PS5 Outsells NES - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 November 2024 / 22,206 Views
Sony's latest video game console, the PlayStation 5, which is part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, has outsold the lifetime sales of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), according to VGChartz estimates.
The PS5 had sold an estimated 61.94 million units worldwide through September 2024, while the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) sold 61.91 million units lifetime.
Up next for the PS5 is the Nintendo 3DS with 75.94 million units sold, followed by the Game Boy Advance (GBA) at 81.51 million units sold and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) at 82.52 million units sold.
Breaking down sales by region, the PS5 has sold an estimated 23.80 million units in North America, 20.71 million units in Europe, 6.07 million units in Japan, and 11.35 million units in the rest of the world. This compared to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which sold 33.49 million units in North America, 8.30 million units in Europe, 19.35 million units in Japan, and 0.77 million units in the rest of the world.
Breaking down PS5 Europe sales, the console has sold an estimated 4.12 million units in the UK, 3.67 million units in Germany, and 3.18 million units in France.
The PlayStation 5 launched in November 2020 and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) launched in Japan in July 1983, in North America in October 1985, and in Europe in September 1986. The NES is also known as Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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we all knew this was going to happen even before the pS5 was announced. but hey, congrats!
I didn’t! I thought the PS5 was only gonna sell like 15mil LTD. This is huge!!
lol!!!
The NES is the second best selling Nintendo dedicated home console of all time, so this is actually a big milestone. People forget how much of a big deal it is to sell even close to 100m units and think 100m is the norm.
There's probably close to 0 people in this place who thought this is even a question and the like 2 that may were just doomposting during the supply contraint period.
Xbox has never hit 100 million, and there's barely a 1 percent chance Xbox 5 could hit that milestone. So yes, 100 million units for a platform is exceedingly rare.
I mean, basically 66% chances with 3 big console provider? How is that "exceedingly rare"? Microsoft failed to do it and lost the market share to Sony; that's it; but it is the "exception", so I do not understand how it is rare?
And of course I'm talking since the Play Station 4 generation and up. This is just about the market and Xbox 360/Play Station Three sold for 80M+, then next generation for 100M+ and unless Microsoft is coming back, the Play Station Six is expected to do the same...
The market is simply bigger today that it was before. And if you are the market lead or Nintendo; you will sell for 100M. There is nothing "rare" to that at this point.
This is great for the Play Station Five, but calling this rare or trying to compare it to the NES 60M+ when the market was WAY smaller, is ludicrous :)
My point was 100 million units throughout gaming history has been exceedingly rare even if it's not anymore.
The only two platforms released before 2000 that hit 100 million or more were the Game Boy/Game Boy Color and PS1. PS1 wasn't at 100 million yet by the start of 2000, and GB/GBC sold a lot after GBC launched so there's no way they were at 100 million yet either.
And my broader point is even as a part of the Big 3 there's almost no chance Xbox will crack 100 million units. They had their shot with Xbox 360 and still fell about 15 million units short.
NES 61 million is more impressive than PS4's 100 million to me. NES had to carve that market nearly by itself
I think NES selling that much is the big deal. Not to get anything away from the Play Station 4 or 5, it is way easier to reach 60m today than before. The market is just not the same.
If you are not dominating the market (like Microsoft); then yes it is hard, but for Sony or Nintendo (which is in its own category); if the console is successful enough; you will get 60m+ for sure.
What are you talking about?
It isn't the 2nd... it's a distant 3rd
Wii and Switch are both far ahead of NES...
Not to mention EVERY dedicated Nintento Handheld
i think he is referring to the switch as a hybrid and not a dedicated home console
Neither did the 3DS or the Game Boy Advance sell 100m copies btw
Imagine if it actually had games
Ps5 is another powerhouse but that COVID hiccup is going to hurt in the longrun!
Surprizing no one...
Every Sony home console has outsold the NES
Gaming is 3-4 times the size it was in the 80s...
yes !!!!
