DSi XL

The DS has just passed its 10,000,000^th sale in the UK! A staggering number which means there is one DS for every 6 people in the UK. This also puts the DS ahead of the Playstation 2 in terms of UK sales. Globally the PS2 is still leading with 40% more sales.

DS has now sold more units than the PS2 (it's still not as good though).

Nintendo has done very good job in achieving this level of sales of course but I wouldn’t say the DS is more popular than the PS2. I think a large proportion of the sales are from families ordering multiple iterations of the console. For example, I know a family with a PS2. There is no need for them to get another one. They have two daughters though, one got an original DS, then another was given a DS Lite and this year they got a DSi. That’s three handheld DS console where you would normally have just one. Another young girl I know owned an original DS, then upgraded to a DS Lite, then lost that DS so got a another one (you aren’t likely to lose a PS2). A third person I know example had two DS Lites because one got broken (a PS2 is less likely to be dropped) and then upgraded to a DSi (changing the design of a console sitting under your TV isn’t significant as getting a new design for something you carry around with you). Between these three households, they have owned 9 DS consoles. There are even people who would buy a new DS just to get it in a new colour. Finally the DS is cheaper than the PS2 during its heyday, making it easier for people to purchase more than one.

I think the reason for the DS overtaking the PlayStation 2 to become the best selling UK games console of all time isn’t entirely related to the number of fans. My view might sound a bit odd coming from a Nintendo DSi website but while it is a great console, I wouldn’t say it is a contender for the best console of all time, the PS2 on the other hand could quite possibly be the best ever.