A video game console is a standardized computing device tailored for video gaming. Video game consoles usually weigh between 2 and 9 pounds (1–4 kg) on average, and their compact size allows them to be easily used in a variety of locations, making them portable. Video game consoles may use one or more data storage devices, such as hard disk drives, optical discs, and memory cards for downloaded content.

A home video game console requires a computer monitor or television set as an output. Handheld controllers are commonly used as input devices. Sanders Associates engineer Ralph H. Baer along with company employees Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch licensed their television gaming technology to contemporary major TV manufacturer Magnavox. This resulted in the 1972 release of the Magnavox Odyssey—the first commercially available video game console.

A handheld game console is a lightweight device with a built-in screen, controls, speakers, and has greater portability than a standard video game console. It is capable of playing multiple games unlike tabletop and handheld electronic game devices. Tabletop and handheld electronic game devices of the 1970s and early 1980s are the precursors of handheld game consoles. Mattel introduced the first handheld electronic game with the 1977 release of Auto Race. Later, several companies—including Coleco and Milton Bradley—made their own single-game, lightweight tabletop or handheld electronic game devices. The oldest handheld game console with interchangeable cartridges is the Milton Bradley Microvision from 1979. Nintendo is credited with popularizing the handheld console concept with the Game Boy's release in 1989 and continued to dominate the handheld console market into the early 2000s.

Dedicated consoles are a subset of game consoles that are only able to play built-in games. Video game consoles in general are also described as "dedicated" in distinction from the more versatile personal computer and other consumer electronics.

Best-selling game consoles

The following table contains video game consoles that have sold at least 1 million units worldwide either through to consumers or inside retail channels. Each console include sales from every iteration unless otherwise noted. The years correspond to when the home or handheld game console was first released (excluding test markets).

  # Background shading indicates consoles currently on the market.

Million-selling game consoles

Platform	Type	Firm	Released	Units sold	Ref.
PlayStation 2	Home	Sony	2000	155 million
Nintendo DS	Handheld	Nintendo	2004	154.02 million
Nintendo Switch #	Hybrid	Nintendo	2017	141.32 million
Game Boy & Game Boy Color	Handheld	Nintendo	1989, 1998	118.69 million
PlayStation 4 #	Home	Sony	2013	117.2 million
PlayStation	Home	Sony	1994	102.49 million
Wii	Home	Nintendo	2006	101.63 million
PlayStation 3	Home	Sony	2006	87.4 million
Xbox 360	Home	Microsoft	2005	84 million
Game Boy Advance	Handheld	Nintendo	2001	81.51 million
PlayStation Portable	Handheld	Sony	2004	80–82 million (estimate)
Nintendo 3DS	Handheld	Nintendo	2011	75.94 million
Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System	Home	Nintendo	1983	61.91 million
PlayStation 5 #	Home	Sony	2020	59.3 million
Xbox One	Home	Microsoft	2013	~58 million
Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System	Home	Nintendo	1990	49.1 million
Nintendo 64	Home	Nintendo	1996	32.93 million
Mega Drive/Genesis	Home	Sega	1988	30.75 million
Atari 2600	Home	Atari	1977	30 million
Xbox	Home	Microsoft	2001	24 million
Nintendo GameCube	Home	Nintendo	2001	21.74 million
Xbox Series X/S #	Home	Microsoft	2020	~21 million
Quest 2 #	VR headset	Reality Labs / Meta	2020	~20 million
Wii U	Home	Nintendo	2012	13.56 million
PlayStation Vita	Handheld	Sony	2011	10–15 million (estimate)
Master System	Home	Sega	1986	10–13 million
V.Smile & V.Motion	Home	VTech	2004, 2007	11 million
Game Gear	Handheld	Sega	1990	10.62 million
PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16	Home	NEC/Hudson Soft	1987	10 million
Sega Saturn	Home	Sega	1994	9.26 million
Dreamcast	Home	Sega	1998	9.13 million
Master System (Brazilian variants)	Home	Tectoy	1989	8 million
Dendy (Famiclone)	Home	Micro Genius	1992	6 million
Super NES Classic Edition	Dedicated	Nintendo	2017	5.28 million
Advanced Pico Beena	Home	Sega	2005	4.1 million
NES Classic Edition	Dedicated	Nintendo	2016	3.56 million
WonderSwan & WonderSwan Color	Handheld	Bandai	1999, 2000	3.5 million
Sega Pico	Home	Sega	1993	3.4 million
Color TV-Game	Dedicated	Nintendo	1977	3 million
Intellivision	Home	Mattel	1980	3 million
Mega Drive (Brazilian variants)	Home	Tectoy	1990	3 million
N-Gage	Handheld	Nokia	2003	3 million
ColecoVision	Home	Coleco	1982	2 million
3DO Interactive Multiplayer	Home	The 3DO Company	1993	2 million
Neo Geo Pocket & Neo Geo Pocket Color	Handheld	SNK	1998, 1999	2 million
Magnavox Odyssey²	Home	Magnavox/Philips	1978	2 million
Sega SG-1000	Home	Sega	1983	2 million
Oculus Go	VR headset	Oculus	2018	2 million (estimate)
Atari 7800	Home	Atari	1986	1 million
Atari Lynx	Handheld	Atari	1989	1 million
Philips CD-i	Home	Philips	1990	1 million
Telstar	Dedicated	Coleco	1976	1 million
Atari 5200	Home	Atari	1982	1 million
Pegasus (famiclone)	Home	Micro Genius	1991	1 million