I thought it would be interesting to compile a list of each of the major third-party publishers million-plus sellers on current-generation consoles, just to see how successful each have been in their various approaches, and I thought it would prove an interesting resource for some thoughtful and peaceful discussion. I've thrown in some inital thoughts after each list to help get some healthy debate going, because I'd really like to see everyone's takes on these numbers.

Keep in mind that these numbers are only relevant as of the 21st, so I’m sure given the Black Friday boost these lists will soon need revision. Also, apologies if any titles were missed. I'm only one man.

Ubisoft:

Assassin’s Creed (X360, 4.60)
Assassin’s Creed (PS3, 3.52)
Ghost Recon AW (X360, 2.25)
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (X360, 2.14)
Rainbow Six Vegas (X360, 1.96)
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii, 1.66)
Rayman Raving Rabbds (Wii, 1.66)
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (Wii, 1.56)
Far Cry 2 (X360, 1.48)
My Fitness Coach (Wii, 1.46)
Ghost Recon AW2 (X360, 1.42)
Shaun White: Road Trip (Wii, 1.31)
Red Steel (Wii, 1.19)
Splinter Cell: Double Agent (X360, 1.15)
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (PS3, 1.13)
Far Cry 2 (PS3, 1.06)
--> Oh so close...
Monster 4x4 (Wii, 0.95)
GT Pro Series (Wii, 0.93)

Notes: I’ve never really thought about it before, but Assassin’s Creed was a massive success for Ubisoft, despite the mixed critical reception and new IP status. It might even be the most successful new third-party IP of this generation. Beyond, they’re doing fairly well, relying heavily upon the Tom Clancy IPs for the HD Twins and the Rabbids for Wii. The only games to not fall in the category are Far Cry 2 and the Wii titles. Interesting to note among the Wii titles the diversity (FPS, snowboarding, fitness, racing). It seems to me that any Wii title that Ubisoft actually put a decent amount of effort into has paid off for them, which is weird considering all the corporate Ubisoft-bashing that’s been going on due to their “heavy reliance on Wii not proving beneficial”.


Sega:

Mario and Sonic Summer (Wii, 7.27)
Sega Superstars Tennis (X360, 2.46)
Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii, 2.10)
Super Monkey Ball BB (Wii, 1.29)
Sonic Unleashed (Wii, 1.17)
House of the Dead 2&3 (Wii, 1.11)
--> Close, but no cigar...
Mario and Sonic Winter (Wii, 0.93)
Sega Superstars Tennis (Wii, 0.93)

Notes: I was totally unaware that Sega was struggling so much. Only one non-Wii title above the million mark and it was a bundled title. The closest HD titles to a million were the Beijing 08 games, both sitting close to 0.80. Their Wii success is interesting to note, and it helps explain why MadWorld, Overkill and Conduit all ended up heading Nintendo’s way (those three are all sitting between 0.30 and 0.42 currently, not too far off from the majority of Sega’s current gen efforts). It’s funny that Ubisoft is always pointed to as being the most heavily invested in the Wii, yet clearly Sega is benefitting the most from the little-white-box-that-could, as their IPs seem to resonate with the Wii audience best. Quite an interesting scenario indeed. Apparently if one backs the Wii with some real efforts it can be... profitable?

EA:

Left 4 Dead (X360, 2.50)
Rock Band (X360, 2.41)
Madden 08 (360, 2.41)
FIFA 09 (PS3, 2.37)
Madden 09 (360, 2.37)
EA Sports Active (Wii, 2.18)
Fight Night 3 (2.04)
FIFA 09 (360, 2.03)
Need for Speed ProStreet (360, 2.03)
FIFA 10 (1.91)
Madden 07 (360, 1.90)
Rock Band 2 (1.83)
Need for Speed ProStreet (PS3, 1.72)
FIFA 08 (PS3, 1.67)
Madden 09 (PS3, 1.64)
Need for Speed MW (360, 1.59)
Army of Two (360, 1.50)
MySims (Wii, 1.47)
FIFA 08 (360, 1.45)
Madden 10 (360, 1.41)
FIFA 10 (360, 1.40)
Need for Speed Undercover (PS3, 1.39)
Tiger Woods 08 (Wii, 1.37)
Need for Speed Carbon (360, 1.35)
Rock Band (Wii, 1.34)
Need for Speed Undercover (360, 1.34)
Smarty Pants (Wii, 1.28)
Tiger Woods 09 (Wii, 1.26)
Battlefield Bad Company (360, 1.21)
Burnout Paradise (PS3, 1.14)
Burnout Paradise (360, 1.10)
Madden 10 (PS3, 1.06)
Need for Speed Shift (PS3, 1.01)
The Simpsons Game (360, 1.00)

