Summary
Video game consoles are a pretty major part of our daily lives today. While Xbox may have been laughed at for trying to make the Xbox One a multimedia machine, that is exactly what they are. The PS2 took so much because of its ability to play DVDs, while the Switch was initially bemoaned for not having a Netflix app.
The truth is, we want out consoles to last because they are more than just a device to play games on. We use YouTube, Netflix, we browsers, social media, and games sometimes too. In general, games consoles last quite a long time now, but which of them have lasted the longest? Let’s see.
While a console’s lifespan could be decided as when it stopped being newly produced, we are using the metric of when it received a successor console.
10Magnavox Odyssey - September 1972 To September 1978
The first ever home console that was ever made, the Magnavox Odyssey used game card to alter the consoles functions, effectively letting it play other games, albeit in a limited fashion. Still, the home console experiment was a success, even if the Magnavox Odyssey is mostly relegated to history nowadays.
While the Odyssey had a large selection of variants that gave it new games, it was ultimately succeeded by the Odyssey 2 in 1978, this time with ROM cartridges that allowed much more expressive games. With six years from release to successor, the original Odyssey was an oddity in a market that was quickly flooding.
9Sega Mega Drive - October 1988 To November 1994
After the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo had very little competition in America when it came to American console manufacturers. In terms of international competitors, the only major one was Sega, another Japanese company and their own growing foothold in America.
Building on a strong foundation from the Master System, the Sega Mega Drive (or the Genesis as it was known in North America) was a great success even against Nintendo’s SNES with Sonic the Hedgehog becoming the system’s trademark. It was succeeded six years later by the Sega Saturn.
The Sega Saturn, ironically, was the beginning of Sega’s downfall in regards to home consoles.
8Nintendo DS - November 2004 To February 2011
Nintendo are regarded asthe king of handheld consoles, and for good reason - they simply have no competition. While others tried, they never managed to acquire the same foothold that Nintendo did, and the DS stands as a testament to the cultural staying power of Nintendo’s consoles.
The original DS was bulky and was quickly followed up with the DS Lite only two years later. The DS would go on to be one of Nintendo’s best-selling consoles, and indeed one of the best-selling consoles ever with over 150 million units sold. It was succeeded by the 3DS just over six years from its initial launch.
7PlayStation 2 - March 2000 To November 2006
It’s hard to hold a candle to Sony when it comes to the sheer number of units they shift with their consoles. While Nintendo holds many top spots, it’s highly likely nothing will ever surpass the numbers sold of the PS2, the best-selling console in history.
What’s all the more impressive about the PS2’s great sales numbers is that it was succeeded just a bit over six years from its initial launch and far surpassed anything seen at the time. Add to that the incredible series' that spawned on the console and you have one one of the all-time greats.
The very last PS2 game was released in 2013 with Pro Evolution Soccer 14. That’s a lasting impact.
6PlayStation 4 And Xbox One - November 2013 To November 2020
We’ve got a double whammy here. While days exist between them, a precedent began in the 2000s that new games consoles would release in November of the year to be ready for the holiday rush. Plenty consoles had been doing it, but it started to become obvious when Xbox and Sony started going head-to-head.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 both released in November a year apart, while the PS4 and and Xbox One had only a scant few days between. The same then was true for their successors, with both consoles lasting almost exactly seven years.
5PlayStation 3 - November 2006 To November 2013
The PS3 is a very good console purely for the memories. No,not the memories of its vast library, but of Sony’s frankly absurd marketing. Not only was it ludicrously expensive when it came out, it already had a year-old competitor in the Xbox 360 and Sony claimed people would get a second job just to have their console. Wild stuff.
It’s funny then that it lasted as long as it did. The PS3 was by no means a failure, and you could even describe it as the origin point for Sony’s obsession with prestige games that attempt to mimic cinema. With a few days over seven years from launch to successor, the PS3 will, for more reasons bad than good, always be remembered.
4Nintendo Entertainment System - July 1983 To November 1990
After the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo sought to avoid the same failures happening to them, and established the Nintendo Seal of Quality so that only games vetted by them could be released for their consoles. This, in part, contributed to the NES’s massive success internationally.
From its release in 1983, the NES flourished. It had next to no competition and Nintendo was careful to avoid any game’s they viewed as lesser appearing on the console. Everything appeared as a prestige product, and many of Nintendo’s most famous series' were born here. It was succeeded by the SNES in 1990.
In Japan, the NES was called the Famicon, after its official name of Nintendo Family Computer.
3Nintendo Switch - March 2017 To Present
When the PS2 claimed the crown of best-selling console with approximately 155 million units sold, it was reasonably assumed that nothing would ever surpass that. Even Nintendo’s most popular consoles, from the DS to the Wii, couldn’t quite usurp the title. And then came the Switch.
The Switch was Nintendo’s follow-up tothe disaster that was the Wii Uonly 5 years on the market, a quite short period in modern times. Yet with over 140 million units sold, a successor yet to be announced, and sales still going strong, it’s entirely possible the Nintendo Switch will become both the best-selling and longest-running console.
2Xbox 360 - November 2005 To November 2013
There’s rarely been a darling console quite like the Xbox 360. Mainly consoles and their libraries are remembered fondly with a heavy dose of nostalgia, but the 360 felt like an underdog. Yes, it was created by, you know, Microsoft, but after a relatively lackluster entry with the original Xbox, the 360 felt like a comeback.
It flourished with unique titles that felt like anything was possible. Online play became massive, and when it launched there was simply no competition as powerful as it. The world, for an eight year period, belonged to the Xbox 360.
1Game Boy - April 1989 To October 1998
The Nintendo Switch is often heralded as the longest-running Nintendo console without a successor, though that’s not strictly true. While it is Nintendo’s longest-running home console without a successor, the same is not true for their handheld consoles. That record goes to the original Game Boy.
From its release in 1989, the Game Boy received no formal successor until the Game Boy Color in 1998. Other variations of the Game Boy had been created, such as the Game Boy Pocket, though the Color was the first major revision that brought major changes to the console. For nine years, the Game Boy reigned supreme.
