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[onQ123]

Waiting to see what records it breaks next, OMG it totally sold more than. (checks notes) Tiger game com. Wooo killer console confirmed LOL. It's very telling that a 40 year old system was chosen and not xbox or switch.

At this point you're not even thinking at all just typing in rage SMH

It wasn't chosen for no other reason than the fact that it lifetime sales were just passed.

 

[Topher]

I get the population argument folks are presenting here and I think it is a valid point. We need to remember, however, that there are more competing devices now than then as well. Gaming during the NES years was primarily only console, PC and arcades. Now we have a massive number of people who have a gaming device in their pockets at all times. So much so that mobile gaming brings in nearly twice as much revenue as consoles. A lot has changed and not just the population.

 

[Topher]

Waiting to see what records it breaks next, OMG it totally sold more than. (checks notes) Tiger game com. Wooo killer console confirmed LOL. It's very telling that a 40 year old system was chosen and not xbox or switch.

That doesn't make sense. There are always threads about this sort of thing when a console outsells consoles of the past. Such as....

Sales-Age - Nintendo Switch Outsells PS1 Worldwide - Sales

There is no evidence to support this claim. The 3DS sold less than half of the DS. Vita sold less than a fifth of the PSP. Nintendo even had to emergency cut the price of the 3DS to help boost sales. There has been a clear and significant downward trend in the sales of "handhelds" since the...

www.neogaf.com

So what is the problem?

 

[Deerock71]

This shouldn't be considered an accomplishment at this point. It should be more like an entry point.

 

[Topher]

This shouldn't be considered an accomplishment at this point. It should be more like an entry point.

62 million sold at entry?

 

[noob smokes]

It's not even just the worlds populations growth, we've been giving Africa and other poor places money for 40 odd years thanks to things like "Live Aid" so they can now afford PlayStations.

Might the dumbest think i ever seen u think starving african have enough to buy a console with the peanuts they get in aid

 

[Hookshot]

Might the dumbest think i ever seen u think starving african have enough to buy a console with the peanuts they get in aid

No I think Nigerians buy PS5's online from Jumia with the $1.2 billon they got from the USA in 2022, the £110 million they got from the UK and the €47.4 million given by the EU in 2023 etc. In 2018 they UK gave them 300 million.

That's not "peanuts" to me but I'm not Richie Rich.

 

[Lunarorbit]

World population in 1985: 4.8 billion
World population in 2024: 8.1 billion

Comparing a modern game console's lifetime sales to that of one sold when the world's population was nearly half feels... weird. Like, a higher percentage of people on the planet owned a NES than currently own a PS5.

But congrats Sony, I guess.

That's how I feel when box office sales come out each week. Sorry no one is ever beating Gone with the Wind in ticket sales cause it ran for years.

But sure avengers totally beats all the old records. Sure

 

[noob smokes]

No I think Nigerians buy PS5's online from Jumia with the $1.2 billon they got from the USA in 2022, the £110 million they got from the UK and the €47.4 million given by the EU in 2023 etc. In 2018 they UK gave them 300 million.

That's not "peanuts" to me but I'm not Richie Rich.

And this money goes to the general population to buy playstations right not some warlord or dictator

 

[TheGrat1]

I don’t disagree that the PS5 is sold well. I just think it’s silly to celebrate that it passed the NES in lifetime sales.

Who is celebrating? It is just a simple milestone.

This thread reminds me of when the PS4 shipped 100 million units faster than the PS2, launch aligned, and people were quick to poo poo it saying that the PS2 had a more staggered launch compared to the PS4 so it was not fair. Like, who cares? It's not that deep, just an interesting factoid.

 

[Deerock71]

62 million sold at entry?

Yup. You've just entered the arena.

 

[Sooner]

I understand gaming was a more niche thing back then, and REALLY looked down upon as kids shit, but I'm still amazed hearing how the NES only sold like 61 million. I was around 9 when I got one in 1986 or 87, and seeing how NES was synonymous with toys/gaming, I always expect sale numbers around 100-120 million. Find it strange when I realize it's like half that. NES was the THING to get any kid in the mid 80's.

It was, but it was ONLY played by kids pretty much. Now, kids are just a small segment of people playing games.

 

[K' Dash]

World population in 1985: 4.8 billion
World population in 2024: 8.1 billion

Comparing a modern game console's lifetime sales to that of one sold when the world's population was nearly half feels... weird. Like, a higher percentage of people on the planet owned a NES than currently own a PS5.

But congrats Sony, I guess.

Also, Video games were not nearly as popular as they’re now.

With the lack of games and remaking 2 year old games for the fifth time, I guess they need to announce anything as a “win”

 

[yurinka]

World population in 1985: 4.8 billion
World population in 2024: 8.1 billion

Comparing a modern game console's lifetime sales to that of one sold when the world's population was nearly half feels... weird. Like, a higher percentage of people on the planet owned a NES than currently own a PS5.

But congrats Sony, I guess.

Wait does the op think that the game industry was as big and popular back then?

You can't really compare old numbers to new number literally.

