Features

Top 10 best-selling video game consoles of all time

#1 will NOT surprise you!

Published

April 23, 2018

Leez

Remember your first-ever gaming console or handheld? I personally hope so because I want you to play along with me. Can you guess the top best-selling consoles and handhelds of all time?

Alright, it’s time to roll your sleeves up and strap up: Some of these will surprise you. I’ll be listing off the all-time best-selling video game consoles starting with the 10th on the list.

10. PlayStation 4 (2013)

Alright, alright. It’s too soon to flip tables. The official count of units sold is at 76.5 million. That can change considering this is still in stores. Not to mention, there are a ton of game releases that will reel in more people to getting the PlayStation 4.

Clench your butts because you’re in for a ton of surprises. We’ve literally just begun.

9. Game Boy Advance (2001)

Honestly, I did not think the Game Boy Advance would beat the PS4. Thought the Game Boy Color was a colorful brick? This was a bigger one. You’d be pretty surprised: Nintendo sold 81.51 million of these. Can the PS4 beat it? It’s well on its way.

8. PlayStation Portable (2004)

Ah, Sony’s first attempt at handhelds. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was released to compete with the Nintendo DS as part of the seventh generation of video games consoles. They sold 82 million of these. There was a clear winner of the handheld wars though, and you’ll find out pretty soon. I won’t spoil anything but you can take a pretty reasonable guess. Interestingly enough, the PSP was announced during E3 2003 and was unveiled in E3 the year after.

7. PlayStation 3 (2006)

With the release of the PlayStation 3, came its role as the direct competition to consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. There was an absolutely clear winner despite its sales at a whopping 83.8 million. We might need to send a virtual hug to Sony because following this one is…

6. Xbox 360 (2005)

Is this here because so many had the dreaded “red ring of death” back when the console launched? Just kidding! The Xbox 360 narrowly won the console war against the PlayStation 3 with 84 million sales. Sure, we had to deal with the lunacy of forcing the Kinect down our throats, but the console brought us three Halo titles and Gears of War. Multiplayer was the far superior experience between the two consoles. Who didn’t enjoy kids screaming swear words as you spawn-camped them in a game of Call of Duty?

5. Nintendo Wii (2006)

This one is a clear leap from the Xbox 360 because it reached 101.63 million sales. Remember the days when everyone would either injure themselves or break something because of some furious Wii remote action? Nintendo took a dramatic new direction with the Nintendo Wii and it was an incredible success, forcing the console to be in short supply for the first year of its release. The Nintendo Wii didn’t just bring motion controls and pointless accessories to the world, the console also focused on families and keeping fit. Remember that one time your aunt or uncle totally broke character and started flailing wildly playing Wii Sports? They’re probably still aching all these years later.

4. PlayStation (1994)

Now we’re entering the old school. The Sony PlayStation debuted back in December of 1994, meaning this daddy of console gaming is older than Kendall Jenner. This was long ago when the world hadn’t seen a Toy Story movie. The PlayStation brought the world a lot of iconic titles during its lifespan, like Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid. It makes every bit of sense that the console sold a massive 102.49 million. I can still hear the jingle the console played every time you hit that power button.

3. Game Boy / Game Boy Color (1989)

Oh hey, it’s the grandpa of handheld gaming! Could you imagine a time when you had to keep the lights on to do some late-night gaming or had to pause your game when the sun got too intense? The Game Boy was almost the size of a brick but went through an intense diet regime when the Color version came out. It even had some sweet curvature on the rear. Handheld gaming had never been sexier. It’s no surprise that Nintendo sold 118.69 million of these.

2. Nintendo DS (2004)

Handheld gaming clearly brings in a ton of money since there’s a second Nintendo handheld in the top three, but it’s not the 3DS. The Nintendo DS introduced a clamshell design with two screens for gaming, one being a touchscreen. Nintendo graced us with a stylus pen that you were always destined to lose. Young or old, I have never heard of anyone who didn’t lose theirs. Can you guess how many of these handhelds were sold? 154.02 million. Yes, boys and girls: a whopping 154.02 million Nintendo DS units!

