We are not always at home. Whether at work or especially on weekends, we want to take the time to walk outside the house. Even so, boredom can hit at any time. For gamers, boredom is usually defeated by playing handheld consoles.
Since being invented in the 1970s by Mattel with Auto Race, Nintendo popularized the concept of handheld consoles with the release of the Game Boy in 1989. Since then, the popularity of handheld consoles has continued to rise. So far, here are the 7 best-selling handheld console brands of all time! Ever had?
Gameboy Color
Game Boy Color is a successor to the Game Boy released in 1998 by Nintendo. Developing a color display, Game Boy Color has an 8-bit processor from Sharp. And, backward compatibility, Game Boy Color has over 910 game titles!
In total, Game Boy Color sold around 52.47 million units. Who remembers the best-selling game on Game Boy Color? That’s right, Pokémon Gold and Silver with sales of 23 million copies worldwide. In 2003, the Game Boy Color was discontinued and replaced by the Game Boy Advance.
Game Boy
As Nintendo’s first handheld console, the Game Boy was released in 1989. With a monochrome display, the Game Boy was powered by an 8-bit processor from Sharp. During production, Game Boy was accompanied by 1,046 game titles!
Critics praised the Game Boy’s durability and long battery life. The Game Boy immediately “swept out” the handheld console competition. Game Boy recorded more than 64.42 million copies. Together with the other Game Boy versions, Nintendo got a total sales of 118.69 million units!
Nintendo 3DS
Starting in 2011, Nintendo released the Nintendo 3DS, the successor to the Nintendo DS. For 6 years, Nintendo has continued to produce the Nintendo 3DS “family” until the New Nintendo 2DS XL in 2017. In total, the Nintendo 3DS has 1,372 game titles and supports backward compatibility with the Nintendo DS.
With a strategy of giving away 10 Nintendo games and 10 Game Boy Advance games for free on the Nintendo E-Shop, the Nintendo 3DS immediately sold out! As of September 2020, the Nintendo 3DS family amassed 75.92 million units and in total, Nintendo 3DS games sold 383.1 million copies as of March 2020.
PlayStation Portable/PSP
Released in 2004 (Japan) and 2005 (International), the PlayStation Portable/PSP is the 7th generation console and Sony’s counterattack for the Nintendo DS. In addition to having 1,914 games and 807 games from the PS Store with excellent graphics, your PSP can connect to the internet, PS2, and PS3 via a USB cable!
During 10 years of production with various versions, the PSP managed to collect a total sales of 80-82 million copies! However, the PSP’s reputation was tarnished by the failure of the PS Vita in 2011 to break the handheld market. The best-selling game on the PSP is Grand Theft Auto (GTA): Liberty City Stories which sold 7.6 million copies as of 2015.
Game Boy Advance
As the successor to the Game Boy Color, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in 2001. The 6th generation in the Game Boy family, the Game Boy Advance was produced for 9 years, from the regular version, Advance SP (2003), to Micro (2005).
The best-selling game from the Game Boy Advance line is Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire with 13 million copies as of 2004! Before being replaced by the Nintendo DS in 2004 and not being produced again in 2010, Nintendo recorded production of up to 81.51 million units as of December 2013!
Nintendo Switch
Given the fall in sales of the Wii U, which was released at the end of 2012, Nintendo made sense to re-engage the handheld console market. After “meditating” for up to 5 years, the result is the Nintendo Switch which came out in 2017. As the 8th generation console from Nintendo, the Switch competes with the XBOX One and PS4!
Since its launch to date, the Switch has been accompanied by 3,829 game titles. The most famous ones are The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which won Game of the Year 2018 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with sales of 35.39 million copies. As of March 2021, the Switch has amassed sales of nearly 84.60 million units!
Nintendo DS
Launched in 2004 by Nintendo, the Nintendo DS is a 7th generation console launched as the successor to the Game Boy Advance. For 10 years, Nintendo released various versions of the DS such as Lite (2006), DSi (2008), and DSi XL (2009). As of 2014, a total of 2,031 game titles were launched for play on the Nintendo DS.
Best selling game? New Super Mario Bros. with total sales of 30.80 million units worldwide as of 2016. In 2011, the Nintendo DS was replaced by the 3DS. As the number one handheld console on this list, the Nintendo DS is still the best-selling in the world with total sales of 154.02 million units as of 2018!
Those are the best-selling handheld consoles that have ever or until now dominated the market. Producing many handheld consoles, Nintendo is still the “king” of handhelds. Of the 7 best-selling handheld consoles, which one have you played? Or, is there anything you still play with?