Also, Video games were not nearly as popular as they’re now.

With the lack of games and remaking 2 year old games for the fifth time, I guess they need to announce anything as a “win”

To see it with another perspective, PS5 achieved that milestone almost 6x times faster than NES.

PS5 achieved 61.9M+ around back in April, so 41 months after launch (less than 3 years and a half).

For the NES, to achieve 61.9M+ took 242 months (20 years and 2 months, got released in July 1983 and discontinued September 2003).

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.

VG Chartz numbers are totally fake, they should be banned as source again. Their numbers not are totally fake with their own ass as their only source: they have been historically biased against Sony. They are just unprofessional random fanboys.

As an example, Sony announced that back in June PS5 had 61.8M shipped. According to VGlolz, they are 61.91M now at the end of October. Vgchartz is just a bad joke.

 

[K' Dash]

To see it with another perspective, PS5 achieved that milestone almost 6x times faster than NES.

PS5 achieved 61.9M+ around back in April, so 41 months after launch (less than 3 years and a half).

For the NES, to achieve 61.9M+ took 242 months (20 years and 2 months, got released in July 1983 and discontinued September 2003).


VG Chartz numbers are totally fake, they should be banned as source again. Their numbers not are totally fake with their own ass as their only source: they have been historically biased against Sony. They are just unprofessional random fanboys.

As an example, Sony announced that back in June PS5 had 61.8M shipped. According to VGlolz, they are 61.91M now at the end of October. Vgchartz is just a bad joke.

is your “perspective” taking into account that we have double the population now and video games are more popular than they have even been?

Of course they will reach that milestone faster

 

[AngelMuffin]

I thought console gaming was dying though?

Vast majority of gamers are on mobile and PC, home console figures have remained roughly the same for a long time now.

This is a footnote, nothing more, the point is, PS5 sales are doing well, that's all.

Who is celebrating? It is just a simple milestone.

This thread reminds me of when the PS4 shipped 100 million units faster than the PS2, launch aligned, and people were quick to poo poo it saying that the PS2 had a more staggered launch compared to the PS4 so it was not fair. Like, who cares? It's not that deep, just an interesting factoid.

Fair enough

 

[SweetTooth]

is your “perspective” taking into account that we have double the population now and video games are more popular than they have even been?

Of course they will reach that milestone faster

Your perspective making PS2 160m number really impressive

 

[sendit]

World population in 1985: 4.8 billion
World population in 2024: 8.1 billion

Comparing a modern game console's lifetime sales to that of one sold when the world's population was nearly half feels... weird. Like, a higher percentage of people on the planet owned a NES than currently own a PS5.

But congrats Sony, I guess.

 

[RoboFu]

you guys are dumb, Nintendo was selling to a much smaller market of people WHO THOUGHT BADLY OF VIDEO GAMES COMING OFF THE CRASH.

There is no buts or way to spin it to make it the same.

 

[yurinka]

is your “perspective” taking into account that we have double the population now and video games are more popular than they have even been?

Of course they will reach that milestone faster

What I meant is that the population increase is 2x but the PS5 sold that amount 6x faster. Meaning, even considering that excuse PS5 is performing way better than NES. Even if the console is way more expensive.

 

[onQ123]

you guys are dumb, Nintendo was selling to a much smaller market of people WHO THOUGHT BADLY OF VIDEO GAMES COMING OFF THE CRASH.

There is no buts or way to spin it to make it the same.

So why did SNES sell less than NES but PlayStation came from out of nowhere & sold almost as much as NES & SNES put together?

SNES & PlayStation was only 4 years apart

 

[SweetTooth]

So why did SNES sell less than NES but PlayStation came from out of nowhere & sold almost as much as NES & SNES put together?

SNES & PlayStation was only 4 years apart

 

[midnightAI]

So why did SNES sell less than NES but PlayStation came from out of nowhere & sold almost as much as NES & SNES put together?

SNES & PlayStation was only 4 years apart

You also have Gameboy which sold massively at around the same time as NES. The market really wasn't that much smaller.

Do we have massively more gamers now? Yeh, sure, on mobile and PC, it wouldn't surprise me if console gamers hasn't increased all that much.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

I get the population argument folks are presenting here and I think it is a valid point. We need to remember, however, that there are more competing devices now than then as well. Gaming during the NES years was primarily only console, PC and arcades. Now we have a massive number of people who have a gaming device in their pockets at all times. So much so that mobile gaming brings in nearly twice as much revenue as consoles. A lot has changed and not just the population.

The whole mobile thing makes Switch’s success even more remarkable

 

[darrylgorn]

Some people really have a thing for hardware sales.

 

[jroc74]

Not exactly hard if you're a successful product in 2024

Well, since someone bought it up:

Waiting to see what records it breaks next, OMG it totally sold more than. (checks notes) Tiger game com. Wooo killer console confirmed LOL. It's very telling that a 40 year old system was chosen and not xbox or switch.

I always wondered how did the XBO do compared to the NES....since some ppl are acting like its an easy thing to do.

And like others said, its not that serious.