--> Almost there...
FIFA 08 (Wii, 0.99)
Boom Blox (Wii, 0.99)
Mercenaries 2 (360, 0.99)
Madden 08 (Wii, 0.95)
Orange Box (360, 0.94)
The Simpsons Game (Wii, 0.93)
Fight Night 4 (360, 0.93)
Fight Night 3 (PS3, 0.93)
Madden 08 (PS3, 0.93)
Boogie (Wii, 0.93)
Rock Band (PS3, 0.90)

Notes: First off, Left 4 Dead at the top of the pile? So awesome. Beyond that, we can see the relative reliability of their sports and NFS franchises on the HD Twins, although we can see that their popularity is somewhat stagnant or even diminishing. It’s also interesting to see how Rock Band is so much more popular on 360 then its brethren, which shows the extent of the damage EA may have done in releasing the Wii / PS2 versions so late in the game, as we see a much more even spread in Guitar Hero’s scenario. I have to say I’m happy that Rock Band is still doing so well considering that fact, though.

We also have to note that, despite all the hullaballoo about the profusion of FPSs and TPSs, there are only three represented on the 1.00+ side, two of which are thankfully new IPs, which leads me to believe that EA will be banking big on the new MOH (especially since it’s Infinity Ward’s off year). Tiger Woods is killin’ it on the Wii, which is intriguing but understandable given the nature of the Wii. Also, MySims and Smarty pants pullin’ some surprising numbers. Also, given the success of their established franchises and Activision’s insane numbers, it’s depressingly justifiable that EA is abandoning their ‘Pro New IP’ stance. EA is keeping steady, definitely, but it’s undeniable that it has ceded crownship of the third-party kingdom to...

Activision:

Call of Duty 4 (360, 7.94)
Call of Duty World at War (360, 5.98)
Modern Warfare 2 (360, 5.71)
Call of Duty 4 (PS3, 4.78)
Guitar Hero III (Wii, 4.32)
Guitar Hero III (360, 4.28)
Modern Warefare 2 (PS3, 3.94)
Call of Duty World at War (PS3, 3.67)
Guitar Hero WT (Wii, 3.30)
Kung Fu Panda (360, 3.02)
Guitar Hero II (360, 2.49)
Marvel UA (360, 2.46)
Call of Duty 2 (360, 2.46)
Guitar Hero WT (360, 2.35)
Call of Duty 3 (360, 2.34)
Guitar Hero III (PS3, 1.95)
Guitar HERO WT (PS3, 1.44)
Call of Duty World at War (Wii, 1.33)
Call of Duty 3 (Wii, 1.24)
Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Wii, 1.05)
Quantum of Solace (360, 1.04)

--> A day late, a buck short...
Prototype (360, 0.96)
Guitar Hero Aerosmith (360, 0.92)

Notes: Call of Duty. Guitar Hero. And games that were bundled with the 360. Oh, and Quantum of Solace. Oh, and the kicker? Most successful third-party this generation. What the hell? Those Call of Duty numbers are flippin’ BANANAS. How did that happen? It kills me just how tasty their ‘bleed the franchise dry’ model must appear to other publishers. But I digress...

One thing to note is Guitar Hero and Call of Duty’s inverse performance on Wii and PS3, whereas both franchises are able to truly flourish on the 360. As I mentioned earlier, Guitar Hero’s early investment on the Wii has certainly paid dividends. Also, I know it gets harped on a lot, but Call of Duty for Wii doing decently despite its ugly, younger step-brother treatment. It did outsell Prototype, and everything else that wasn’t GH or COD. Just, you know... throwing that out there. Its lineup may lack the diversity of EA’s but I guess you can argue with the results. Sigh.

2K / Rocktar
Grand Theft Auto IV (360, 7.32)
Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, 5.98)
Carnival Games (Wii, 3.51)
Elder Scrolls IV (360, 2.86)
Bioshock (360, 2.36)
Midnight Club LA (360, 1.17)
NBA 2K9 (360, 1.11)
Midnight Club LA (PS3, 1.00)

--> Just about made it...
NBA 2K8 (360, 0.92)

Notes: 2K has never really been a major player, save for the humongous GTA. Speaking of which, IV has unsurprisingly done mega-well for itself, although its numbers are trailing behind its previous-gen counterparts, a fact which doesn’t bode well considering its development costs must have been exponentially greater. Carnival Games... I don’t know, I’m baffled. I can understand raking in a cool million due to its accessible and enticing appearance, but there is no way that game could have dwarfed both Oblivion and Bioshock as it did without some positive word of mouth. Those two titles have both performed admirably as well. Bioshock is certainly one of the freshest and best games of this generation and it is wicked to see it get some respect, same with Oblivion. Midnight Club and NBA are helping to keep 2K afloat, it would seem, but they could certainly use a few more hits.

Namco Bandai
Soul Calibur IV (360, 1.33)
Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Wii, 1.29)
We Ski (Wii, 1.27)
Soul Calibur IV (1.08)

Notes: Namco was never really huge, I suppose, but this is still somewhat bleak. Soul Calibur doing some solid business, easily outselling the previous installment but still fairly far behind the second installment. The Wii titles are also doing weirdly well, but their emphasis on new control methods and their timely release were certainly business-savvy decisions. Ultimately, though, not looking so hot.

