Bestelling game franchises

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Following a rather boring article about Eidos, The Independent has published a list of the 20 bestselling video game franchises (worldwide). I figured it'd be interesting to post it here as there are some surprises:

01. Mario193 million units sold worldwide(Nintendo)
02. Pokemon155 million(Nintendo)
03. Final Fantasy68 million(Square Enix)
04. Madden NFL56 million(Electronic Arts)
05. The Sims54 million(Maxis/Electronic Arts)
06. Grand Theft Auto50 million(Rockstar)
07. Donkey Kong48 million(Nintendo)
08. The Legend of Zelda47 million(Nintendo)
09. Sonic the Hedgehog44 million(Sega)
10. Gran Turismo44 million(Sony Computer Entertainment)
11. Lineage43 million(NCsoft)
12. Dragon Quest41 million(Square Enix)
13. Crash Bandicoot34 million(Sony Computer Entertainment/Vivendi Games)
14. Resident Evil31 million(Capcom)
15. James Bond30 million(multiple editors)
16. Tomb Raider30 million(Eidos Interactive)
17. Mega Man26 million(Capcom)
18. Command & Conquer25 million(Westwood Studios/Electronic Arts)
19. Street Fighter25 million(Capcom)
20. Mortal Kombat20 million(Midway)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, no Blizzard games, no Metal Gear Solid, no Silent Hill, no Castlevania, etc. But Crash Bandicoot and Mortal Kombat are there...
 
Yeah, what also stands out is that Madden hit 56 million, I expected some other sort of football to make it in there, strange. And the 50 million GTA's speak volumes!
 

SMZKAH

I shall find the crystal of peace
Aazealh said:
Yeah, no Blizzard games, no Metal Gear Solid, no Silent Hill, no Castlevania, etc. But Crash Bandicoot and Mortal Kombat are there...

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised about Crash. MK did make me think too, but you gotta remember that it was in arcades for years as well, which had to spark personal buying too...just a thought.
 

Vaxillus

The one and only severed head
Aazealh said:
Yeah, no Blizzard games, no Metal Gear Solid, no Silent Hill, no Castlevania, etc. But Crash Bandicoot and Mortal Kombat are there...
My two pesos: Blizzard has too few games I think, no huge franchises as wow sells months, not units. Castlevania's golden console days have passed, though it still rocks the handheld systems to many levels of awesomeness. Silent Hill is a cult game, and is very adult, eliminating the easily scared and rather young audiences (and the forth one was craptastic). MGS will likely make it, but again only three big games in the series (at least that I know of). Crash Bandicoot does surprise me, but only because there weren't many games in the series. It was quite good though. Mortal Combat is like DBZ with less trash talk, I'll let you figure that one out yourself.

The biggest surprise for me is how low Zelda is on the list, thought it was more popular. Also, I didn't know Lineage would make it, but I guess if you count Korea...
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Here are some random remarks Vax, though I agree with what you're saying.

Vaxillus said:
My two pesos: Blizzard has too few games I think, no huge franchises as wow sells months, not units.

But Warcraft 2 and Starcraft both were big successes when they came out. Of course, maybe Starcraft isn't included in the franchise, in that case... There's still the Diablo games, but since it's only 2 of them, I can understand it.

Vaxillus said:
Castlevania's golden console days have passed, though it still rocks the handheld systems to many levels of awesomeness.

I think Castlevania isn't there simply because the games don't sell in Japan. Same for Metroid and Zelda. Because otherwise, seeing how many of these games came out, I don't see how they wouldn't be there. And in the same fashion, Dragon Quest is almost exclusively a Japanese franchise, so it's impressive (though not surprising) to see it in such a good position.

Vaxillus said:
Silent Hill is a cult game, and is very adult, eliminating the easily scared and rather young audiences (and the forth one was craptastic).

But Resident Evil is in there. Not a problem to me since I like the RE series better. :void: RE has a lot more games too, that probably plays a role.

Vaxillus said:
The biggest surprise for me is how low Zelda is on the list, thought it was more popular. Also, I didn't know Lineage would make it, but I guess if you count Korea...

Not just in Korea, Lineage was a popular hit all over Asia. As for Zelda, the total sales for all games according to VGcharts.org are 10.5 million for Japan and 25.5 million for America. It's just not as popular over there for some reason. And just for laughs, guess how many copies of Metroid Prime and Prime 2 (both excellent games) sold in Japan? 120,000 and 70,000 respectively. That's right guys, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes sold about as much as the Berserk PS2 game.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
Dunno, man.. Warcraft has to be in there somewhere, if you include _all_ the RTS games plus the MMORPG. I find it hard to believe they didn't sell more than 20 million. Starcraft is still being played competitively... but its not really a franchise.
 

