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Thread: Most successful console (not handheld) company of all time?

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    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    Default Most successful console (not handheld) company of all time?

    There have been only five companies to find major success in the video game console market. Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft. There have been others, but they usually put out one or two consoles, or were for a niche market (like SNK). What company do you think has been the MOST successful of all time in the video game console market?

    Personally, I would say Sony. Nintendo was a close 2nd, but still very important. Let's look at the time periods that each company was #1:
    Atari - about 1975-1984
    Nintendo - about 1986-1992, 1994-1996, and 2006-2008
    Sega - about 1992-1994
    Sony - about 1996-2006 and 2013-present
    Microsoft - about 2008-2013

    As for longevity, Sony has had 12 years on top. Nintendo had 10, Atari had 9, MS had 5, and Sega had a fleeting 2.

    Sony also helped grow the video game industry greatly in the mid 1990s, by targeting their games and advertising to get an adult audience; prior to the PS1, video games were primarily marketed to people under 21. Sony was also able to get a lot of the younger audiences as well, giving their console an all-ages appeal. They have the two best selling consoles (not handheld) of all time and have had great success over a vast majority of their video game period.

    Nintendo is a close second, and I actually debated putting it in first. Honestly, it's so close that if I was looking at this even a year earlier, Nintendo would have edged out Sony. If handheld consoles were included, Nintendo would be number one. Nintendo pretty much doesn't exist in the console market today, but in the past they've left a lasting impression and great success. They brought back the video game market after the crash. (Sega played a role by giving them a competitor, but Nintendo should get 90% of the credit) They had the NES and SNES - two of the most kick-ass consoles of all time.
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    Pac-Man (Level 10) Zap!'s Avatar
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    I think the company that sold the most consoles, handhelds, and first party games should be the most successful video game company of all time. In that case, it would be Nintendo in a landslide. But if you take away handhelds and games, and only count console sales, it gets a lot closer. I'm too lazy to look up the sales, but I'm pretty sure Nintendo still wins because they had two other generations of systems.

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    Kirby (Level 13) Tanooki's Avatar
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    Without handheld in there, I still would be honest and look not just at total systems sold but also what the systems brought to the table. What IPs do those console making guys bring to the table and how overall successful are they? If you look at systems alone, it can skew too much perhaps in favor of the casual dude (or dudebro as some call it) types who just want their yearly call of duty, madden, fifa, racing games and they're happy but stuff like that gets shoveled out at least to one if not 2 other makers (including the PC.)

    I'd have to ask -- How many systems have you made in total, and that were profitable? And, how many unique IP/mascots have you brought to the table that have fostered a fanbase around them that would be happy to buy more from that?

    Obviously if it were just a numbers game it would be Sony given what the PSX and PS2 did alone, and if it were the total numbers and IPs brought up it would be a lie not to say Nintendo in that case despite the good stuff Sony and it's 2nd party pets have created unique for their hardware too. Clearly though in hardware if portables were allowed then Nintendo crushes it thanks to all things Gameboy and the DS line too.

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    Nintendo's certainly the most successful in terms of being financially solvent. People joke about how WiiU has NintenDOOMed them, but they've got more money in the bank than they could run through in 10 gens WiiU levels of sales.

    If you mean systems moved, well the PS2 is the best selling system ever, and the PS4 seems to be on track to reach similar levels if not higher.

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