Square Enix
...

Notes: Well, we know that Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest X are coming. The main issue, however, is clearly its shift towards handhelds, due to their prominence in Japan and the fact that JRPGs are just better suited to the experience current-gen handhelds offer. It is clear that the absence of a PS2, PS1 or SNES-like console is hurting them, a fact which is only compounded by the recent rise in Western-development mentality.

Final Notes:

I’m glad I checked these figures out, because it certainly paints a fascintaing picture of the state of the third-parties. When you examine the sales across the board, it is abundantly clear just how hit-driven the third-parties’ mindsets have become. Reliance and maximization of existing franchises has become key to their survival in this age of ballooning development costs and the state of HD-Twin dependence they have most have put themselves in, as they seem to think this is the only way that they will be able to truly profit and thrive. In fact, that would have to be the key word for this generation: FRANCHISE.

We can see just how reliable the PS3 and particularly the 360 are for peddling these existing franchises, and that the majority of the admittedly few Wii successes are tied to new franchises and experimental genres. We do need to remember that there are many franchises that are spread over both HD systems that aren’t accounted for here, but for all the talk about HD success in the third-party realm, it looks to me as if its only the Call of Dutys, Guitar Heros, EA Sports, Tom Clancy, Need for Speeds and Grand Theft Autos of the gaming world that are prospering. And for the most part, these franchises are only proving as popular as last generation’s iterations, despite the greater development costs. Also, given the general dismissal of Wii as a third-party mover, we those various tentpole franchises have not appeared on the Wii, and of those that have which have been successful and which have not, and how those successes can be tied to their quality or backing. Also, and this may be just me, but there really aren’t a huge number of new experiences that we’ve apparently been enjoying that have proven truly successful. Forecast for the rest of this generation? Probably a greater shift to Activision’s patented “Franchise Focus”.

But, these are just superficial observations, and I’d really like to know what everyone else makes of these. Let's hear it!

Also, apologies for the truly massive post, but it just seemed to me as though having all these numbers in one place would be able to facilitate the discussion.

Lots of interesting numbers, great job on effort!!!!

Very interesting list! Nice job!

What about games on handheld consoles?

You did a good job compiling everything.

Could you order Ubisoft like you did the other publishers, please?

The interesting thing is that new IP from 1st and 2nd party developers are selling quite well. All those Nintendo titles obviously, and we have Resistance, Uncharted, InFamous, all on the pathetically dismal install base of the PS3

Separating multiplats by system brings the numbers down a bit. From the developer's perspective it's sales of game X across all systems that matters to them. So a game with 500K on 360 and 500K on PS3 is a million seller, or 334K on each of 360, Wii and PS3. Even though porting from 360 to PS3 might be a tad expensive it's stil a helluva lot cheaper than making a whole new game from scratch for PS3. You'll probably find more million sellers among the 3rd party new IP if you combine sales of multiplats across all systems the game is on.

Take Bayonetta and Dante's Inferno as examples. These games may or may not make 1 million on individual consoles (they probably will, but you never know), but I'd be willing to bet that both will make a million when you add PS3+360. The developers will look at total dev costs across the consoles they are releasing on and if they need to sell 1 million to make a reasonable profit they won't care if the fall short of 1 million on individual consoles if they crack 1 million combined.

Across 2 consoles they can sell a total of 1.999 million games and not make 1 million sales on either. And across 3 consoles they can sell 2.999 million games and not make 1 million on any of the consoles. Nearly 2 million or nearly 3 million game sales is a very successful and popular game.

X360 at the top of nearly every list!

Oh, I totally agree, binary solo (such a dope name, by the way). I mentioned it briefly in the original post, but it becomes even scarier to think that while some new IPs have breached the million mark across multiple systems, that the GTAs and CODs have sold multiples of millions on singular consoles. Companies are certainly vying for that reliability and profitability and will likely be willing to ditch those IPs that are only able to collectively scratch out a million copies or less to do so, especially once we consider the fact that to attain such a position the game needs to be absolutely oozing quality and that, in the HD World especially, quality don't come cheap.

Also, that reiterates another point. It has becomes strikingly clear how third parties perceive the 360 and PS3 as a single platform, and how reliant they have become on that mentality. If this generation had been another N64-PS-Saturn generation, where one title can't be easily released across all three or even two of the platforms, third parties would be absolutely sunk. If the next generation should end up with a greater discrepancy between all three consoles and the costs of development continues to rise, than the third-party framework as we know it will more than likely implode. Yet, despite that utter dependence upon seeing the HD Twins as a singular platform (which they can now hitch the PC wagon to) and the reality that for the most part their sales are lower than last generation and less evenly dispersed, third parties seemingly have greater control this generation than last, with the Wii as a key exception.

Good job. Xbox is essential for 3rd party! Take that Sony fans lol :p