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Forums - Sales Discussion - NPD's Top 10 Best Selling Games of All Time (since 1995)

saicho on 20 January 2010

NPD's Top 10 Best Selling Games of All Time

Posted January 19, 2010 by James Brightman

With the recent year-end NPD sales figures, the data trackers unveiled the top 10 games of 2009, but IndustryGamers has taken it a step farther and acquired the top 10 best selling games chart for all time. NPD notes that the list was compiled at the title level, not SKU level, meaning sales for all platforms are included on multiplatform titles. Also, this chart does not include PC games and is focused on console/handheld titles.  Finally, it should be noted that "all time" means since 1995, since that's how far back NPD's tracking data goes.

Here's the top 10, ranked according to unit sales (NPD declined to provide the units):

  1. Wii Play
  2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
  3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
  5. Wii Fit
  6. Mario Kart w/ Wheel
  7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  8. Madden NFL '07
  9. Call of Duty: World at War
  10. Namco Museum

Activision's dominance of this list is quite remarkable, and it shows you why the publisher has seen such tremendous revenue growth in the last 15 years. The fact that the chart is at the title level also makes individual SKUs like Wii Play or Wii Fit that much more impressive. NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier notes that the chart is indicative of the recent expansion of non-traditional games. "I like the number of non-traditional games on the list. It shows that non-traditional content can be lucrative and have wide appeal. From Wii Play to Wii Fit to Guitar Hero, these are all games that don't fit in the traditional gaming 'box' yet have enjoyed great success," she said.

Source

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I wonder how many copies Namco Museum was sold. Based on the number I see on VGS, it looks like they may have counted different volumes (Vol 1, Vol 2, vol 3) as the same game.



MikeB predicts that the PS3 will sell about 140 million units by the end of 2016 and triple the amount of 360s in the long run.

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O-D-C on 20 January 2010

where is Pokemon Red/Blue?



iLLmaticV3 on 20 January 2010

Activision domination on this list, I would have expected to see Pokemon or something though...



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O-D-C on 20 January 2010

just realised this is US only... carry on



Zucas on 20 January 2010
O-D-C said:
where is Pokemon Red/Blue?

Well despite Nintendo combining the games and them having no problems combining mutli plat games, for some odd reason NPD doesn't combine any of the Pokemon games and counts them solely as different skus.  So while they both sold great, they would need to have sold individually well over 7-8 million to make this list in the US which our sales would suggest they probably didn't. 

However, if they were combined they'd definitely be on the list. 



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Javaupdate on 20 January 2010

its funny how when you combine platforms, much of the Wii's strength disappears. Such as in this chart where only three Wii games appear instead of the usual 5-6 in the top ten when you use split SKU's by platform.

This generation perceptions would be totally different if there was only one HD console, but two motion consoles to split sales (the reverse of now, with only one Wii, but HD twins). Then everybody would say how the HD was dominating and the motion consoles were failures, even though the sales ratio might be exactly the same.

Illustration: current:

Wii 1m
PS3 500k
360 500K

Media+fans: "Utter Wii domination!"

Hypothetical:
HD console 1m
Motion console 1 500k
Motion console 2 500k

Media +fans: "HD domination!"

But in reality the market is split between HD/motion exactly the same in both cases.



Khuutra on 20 January 2010
Javaupdate said:
its funny how when you combine platforms, much of the Wii's strength disappears.

This generation perceptions would be totally different if there was only one HD console, but two motion consoles to split sales (the reverse of now, with only one Wii, but HD twins). Then everybody would say how the HD was dominating ad the motion consoles were failures, even though the sales ratio might be exactly the same.

Illustration: current:

Wii 1m
PS3 500k
360 500K

Media+fans: "Utter Wii domination!"

Hypothetical:
HD console 1m
Motion console 1 500k
Motion console 2 500k

Media +fans: "HD domination!"

But in reality the market is split exactly the same.

This is kind of a gross oversimplification of the state of things



MontanaHatchet on 20 January 2010

It's amazing, really. No, not just the numbers of Call of Duty games or the presence of Namco Museum. What amazes me is how Guitar Hero III can be the second highest selling game ever in America (of all time), even beating the Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty games, but now struggles to reach a million in its latest iteration. Truly sad. You did this to yourself, Activision.



 

 

famousringo on 20 January 2010

Putting the term 'all-time' in the same sentence as 'since 1995' is what we call an oxymoron.

Still, I guess it's an interesting snapshot of the last 15 years of the US videogame market. You get to see how franchises like GTA, Madden, and Guitar Hero are in decline, while CoD and Nintendo are ascendant. I'd love to see where/if games like NSMBW, Mario Kart, WSR, Wii Fit Plus, and Call of Duty 34 place next year.



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saicho on 21 January 2010
famousringo said:
Putting the term 'all-time' in the same sentence as 'since 1995' is what we call an oxymoron.

Still, I guess it's an interesting snapshot of the last 15 years of the US videogame market. You get to see how franchises like GTA, Madden, and Guitar Hero are in decline, while CoD and Nintendo are ascendant. I'd love to see where/if games like NSMBW, Mario Kart, WSR, Wii Fit Plus, and Call of Duty 34 place next year.

NPD started tracking in 1995. So NPD's all time is from 1995 until now.



MikeB predicts that the PS3 will sell about 140 million units by the end of 2016 and triple the amount of 360s in the long run.