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Updated

Best-selling consoles of 2008

The Nintendo DS was the best-selling console of 2008, with about 28.4 million units sold worldwide, ahead of the Nintendo Wii (24.8 million) and the PlayStation Portable (14.2 million).

#1 in 2008
DS
28.39M units
#2
Wii
24.84M units
#3
PSP
14.19M units
Tracked total
98.48M
8 systems with figures

Every system in 2008

Units sold worldwide from January 1 to December 31, 2008, with each system's share of the tracked total and its change on 2007.

#SystemMakerUnits in 2008Sharevs 2007
1Nintendo DS28.39M29%−9%
2Nintendo Wii24.84M25%+46%
3PlayStation Portable14.19M14%+43%
4Xbox 36010.9M11%+49%
5PlayStation 310.69M11%+23%
6PlayStation 28.78M9%−21%
7Game Boy Advance665,5791%−75%
8Nintendo GameCube19,7810%−90%

A year's units are the difference between each console's curve at the start and the end of the year: the makers' published cumulative totals, with a straight line between two of them. Systems without published figures around 2008 are left out, so the tracked total is not the whole market.

Frequently asked questions

What was the best-selling console of 2008?

The Nintendo DS, with about 28.4 million units sold worldwide, ahead of the Nintendo Wii (24.8 million) and the PlayStation Portable (14.2 million). Units per year are estimated from the makers' published totals.

How many consoles were sold in 2008?

The 8 systems with enough published figures for 2008 add up to about 98.5 million units. Systems without figures around 2008 are left out, so the whole market was larger.

How did the Nintendo DS do in 2008 compared with 2007?

It sold about 28.4 million units in 2008, against about 31.2 million in 2007.

Figures can measure shipments, customer sales or estimates; these are not directly interchangeable. Between reports our model projects an estimate, not observed transactions. The changing digits show the model's output, not its accuracy. Its inputs and assumptions are corrected when new figures are available. Sources and method