The two best-selling consoles in US history are officially both Nintendo, as the Switch bumps the PS2 down to third place

The PS2 might be one of the best-loved consoles ever, but the Nintendo Switch has officially overtaken it as the second most purchased piece of video game hardware in US history.

"Lifetime unit sales of Nintendo Switch have now exceeded those of PlayStation 2 in the US market," writes ex-Activision and Warner Bros. Games analyst Mat Piscatella on Bluesky. "With its 46.6 million units sold life-to-date, Switch now ranks 2nd in all-time units sold across all video game hardware platforms in the US, trailing only Nintendo DS."

This news shouldn't be as surprising as it might sound. The Switch has only been ramping up in popularity since its 2017 launch, earning stripes for its attractively low sales price compared to the likes of Xbox and PlayStation consoles. With the PS2 having sold 160 million units globally in its lifetime, according to a 30th-anniversary post, it makes sense that the humble Switch has been nipping at its heels for quite some time.

With the holidays around the corner and no sign yet of the Switch 2, Nintendo's flagship console will no doubt keep racking those numbers up. What is it about those flimsy yet eye-catching Joy-Cons that keep us flocking back despite the markedly less powerful engine? Well, you tell me.

From Zelda to Mario, check out the best Nintendo Switch games to play next, or the best PS2 games if you're still championing for the 2000s