Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Total video game console sales by manufacturer in Japan until December 2022
Notes:
- The sales data here presented are the total video game consoles sold to retailers in Japan by manufacturers through out their history (only those which sold more than 1 million units are listed).
- For «video game console» is intended any dedicated video game system whose main purpose is gaming.
- Only sell-in data provided by the respective manufacturers was considered.
When not available for certain systems, educated estimates were used in place hence the presence of an approximation symbol (~).
- Only standalone video game consoles with interchangeable software are considered therefore devices like Nintendo’s Color TV Game, Game & Watch and plug & play retro consoles, Sony’s PlayStation Classic and add-ons like Nintendo’s Famicom Disk System and Wii Balance Board, NEC’s CD-ROM2, Sega’s Mega CD, Sony’s PocketStation and PlayStation VR are excluded.
The reason is that the separation between hardware and software was a crucial development for console gaming.
A curiosity:
In the japanese market by March 1995 (the first PlayStation was launched in December 1994 in Japan) FC/NES + GB + SFC/SNES had sold in total 44.53 million units therefore since the introduction of the PlayStation brand Nintendo has sold around 60 million of video game systems more than what Sony did in the same timeframe.
Useful links for those interested in video game sales:
https://www.installbaseforum.com/foru...
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/fina...
https://www.sie.com/en/corporate/data...
Total video game console sales by manufacturer in Japan until December 2022
Notes:
- The sales data here presented are the total video game consoles sold to retailers in Japan by manufacturers through out their history (only those which sold more than 1 million units are listed).
- For «video game console» is intended any dedicated video game system whose main purpose is gaming.
- Only sell-in data provided by the respective manufacturers was considered.
When not available for certain systems, educated estimates were used in place hence the presence of an approximation symbol (~).
- Only standalone video game consoles with interchangeable software are considered therefore devices like Nintendo’s Color TV Game, Game & Watch and plug & play retro consoles, Sony’s PlayStation Classic and add-ons like Nintendo’s Famicom Disk System and Wii Balance Board, NEC’s CD-ROM2, Sega’s Mega CD, Sony’s PocketStation and PlayStation VR are excluded.
The reason is that the separation between hardware and software was a crucial development for console gaming.
A curiosity:
In the japanese market by March 1995 (the first PlayStation was launched in December 1994 in Japan) FC/NES + GB + SFC/SNES had sold in total 44.53 million units therefore since the introduction of the PlayStation brand Nintendo has sold around 60 million of video game systems more than what Sony did in the same timeframe.
Useful links for those interested in video game sales:
https://www.installbaseforum.com/foru...
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/fina...
https://www.sie.com/en/corporate/data...
![Dactyl Joust [Atari Jaguar - Unreleased]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pthl3s9KRbw/mqdefault.jpg "Dactyl Joust [Atari Jaguar - Unreleased]
Semi sequel of the iconic game Joust, in development by High Voltage Software.
Dactyl Joust has what i consider the best textured polygonal graphics ever displayed by the Atari Jaguar, resolution was rumored to be 320 x 200 and framerate seems quite good).
The game needed at least another six months of work, unfortunately Atari was going out of business and everybody felt it was time to move to PlayStation.")
![Hasbro VR console Rush / Toaster Ad #2 [Hasbro cancelled VR console]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uHzYVHL1jVI/mqdefault.jpg "Hasbro VR console Rush / Toaster Ad #2 [Hasbro cancelled VR console]
Video about the cancelled virtual reality console codenamed Toaster and later Rush in development for Hasbro in the mid 90s.
The system was suppose to use Argonauts BRender.
The project was killed because the costs were too high for the mass market.
Hasbro lost around US$ 59 million on it.
This video was taken from the youtube channel madopal for preservation purpose.
Except the last few lines even the text was taken from the same user who worked on the project.
Toaster was a codename for the project, originally Sliced Bread Project (best thing since). It was developed as a project between the David Sarnoff labs in Princeton and, I believe, Abrams/Gentile Entertainment.
The marketing went through a few iterations.
X-Scape (used to sell the project before Hasbro bought in) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxCzX43t_DQ
Rush (near the end before Hasbro pulled the plug): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcQ59pHL0ao http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgB-ONvnKZ4
The original games were:
- Lancelots Quest (Warren Robinetts company at the time)
- Faceball (Bulletproof)
- Nero Zero (Katrix, some Princeton guys)
- Fasa Interactive/VWEs game, which went from whats billed as Intruder. Then became some of their Mars racing game. I dont remember now who was doing Holosports Fighter or the other one.
Near the end, there was a port of Magic Carpet that was running in it, as well as Descent (you want vomit inducing? Play something like Descent in a head mount).
The software stalled because the console hardware never materialized...that was why Hasbro killed it. They had a great HMD and nothing to run it on but SGI machines.
———
Im the source. I worked on the project. Still trying to figure out how to tell the story, as its fascinating. With all the Oculus love, youd think theyd be mining the research that was done for this project (and there was a LOT), but I havent seen any of those guys sniffing around. They must just like to reinvent the wheel.
Still amazing that more hasnt gotten out about. Steve Tice/QuantumWorks has had those pics up forever. Im amazed no one has seen it. Heck, Ive had those clips up on YouTube for a few years as well.
————
Problem was, only the HMD was ever completed. It was good, too, for the time. There was no console, though. Everything that was shown was run on SGIs. So they spent all that money developing a headset for a console that didnt exist. They probably still own the results, but with the resolution of the time (I think it was running a whopping 320x240, non-stereoscopic - interpupilary distance can really mess up stereo effects), its not worth much today. The tracking hardware was pretty nifty, though. Same tech as the PowerGlove, also done by AGE...infrared to keep costs low.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1u18y7/hasbro_toaster_unreleased_video_game_console/")
![Darknet [PS1 / SAT / PC – Cancelled]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/utApOYIt0ic/mqdefault.jpg "Darknet [PS1 / SAT / PC – Cancelled]
Cancelled game in development at American Softworks.
Footage from E3 1996.")