1. PlayStation 2 (2000)

Yay, Sony did a thing! Securing the top spot with over 155 million sales is Sony’s PlayStation 2. Must feel great knowing all four consoles are top-10 material, huh? But where do you begin with the PS2? It was an all-around beast that destroyed the competition at the time and featured a huge library of games — we’re talking over 1,850! This console brought us Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Vice City. It also debuted the Kingdom Hearts and the God of War series. It’s difficult to avoid loving this console.

Well, there you go, folks: the top 10 best-selling consoles and handhelds of all time. Did you guess some of these right? To be honest, I was pretty surprised that the Nintendo 3DS didn’t make it to the top 10, but worry not: It was the eleventh — almost making it to this list.

Features

LOQ and LOAD: The Lenovo LOQ 2024 is for gaming and more

Your entry to PC Gaming

Published

April 23, 2024

GadgetMatch

Get your game on with the Lenovo LOQ 2024. This capable laptop is your entry point to PC Gaming and a lot more.

It comes an absolutely affordable price point: PhP 48,995.

You get capable hardware and the hood to support gaming and more. The Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I runs on the 12th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and Intel Arc Graphics.

Those are key to bringing unreal graphics to this segment. Supporting latest tech like DirectX 12 Ultimate, players are able to enjoy high frame rates on the Lenovo LOQ.

Creating content? It comes with AI Advantage to help boost performance. Engines and accelerators boost the media processing workloads especially for creatives. It also works with Intel’s X Super Machine Learning, Leading to images that are as close to reality.

The laptop supports a configuration of up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD Storage.

As for its display, the device has a large 15.6-inch, Full HD panel that is more than enough for gaming, video editing, content consumption, and whatever else you do on a laptop. This display has 144Hz refresh rate, 300 nits brightness, and anti-glare.

Videos come out clear, crisp, and realistic. Audio is punchy and as loud as it gets. Windows Sonic elevates it more when you use headphones. And it just takes a few minutes to render HD videos on editing software.

As it runs on Windows 11, if you are going to use it for work, you can take advantage of various features. The Lenovo Vantage Widget is there for constant reminders, Copilot will help you organize your tasks, and Microsoft Edge is there for casual browsing.

There is an assortment of ports at the back for easy connectivity. And as this is meant for gaming, we put it to the test. Racing that looks better with high frame rate? Check. Shooting titles that require heavy work? Not a problem. You can play all your favorites and not worry about performance.

Best of all, it takes less than an our to juice up this laptop all the way to 100%.

So, whether you’re looking to get started with PC Gaming, or an upgrade for work and entertainment needs, the Lenovo LOQ has you covered.

This feature is a collaboration between GadgetMatch and Lenovo Philippines.

Buyer's Guide

2024 Samsung TV: Buyer’s Guide

Which 2024 Samsung TV is your GadgetMatch?

Published

April 21, 2024

GadgetMatch

With all the options available in the market, shopping for TVs can get overwhelming.

One brand Michael Josh recommends whenever someone asks? It’s none other than Samsung.

They have TVs for every price point and every feature a user might prioritize.

But which one is right for you?

Keep watching our 2024 Buyer’s Guide to find out the latest Samsung TV that best matches your needs.

Features

Why choose the MSI Claw?

Is it the gaming handheld for you?

Published

April 18, 2024

GadgetMatch

The MSI Claw is the latest gaming handheld from a major PC and laptop brand. The competition in this emerging gadget segment is tighter than ever. So, what is it about the MSI Claw that can scratch your gaming itch? Here’s a quick list.

Best grip in the game

One quick glance and it’s hard not to compare the claw with another popular gaming handheld. But a closer look and actually holding the thing will reveal that its grip easily feels better.

It has a slightly deeper groove that makes it easier to hold. So, MSI’s “Grip and Game” tagline isn’t all talk. Its design truly does provide one of the better feeling handles among its competition.

