Top 20 Selling Video Game Franchises
      


The official U.S. figures during the last console generation.

   

1
Mario
193 million
2
Pokemon
155 million
3
Final Fantasy
70 million
4
Madden NFL
56 million
5
Grand Theft Auto
55 million
6
The Sims
54 million
7
The Legend of Zelda
49 million
8
Donkey Kong
48 million
9
Sonic the Hedgehog
44 million
10
Gran Turismo
44 million
11
Lineage
43 million
12
Dragon Quest
40 million
13
Crash Bandicoot
34 million
14
Resident Evil
31 million
15
James Bond
30 million
16
Tomb Raider
30 million
17
Tekken
29 million
18
Mega Man
26 million
19
Street Fighter
25 million
20
Command & Conquer
25 million

Source: Game Informer
  


Game Informer asked a few people in the industry what they thought about their best-selling franchises. Here is what they said:

"Very few companies have franchises or products that have this type of history, and we're proud to be part of this elite group... Our directors and producers are charged with creating amazing experiences for gamers, and the majority of them take up this gauntlet with enthusiasm, in many cases exceeding even their own goals."

~Chris Kramer,
Sr. Director of Community and Communications, Capcom

"To keep a franchise strong, it is important to stay true to what made it so popular in the first place. We can never get lazy and rely on our lineage to present the product. Innovation, creativity, high production values - all of these elements must be in each Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy title for it to live up to the expectations of the previous releases as well as those of our strong following."

~Daishiro Okada,
President and COO of the North American offices, Square Enix, Inc.
   

   

 
Webmaster Comment:

There were a few surpises to me on this list, namely Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, and... Tekken?! I didn't know Tekken was so popular. Of course your Mario's, Sim's, and Grand Theft Auto's are going to sell like crazy no matter what, due to their straight forward and "easy" style of gameplay, not to mention their ridiculous popularity with the kids.

 To have the likes of Street Fighter and Tekken on this list shows that fighting games are still a big part of the industry, but do have a much smaller, and possibly tighter fan base... Obviously fighting games will be around until the end of time. Alas, your fighting game skills will never go to waste.

~F.Yagami,Webmaster of TFG