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Magnavox Odyssey (First ever console)
Sales: The Magnavox Odyssey was the world's first commercial home videogame console. In 1973 alone, there were 89,000 sales, in 1974 there were 129,000 sales, and another 80,000 sales in 1975. One unit was sold for US $99.95, and the company sold about 367,000 units worldwide.
Differing from Competitors: Although there were not any other competing gaming consoles at the time, it began a new generation of gaming consoles which differed from regular toys, card games, and board games at the time. -
Gameboy
Sales: Alongside the Gameboy colour, there were a total of 118.69 million units which were sold, with a price of US$89.99 ($221 in 2023) for each unit. Differing from Competitors: Gameboy eventually came out on top against competitors, because of its affordability, battery life, and the larger game library which it featured. -
SNES (Mrs Bantock's birth year)
Sales: The 'Super Nintendo Entertainment System' was developed by Nintendo, as their second home videogame console. It sold 49 million units throughout its time, before it discontinued 7 years later in 1997. Each unit would cost $199 ($450 in 2023).
Differing from Competition: SNES crushed its competition through its 16-bit compound, advanced graphics and processing, as well as rotating 3D effects. -
Nintendo Game Cube
Sales: There were a total of 21.74 million units sold worldwide of the GameCube console, and one unit had a price of US $199. Differing from Competitors: During the era of the release of PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox, the Game Cube managed to outsell both during some stages due to its controller and high quality game library. However for the most part, it was mainly undermined by both due to it's lack of multimedia features and lack of third party support. -
Nintendo Wii
Sales: Nintendo Wii took the title for the best selling console that Nintendo had created before 2021. It has sold a total of 101.63 million units till date, selling at the price of US $250. Unfortunately manufacturing has discontinued. Differing to Competitors: Nintendo Wii were tough competitors for their competition, due to the simplicity and accessibility which the console featured. The graphics and music enhanced the experience, and brought families together for gaming. -
PS3 Slim (My birth year)
Sales: When Sony announced the PS3 slim, sales immediately sky rocketed as 1 million units were sold within the first month. This number then grew to 87.4 million units sold. When released, the console cost around US $299. Differing to Competition: The new console would have an upgraded 120gb - 250gb storage, with its build being 32% smaller, 36% lighter, and consuming 34% less power than the original PS3. This made it more affordable than the original, with a more compact and powerful build. -
Nintendo 3DS
Sales: The 3DS had a total of 75.94 million units sold, with a cost of US $199 per unit. Differing from Competition: There were features such as augmented reality, 3d viewing, and Virtual console which were all elements which enhanced the experience. Compared to the competition, the 3DS had the ability to display 3d stereoscopic images without the need of 3D glasses of any sort. This truly made it a preferrable experience over other options during the time. -
Nintendo Switch
Sales: There have been over 150 million units of the Nintendo Switch sold, with an original cost of $299.
Differing to Competition: The Nintendo Switch featured advanced features such as mobile to TV modes and tablet mode, as well as the variety of games available. It destroys competition because of its portability, affordability, and the variety of games. -
PlayStation 5
Sales: After its release in 2020, the PS5 still remains a console that is in high demand (as it was when it first came out). There have been 65.5 million units sold, with a cost of $500 USD. 2.4 million units were sold in the first month of release. Against Competition: The new PS5s had 3d surround sound audio, the ability to run 120 fps in game, as well as dynamic 4k graphics and PlayStation Network (ease of accounts, purchases etc). These features helped against the competition (new Xbox). -
Xbox Series X
Sales: Competing against the PS5 mainly, the series X sold 28.3 million units, at the same price point of US $500.
Against Competition: The PS5 was a far more attractive and wanted console than the Xbox, simply beacuase of things such as its game library, the more powerful GPU and the extra given ram. The console itself is quite heavy and big, meaning its not easy to carry around.