia went with the method in the op. And just to add to the confusion of what hardware support means, Nintendo continued to "support" (as in repair) NES hardware until 2007.

"But even by your software definition. The NES was still selling new software in 1999."

I'm going by last release date, rather than sale date.  Were these newly released, officially licensed games?  I went with Adventure Island IV which is widely believed to be the last licensed game released on NES.

has any one mentioned wiis virtual console? lol, or is it because the games dont actually play on their original console so they're not included?

Re-releases don't count...

Although....

Sin and Punishment was published and licensed in the US for the first time in, what, 2007? All of a sudden it sounds like you could make a case.

But that is still a flawed definition.... a game has just released for the system, so presumably needs to sell, except the console has just been officially "killed" which means that games sales no don't count?..... this is the same situation with other games that released before the last official release.

The way Mario Kart and Wii Fit are going, Nintendo could kill the Wii now, no more released games, but the current games would keep on selling for the Wii, which is still in production itself.


Yes it is complicated, but it has to be, simplifying things quite often makes them wrong, as in the case of looking at the PS2 versus PS3 comparison for Worldwide sales only. Where itappears the PS3 is not far behind the PS2.
The real argument needs to state various other factors like the different region release dates and the fact that the PS2 was really hard to find for the first year in Japan, and seperately the first year or so in Americas and Others.

seriously dude

end of lifespan should = company stops MAKING the console

I'd go with this definition as well.

Or to be more precise: A console is "dead" when the company stops shipping the console to stores. Sega still makes some Dreamcast consoles (or they just have some of them left, don't know exactly) and sells them over their website if I remember correctly. Didn't they sell some of them last year?

The official price is 49$ / Euro if I remember correctly That's also the price new and sealed Dreamcasts sell on ebay.

...R-Really?

Any chance you could link that? I can't find it.

does any one know what the best looking game was on the dream cast? Im interested in checking out just what its graphical capabilities were

Well I found a Kotaku article about it but that one was from 2006 (they sold refurbished ones apparently) but it seems they stopped selling them now. I think they are sometimes still selling them for special purposes but I'm not sure. Sorry.

But you can still find new Dreamcasts on ebay occasionally but they are getting rare. (I only saw two of them in the one month I was looking for a cheap Dreamcast).

If you want to buy a Dreamcast go to ebay and buy one for cheap, the console is really reliable and you can find RGB cables, official controllers and games new and factory sealed for cheap. Things you can get new and factory sealed on ebay: Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 new for 40$/ Euro each, Chu Chu rocket, Virtua Tennis 1+2, Soul Calibur, Controller, VMU, Rumble Pak and more. And most of those things are really cheap (controllers go for less than 10 Euro)