Retro Console Timeline

This page lets you explore the history of retro gaming consoles, as well as how popular each system was. This lets you see how popular gaming has gotten over time, as well as learn more about your favorite consoles.

Note: Many systems were not released worldwide, and instead typically launched first in the country of the creator and then later released abroad. The dates we use for the initial release are of the initial “home country” release. Sales include worldwide sales. Using the first release allows us to better see which system launched first.

As we’re mostly interested in retro gaming systems, the data below does not include anything from the last two generations. This also makes it more reliable to get the final sales data before adding it to the table.

At the time of writing:

• The current generation includes: Switch2, PS5, Xbox X/S
• And the previous generation is Switch, PS4, Xbox One

We do not yet include all systems meeting this criteria but are working on it.

Notice an issue? Send us an email at [email protected].

Notes:

• Microsoft has stopped publishing sales data starting with the XBox One, so these numbers are approximate.