The overall design makes sure it’s made for extended gameplay sessions. The buttons are where you expect them to be. That includes the four mini buttons on the upper edges of the screen. These are the View, MSI Center M, Menu, and Quick Settings buttons.

In addition, the face buttons and d-pad all feel great. The face buttons, in particular, feel comparable to those of regular console controllers.

The rest of the buttons and triggers have a very satisfying tactile feel. It also uses Hall Effect technology to get rid of any stick drift issues.

Up top, you’ll find the power button, MicroSD Card slot, Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, audio jack, and the volume buttons. These are intuitively placed and just makes sense given the overall design approach.

As cliché as it sounds, you’ll really think you got your money’s worth once you hold, touch, press, and grip the MSI Claw.

Dragon Vision

Now, MSI isn’t really calling it that but I thought it sounds pretty cool. A big part of the whole gaming experience is the display. Balancing resolution and frame rates is always tricky but the MSI Claw does it convincingly.

With this gaming handheld, you get a 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Looks great on paper and it’s even better in real life. It’s the sweet spot in terms of both size and performance. There’s enough here to immerse you all while delivering a satisfying level of crisp and smoothness.

It’s comfortable to view whether you’re on the couch, on a desk table, or lying down getting a quick game in before you get some shut-eye.

Battery Life

At 53Whr, the MSI Claw has a 36% larger battery capacity than its contemporaries and promises 50% more play time.

MSI claims “elevated performance with extended endurance” using the Claw with faster charging capabilities.

These percentages are hard to measure in real life usage. What we can say for certain is that you get the expected performance and playtime typical of a handheld. That’s a little under two hours for graphically demanding titles, and close to four hours on less demanding ones.

The charging claim is legitimate. The MSI Claw juices up faster than most other handhelds, going from 20% to 100% in about a little over a K-Drama episode (roughly a little over an hour).

MSI Center M

Any self-respecting gaming handheld has its own software to make navigating the thing more manageable. While its direct competitors have an armoury crate and a space, MSI went with Center M.

The best part about MSI Center M is it puts your installed games front and center. Right when it launches, you get immediate access to the titles you have available on your machine.

MSI Afterburner is already the most commonly used app for taking a look at how your machine is performing while you play. That functionality is built-in to the MSI Claw. You can access it view the Quick Settings buttons.

Layout and functionality-wise, the MSI Center M is certainly one of the better Gaming Handheld softwares available right now.

Competitive Performance

A defining trait of the MSI Claw is that It’s the first gaming handheld to be powered by Intel Core Ultra. With it comes Intel XeSS tech. What it does is leverage AI upscaling to boost the fps of select titles.

As of launch, 50 notable games are supported. That number will certainly grow throughout the device’s lifespan. Some of the titles include Hi-Fi Rush, Dying Light 2, Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty Warzone 2.0, Returnal, and many, many more.

Naturally, results will vary depending on the game mode you’re using. But in general, AAA games get anywhere between 10% to 45% better frame rate performance with Intel XeSS.

For our part we played TEKKEN 8 and the recently launched Horizon Forbidden West. Both graphically demanding games played relatively well on the MSI Claw. Frame rate performance on TEKKEN 8 is crucial and we got a relatively consistent fps, never dropping below 40.

Horizon Forbidden West is a much more graphically demanding game. We were able to run it in Medium Settings and while it doesn’t look as incredible, it still played relatively well with a frame rate surprising for a gaming handheld.

Extras

MSI made sure that if you wanted to, you could get some extra stuff with the MSI Claw. Its separately sold accessory set includes the Claw Travel Case, Nest Docking Station, Claw Lanyard, and Claw Keychain.

On paper, the MSI Claw lists its ergonomic design, AI Engine, and App Player as distinct advantages over its competition.

Whether it’s the Gaming Handheld that matches your needs is still ultimately up to you. If you have the opportunity to test drive the device, we suggest you do so. That might just solidify your purchase decision.