Vaxillus

The one and only severed head
Zelda, Castlevania, and Metroid are not popular in Japan? Never knew that. Kinda wierd, but then again, there are lots of discrepancies in the culture. I remember being a bit surprised to hear that, after being a huge hit in Japan, Phantasy Star Universe floundered here in the US. Cultural taste is a fickle thing.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Vaxillus said:
I remember being a bit surprised to hear that, after being a huge hit in Japan, Phantasy Star Universe floundered here in the US. Cultural taste is a fickle thing.

Phantasy Star Universe wasn't a huge hit in Japan, it only sold around 200,000 units. It received pretty bad reviews too, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that it failed in the US.
 

Pesmerga

This is going to be one hell of a party
The Dragon quest series with Dragon quest on wii and Dragon quest 9 on DS this year will surely goes high
 
Yea...I've never seen anyone play GoldenEye either...how odd. (I hope u pick up on my sarcasim, cuz I'm layin it on pretty thick.)
 

Serpico

Farnese is the bomb diggity
Gurifisu said:
Noone was surprised James Bond made it to the list... I've never even seen a bond game being played.

You never played Goldeneye 007 on N64? nor saw anyone play it? That game was huge. Then there is a dozen others.

Vaxillus said:
Silent Hill is a cult game, and is very adult, eliminating the easily scared and rather young audiences (and the forth one was craptastic)

Did you finish number four? It wasn't my favorite Silent Hill by any means but it was definitely a quality game. I liked how it had a fresh feel to it. The plot tie to the other games was pretty loose; the game is based on newspaper clippings from SH2. Still I thought the concept was neat, and that one chick's death scene was awesome. I also liked how it had a "The Ring" style boss.
 
I'm somewhat shocked about the absence of Blizzard.

But then again, None of their franchises have as many different games as Mario and the others per say.


Though it's interesting to know that Diablo II, Warcraft III, and WoW have all 3 won most sold pc game awards in their release time.


And starcraft is famous for actually saving the economy of North (i think it was.. maybe South) Korea. They actually praise Blizzard over there, the game did so well.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
Maddness said:
And starcraft is famous for actually saving the economy of North (i think it was.. maybe South) Korea. They actually praise Blizzard over there, the game did so well.

Huh? I know its a hit in _South_ Korea, but I don't think it did any economy saving...
 
But they are also the product of a huge business crisis. In 1997, when the Korean economy imploded, thousands of middle managers were laid off, with no hope of finding new suit-and-tie jobs. They had tightly knit extended families, though, and as a result, access to moderate amounts of capital from relatives (the cornerstone of the nation's small-business culture). A lot of them opened PC baangs - it cost the same as opening a restaurant, and it was less sweaty. Their out-of-work compatriots needed an inexpensive way to spend time. Tech-savvy students wanted to get out of the house. All the PC baang owners needed was something to draw people in groups and keep them paying a buck an hour while laying down extra cash for sodas and instant noodles.

THAT SOMETHING was online computer games. Because Korea was a Japanese colony for 40 years, until the end of World War II, it has had an acrimonious relationship with Japan. The latter's consumer electronics have traditionally been all but verboten thanks to both trade policy and cultural resentment. No PlayStations, no Sega, no Nintendo. As a result, PCs have become the dominant game platform in South Korea — unlike in the rest of the world, where consoles rule. And in 1998, with Starcraft the most popular game on the market, PC baang owners started hosting tournaments to boost business.

That snowball has now reached the bottom of the hill. Starcraft is not just a game in South Korea, it is a national sport, what football was in America in the 1970s. Five million people — equivalent to 30 million in the US - play. And three cable stations broadcast competitive gaming full-time to a TV audience.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Maddness said:
And starcraft is famous for actually saving the economy of North (i think it was.. maybe South) Korea. They actually praise Blizzard over there, the game did so well.

I don't think you know what you're talking about here dude, and a 2002 article from Wired.com won't change this. "North or maybe South Korea?" Better not to continue with this. Starcraft is a popular game all over the world, but it didn't save any country's economy by itself.
 
Aazealh said:
I don't think you know what you're talking about here dude, and a 2002 article from Wired.com won't change this. "North or maybe South Korea?" Better not to continue with this. Starcraft is a popular game all over the world, but it didn't save any country's economy by itself.


well I'd say not sole reason, but major contributor. The game sold 3.5 million copies just in Korea, which was a 1/3 of the total global sales for the game. It got so popular that e-sports is almost the number one sport in Korea.. with tournaments actually broadcasted on TV like a football game would be in the US. Parents actually encourage their kids to play video games to relieve stress from academics. The game itself may not have financially brought them out of a financial economic slump, but it's success lead to a lot of companies adding technology in the country and furthering its economy. That's why they're one of the most broadband advanced countries in the world. I think they're #4 out of everyone.
 
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