# What's the most successful video game ever made? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 14, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336 "2008-04-14T18:21:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/41 "2008-04-16T20:09:01Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] How the hell did the _Sims_ sell 155 million copies, anyway? They’re not even games. They’re just semi-interactive simulations of incredibly boring households. F\*\*k the Sims. [/QUOTE] [This is how.](http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=122) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/42 "2008-04-16T20:13:38Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] [This is how.](http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=122) [/QUOTE] I suppose Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 was a lot more awesome after I saw that human bowling video. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/43 "2008-04-16T22:56:05Z")
If we’re talking individual games, there are a ton to choose from and it’s nearly impossible to measure them all. If we’re talking _franchises_, the discussion become a lot easier. I don’t have time to do all the research right now, but here are a few names that definitely deserve consideration: Pac-Man. One of the truly amazing success stories of consumer marketing _period_, much less video games. This little yellow dude’s been everywhere: adventure games, puzzle games, racing games, and, oh yeah, the occasional maze where he runs around and eats lots of stuff. All kinds of completely unrelated Namco games, from Tekken to Ninja Assault, put him in somewhere. And it’s _still going_ (IIRC, Pac Man World 4 is already in development). Let’s not forget all the books, toys, cereal, TV shows, songs, t-shirts, you name it. Street Fighter. In terms of popularity, fame, name recognition, and almost unbelievable impact on the entire worldwide videogaming industry, no other fighting game is even close. Of course, you have to include the two spinoff lines, EX and Alpha, both tremendous successes in their own right. Such a huge phenomenon, even Capcom’s other fighting game franchises were quickly shoved out of existence. There are intense Street Fighter 3: Third Strike competitions to this day. Think any other 1999 game is even close? Super Mario. Even if we exclude the old Donkey Kong and the unrelated spinoffs (Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, etc.), it’s been a pretty phenomenal run for the Italian do-gooder. That he’s been on every Nintendo console ever made is impressive; even Sonic The Hedgehog can’t claim that. And a relative latecomer, but definitely catching up fast, Dance Dance Revolution. THREE different versions for three different countries, multiple platforms, and still incredibly popular in more places than you’d think possible. Furthermore, with the latest trend toward “active” and “fitness” related video games, it’s only going to get even bigger with time. There have been similar games, but none of them have had the top-down appeal or international corporation-financed marketing juggernaut the original has. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/44 "2008-04-16T23:27:04Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] What’s your threshold for rare? I just glanced at Amazon and eBay; the cheapest used copy I saw was around $70, sealed copies are closer to $150, and that’s for the Greatest Hits edition, not even a black label. I’d say demand is outpacing supply. [/QUOTE] I guess because I’ve seen it available locally for $15, I assumed it wasn’t rare as the indie game stores around here usually jump on the “rare” bandwagon. I also would have to question Street Fighter’s inclusion on any list of bestselling franchises. Culturally, the games are huge, but saleswise, the Street Fighter series is even more niche than Mortal Kombat nowadays. And the EX series practically killed any chance the game could ever have another 3D version. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/45 "2008-04-18T08:59:34Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] And a relative latecomer, but definitely catching up fast, Dance Dance Revolution. THREE different versions for three different countries, multiple platforms, and still incredibly popular in more places than you’d think possible. Furthermore, with the latest trend toward “active” and “fitness” related video games, it’s only going to get even bigger with time. There have been similar games, but none of them have had the top-down appeal or international corporation-financed marketing juggernaut the original has. [/QUOTE] Whenever I see a copy of DDR, I immediately think of Fidel Castro playing _Dance Dance Counter Revolution_ in that episode of _Robot Chicken_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/46 "2008-04-18T13:15:33Z")
[QUOTE=CatInASuit] Well the top 5 franchises are Mario (200 million) Pokémon (165 million) The Sims (100 million) Final Fantasy (80 million) Grand Theft Auto (70 million) In terms if the individual games, the Sims is approximately 50 million on its own (another 50 millions combined for expansions + Sims 2 etc), followed by Super Mario Bros packaged at 40 million. Both still well ahead of most other games. [/QUOTE] Let’s see this list in a couple weeks. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/47 "2008-04-18T13:19:56Z")
Halo is an incredibly successful franchise, but X-Box has almost no saturation in the Asian markets, so that’s why Halo wouldn’t make such lists. ---
**Author:** ![CatInASuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@CatInASuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatInASuit)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/48 "2008-04-18T13:35:05Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] [QUOTE=CatInASuit] Well the top 5 franchises are Mario (200 million) Pokémon (165 million) The Sims (100 million) Final Fantasy (80 million) Grand Theft Auto (70 million) [/QUOTE] Let’s see this list in a couple weeks. [/QUOTE] I agree, somehow I don’t think the GTA Franchise is going to stay around 70 Million given the number of pre-orders for the game and the knock on effect of people buying other games in the series just to see what they are like. Right up until Sims 3, FF XIII etc. etc ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/49 "2008-04-18T13:55:44Z")
[QUOTE=CatInASuit] I agree, somehow I don’t think the GTA Franchise is going to stay around 70 Million given the number of pre-orders for the game and the knock on effect of people buying other games in the series just to see what they are like. Right up until Sims 3, FF XIII etc. etc [/QUOTE] Yeah. I suspect that in five gears _GTA: San Andreas_ will have become the top-selling individual title ever. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/50 "2008-04-18T13:58:56Z")
[QUOTE=CatInASuit] I agree, somehow I don’t think the GTA Franchise is going to stay around 70 Million given the number of pre-orders for the game and the knock on effect of people buying other games in the series just to see what they are like. Right up until Sims 3, FF XIII etc. etc [/QUOTE] I think you’re understimating it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/51 "2008-04-18T14:14:03Z")
