The PlayStation 2 is still the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold more than 160 million units to customers worldwide. But the Nintendo Switch ain't far behind. In fact, it's inching ever closer to that record every month and a former Sony executive now reckons it can actually overtake the PS2 - as long as the Nintendo Switch 2 doesn't get in the way.
The competition between Nintendo and PlayStation has been contentious for decades - just look up the Nintendo PlayStation for all that jazz - but things have recently been heating up as far as sales records go. Just a few months ago, years after the company stopped manufacturing the console, Sony announced that the PS2 had sold another 5 million units, seemingly shifting the goalposts. Nintendo then revealed that the Switch has surpassed 150 million units last month, OLED and Lite included, meaning it only has to sell another 10 million to claim Sony's crown.
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden now says the "record is out there for the breaking" in an interview with Destin Legarie. "I don't know," he said. "I think the Switch 2 will have a lot to do with that [record] - depending on the price point it comes out at. If it's super competitive to the current market, maybe you get people switching over faster than if there's, you know, when you have two consoles out the same manufacturer but the delta is more than $150 and getting people to move is hard."
The OG Switch's RRP is currently $299 at most retailers - though you can often find it much cheaper via sales - and if the Switch 2 is anywhere close to that price point, Layden is right: why wouldn't people simple buy the successor?
That's unlikely to be the case, though. Some analysts have already predicted that the Switch 2 will launch with a price tag between $400 and $500, making the OG Switch a much more attractive proposition for lower income buyers, especially if Nintendo eventually gives it a generous end-of-life price drop.