 

[RoboFu]

So why did SNES sell less than NES but PlayStation came from out of nowhere & sold almost as much as NES & SNES put together?

SNES & PlayStation was only 4 years apart

Wtf does the snes have to do with the nes!?
None of that refutes my post. The market now is much much bigger. That doesn't mean every console will sell more than last gen because of varying competition. It does mean the potential for selling more is there though.

It's pretty easy to see if you are not completely dumb.
NES and PlayStation had no real competition and the individual console sells in each gen reflect that.
The snes and ps3 gen's had major competition and each individual console sales in their gen reflect that. But as a whole the market continue to climb.

What you guys are trying say is that the market now is exactly the same as when the nes was out which is some super dumb shit to say.

 

[MarV0]

This is absolutely pathetic compared to the Steam userbase growth.

Console gaming has really stagnated compared to the rapid pace that the gaming industry has grown.

 

[SirTerry-T]

What amount has it outsold the Magnavox Odyssey by?

 

[onQ123]

Wtf does the snes have to do with the nes!?
None of that refutes my post. The market now is much much bigger. That doesn't mean every console will sell more than last gen because of varying competition. It does mean the potential for selling more is there though.

It's pretty easy to see if you are not completely dumb.
NES and PlayStation had no real competition and the individual console sells in each gen reflect that.
The snes and ps3 gen's had major competition and each individual console sales in their gen reflect that. But as a whole the market continue to climb.

What you guys are trying say is that the market now is exactly the same as when the nes was out which is some super dumb shit to say.

You're not that slow stop it

 

[Bigfroth]

The NES is the goat with so many good memories. I started on the 2600 but NES was the shit. The NES game library for NA is about 800 games that's probably what is released on Steam weekly today . It's hard to compare numbers in two different eras of gaming.

 

[Topher]

This is absolutely pathetic compared to the Steam userbase growth.

Console gaming has really stagnated compared to the rapid pace that the gaming industry has grown.

This is about hardware sales, not user base. The user base for consoles extend beyond just one console and across multiple generations.

I don't see how console gaming has stagnated when the amount of money being generated is still growing.

Gaming market five years ago vs now.

 

[Mayar]

This is about hardware sales, not user base. The user base for consoles extend beyond just one console and across multiple generations.

I don't see how console gaming has stagnated when the amount of money being generated is still growing.

Gaming market five years ago vs now.

The funniest thing about all this is that we constantly hear (PC market has grown or shrunk) or (Сonsole market has grown or shrunk). But the truth is that for probably the last 5 years, the mobile games market has been growing at a simply alarming rate, squeezing the other two segments. And the new generation of children practically already lives in phones and tablets, so I don’t see how this trend will be able to slow down in the next 5-10 years.

 

[MarV0]

This is about hardware sales, not user base. The user base for consoles extend beyond just one console and across multiple generations.

I don't see how console gaming has stagnated when the amount of money being generated is still growing.

Gaming market five years ago vs now.

We've had some crazy inflation the past 5 years, after accounting for it not much actual growth is left.

I'm also talking about the hardware sales. PS2 is still the most sold console and PS5 will most likely sell less than PS4. PSN userbase numbers have also stagnated. Not to mention Xbox as a console which could be scrapped my MS and not see another generation.

There is simply no growth to be found in the console space. Sony saw the writing on the wall and started releasing their games on PC.

 

[Topher]

We've had some crazy inflation the past 5 years, after accounting for it not much actual growth is left.

I'm also talking about the hardware sales. PS2 is still the most sold console and PS5 will most likely sell less than PS4. PSN userbase numbers have also stagnated. Not to mention Xbox as a console which could be scrapped my MS and not see another generation.

There is simply no growth to be found in the console space. Sony saw the writing on the wall and started releasing their games on PC.

Fair point about inflation accounting for a lot of growth in revenue.

 

[onQ123]

The funniest thing about all this is that we constantly hear (PC market has grown or shrunk) or (Сonsole market has grown or shrunk). But the truth is that for probably the last 5 years, the mobile games market has been growing at a simply alarming rate, squeezing the other two segments. And the new generation of children practically already lives in phones and tablets, so I don’t see how this trend will be able to slow down in the next 5-10 years.

Now you understand why Microsoft bought King , it's the mobile market they want .

 

[PatientGamer]

The world is richer than 40 years ago due to aid and investment from the west. Since then the UK for example has given Nigeria hundreds of millions of pounds per year. Nigerians can now buy the PS5, emerging markets like that didn't exist when the NES was on sale.

Is this due to the UK's inhumane history of going into these countries during a civil war, picking a side & providing them with weapons to decimate a group of people?

I jest, but surely the UK isn't just handing out money to these countries for the sake of it so they can buy consoles lol.

And trickle-down economics would almost never reach the ordinary person or family in Nigeria so they can buy PS5s lol; their governments are corrupt AF, they'd rather let their own people starve.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Like the Switch, it’ll clear these next three milestones easily. It’s outselling PS4 that’s the first real hurdle, before you get to the ultimate trifecta of all-time bestselling systems:

Switch, DS and PS2.