[Global sensation ‘Sims’ hits 100 million milestone](http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/17/sims.sales.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch) > [@](#): > > The 100-million mark, which publisher Electronic Arts Inc. announced Wednesday, puts “The Sims” in the ranks of blockbuster franchises such as Nintendo’s Mario and Pokemon games, which have sold more than 201 million and 175 million units respectively, as well as Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s “Grand Theft Auto” series, which has sold more than 65 million copies. > > In “The Sims,” which can be played online or not, players create homes and businesses for and guide the day-to-day lives of “Sims” characters. > > It has been published in 60 countries and 22 languages. Its creator, Will Wright, is one of the video game industry’s best regarded brains – though he’s no longer involved with the title. ---
**Author:** ![CatInASuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3be4f8/32.png) [@CatInASuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatInASuit)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/52 "2008-04-18T14:27:44Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] I think you’re understimating it. [/QUOTE] I don’t think so. I would be very surprised if GTA IV doesn’t beat Halo 3 for the best opening weekend. But I don’t think going to sell 10 milllion copies in a couple of weeks, although Rockstar would certainly appreciate that. If only because of the logistics of pressing all 10 million copies and getting them out there. Expect shortages in week 2. ---
**Author:** ![soccrchik17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@soccrchik17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soccrchik17)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/53 "2012-12-01T00:00:55Z")
I’ve been researching this today, which is how I came to this thread. **Most Played** : If we’re talking most popular video game, Angry Birds has been downloaded 1 billion times, which totally blows everything else on Earth out of the water, at least as far as what we have numbers for. **Most Sold** : If we’re talking most popular video game that people have _paid money for_, Tetris has sold 108 million copies if you include NES cartridges and mobile downloads. If you include Tetris games bundled with Game Boy, it brings the number to 143 million copies. [ul] [li]If for some reason we’re not including mobile downloads and _are_ including bundled games, which would be stupid, then Wii Sports would win at 79.6 million copies.[/li] [li]If for some reason we’re not including bundled games or mobile downloads, which would _also_ be stupid, Mario Kart Wii would win out at 32.44 million copies.[/li][/ul] **Most Money** : If we’re talking about the video game that has made the most money of all the video games, the winner appears to unequivocally be World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft makes billions of dollars a year, and is still going strong. [ul] [li]If we’re talking about the video game that has made the most money out of all the video games that requires only a one-time purchase, I don’t have exact numbers, but as near as I can tell it would be Mario Kart Wii, based on its price and the number of copies sold.[/li][/ul] I think that covers everything. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/54 "2012-12-01T00:23:59Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Tetris has been converted to run in _everything_. Didn’t make money, but it’s everywhere from cell phones to linux install disks (plays while waiting for compiling to be done) to arcade consoles. This. I’m half-convinced the Egyptian played an abacus port of Tetris while they were building the Pyramids. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/55 "2012-12-01T00:58:04Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Duke Nukem Forever! Oh wait, that was never released… Ha. Shows what you knew 4 1/2 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/56 "2012-12-01T03:48:45Z")
> [@soccrchik17](#): > > I think that covers everything. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/57 "2012-12-01T18:38:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Cite? Forget the cite. Things people mentioned in this thread four years ago refute this guy’s current information. But I’ll provide them anyway. **Most Played:** Variations of Angry Birds have been downloaded 1 billion times, it’s true. But what does that have to do with “most played.” There is literally no way to measure that. > **[Angry Birds Hits a Billion Downloads](https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/05/09/angry-birds-hits-a-billion-downloads/)** > > VideoIt was bound to happen, but it’s still incredible now that it has: the Angry Birds franchise, including vanilla, Seasons, Rio and Space, has slingshot itself all the way to a billion downloads. At somewhere around 99 cents a game – it’s done... **Most Sold:** Depends how you count… Single game on a single platform including titles bundled with hardware (Wii Sports). Single game on multiple platforms (Possibly Tetris, but few of the games that carry that name are connected by a common developer). > **[List of best-selling video game franchises](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_game_franchises)** > > The list of best-selling video game franchises shows sales or shipments of at least twenty million copies each. Unless otherwise stated, numbers indicate worldwide unit sales, ordered alphabetically. The exception are those specifying shipments, which have lower precedence than sales. > Franchise sales include expansion packs even though they are not full video games. Free-to-play game downloads including free mobile games and microtransactions do not figure into sales or shipment figures. Vi... **Most Money:** If you count subscriptions (and franchises as a whole), sure maybe WoW. But again, it is literally impossible to declare a winner because there’s at least 15 different ways to count this question. > **[List of best-selling video game franchises](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_game_franchises)** > > The list of best-selling video game franchises shows sales or shipments of at least twenty million copies each. Unless otherwise stated, numbers indicate worldwide unit sales, ordered alphabetically. The exception are those specifying shipments, which have lower precedence than sales. > Franchise sales include expansion packs even though they are not full video games. Free-to-play game downloads including free mobile games and microtransactions do not figure into sales or shipment figures. Vi... ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/58 "2012-12-02T04:07:32Z")
**Minecraft** has got to be up there. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/59 "2012-12-02T04:43:10Z")
Side note: I believe that Mega Man, with over 100 titles in the series, holds the record for most prolific video game. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336/60 "2012-12-02T09:10:47Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > **Minecraft** has got to be up there. Minecraft’s three edition (original flavor, Xbox 360 Edition, Pocket Edition) have only sold about 13 million copies combined. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-successful-video-game-ever-made/445336.md?page=4)