| # |
Franchise name |
Original Release Date |
Sales |
| 1 |
Mario |
1981[1] |
222 million[2] |
| The Mario franchise spawned over 200 games since its first release.[1] Known as Jumpman in the original Donkey Kong video game, the character was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and since became the official mascot of Nintendo, owner of the trademark. Mario franchise has expanded into other media, including three animated television series, comic books, manga, film and other merchandise. |
|
| 2 |
Pokémon |
1995 |
193 million[3] |
| Pokémon was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995 as a video game for the Game Boy portable console, soon turning into a franchise merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, and other media. It is owned by Nintendo and contains 17 games in the main RPG series and 43 games in total. |
|
| 3 |
Tetris |
June 1985 |
125 million[4] |
| Tetris (Russian: Тетрис) is a falling-blocks puzzle video game, created by Alexey Pajitnov and released on a vast spectrum of platforms, from calculators to video game consoles and computers, with the version bundled with the Game Boy selling over 35 million.[4] |
|
| 4 |
The Sims |
February 4, 2000 |
100 million[5] |
| The Sims is a series of strategic life-simulation computer and console video games created by game designer Will Wright, published by Maxis and distributed by Electronic Arts. The series consists of three main games and a number of compilations and expansion packs. |
|
| 5 |
Need for Speed |
1994 |
100 million[6] |
| Need For Speed is a series of racing video games by Electronic Arts, released on multiple platforms. The games consist mainly of racing with various cars on various tracks, and to some extent, include police pursuits in races. |
|
| 6 |
Final Fantasy |
December 18, 1987 |
85 million[7][8] |
| Final Fantasy (ファイナルファンタジー, Fainaru Fantajī?) is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and owned by Square Enix that includes twelve released main video games and a number of spin-offs — mostly role-playing games, motion pictures, and other merchandise. |
|
| 7 |
Madden NFL |
1988 |
75 million[9] |
| Madden NFL is an football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known color commentator for NBC Sports and formerly a Super Bowl-winning head coach during the 1970s with the Oakland Raiders. |
|
| 8 |
Grand Theft Auto |
1997 |
70 million[10] |
| Grand Theft Auto is a sandbox style video game series created by Dave Jones and primarily developed by Scottish developer Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design) and published by Rockstar Games, including eight stand-alone games and two expansion packs for the original game. |
|
| 9 |
FIFA |
Christmas 1993 |
65 million[11] |
| A series of soccer video games, released yearly by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label, and the first to have an official licence from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), the international governing body of football. |
|
| 10 |
The Legend of Zelda |
February 21, 1986 |
57 million[12] |
| The Legend of Zelda (ゼルダの伝説, Zeruda no Densetsu?) is a high fantasy action-adventure video game series created by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, developed and published by Nintendo. |
|
| 11 |
Winning Eleven |
1995 |
55.5 million[13] |
| Winning Eleven is a soccer video game franchise made by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, presented as Pro Evolution Soccer in United States and Europe. The series is produced by Shingo Takatsuka. |
|
| 12 |
Call of Duty |
October 29, 2003 |
55 million[14] |
| Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game series set in World War II, with the exception of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which is set in modern times, published by Activision and Aspyr Media and developed by Infinity Ward, Gray Matter Interactive, Spark Unlimited, Treyarch, Pi Studios, and Amaze Entertainment. |
|
| 13 |
Tom Clancy |
August 21, 1998 |
55 million[15] |
| Includes sales from Tom Clancy–sponsored games made by Ubisoft, including Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, and Splinter Cell. |
|
| 14 |
Gran Turismo |
December 23, 1997 |
52.73 million [16] |
| Gran Turismo is a series of racing video games produced by Kazunori Yamauchi for the Sony PlayStation gaming systems by Polyphony Digital. |
|
| 15 |
Sonic the Hedgehog |
June 23, 1991 |
50 million[17] |
| The Sonic the Hedgehog series is a franchise of video games released by Sega starring and named after its mascot character Sonic The Hedgehog, created by Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima. With time, it has expanded into animated television series, manga and comic books. |
| 16 |
Nickelodeon |
|
50 million[18] |
| The Nickelodeon franchise includes licenses like SpongeBob SquarePants and Avatar: The Last Airbender, published by THQ. |
|
| 17 |
Dragon Quest |
May 27, 1986 |
50 million shipped[19] |
| Dragon Quest (ドラゴンクエスト, Doragon Kuesuto?), published as Dragon Warrior in North America until the 2005 release of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, is a series of role-playing games created by Yuji Horii, with character design by manga artist Akira Toriyama and currently published by Square Enix. |
|
| # |
Franchise name |
Original Release Date |
Sales |
| 18 |
Donkey Kong |
1981 |
49 million[12] |
| Donkey Kong is a video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto when he was assigned by Nintendo to build a game that would appeal more to Americans on the arcade hardware of Radar Scope, a game that had been released to test audiences with poor results. |
|
| 19 |
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw |
February 29, 2000 |
47 million shipped[20] |
| WWE SmackDown vs. Raw (formerly WWE SmackDown!) is a series of professional wrestling video games released by THQ. The franchise takes its name from World Wrestling Entertainment's weekly television programs SmackDown and Raw. The games are developed by the Japanese game developer Yuke's. |
|
| 20 |
Lineage |
September 1998 |
43 million[21] |
| Lineage (Korean: 리니지) is a medieval fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing franchise by the South Korean computer game developer NCsoft. It has become highly popular in Korea with subscriptions counting into the millions, but is also available in Chinese, Japanese, and English language versions. |
|
| 21 |
Crash Bandicoot |
August 31, 1996 |
40 million[22] |
| Crash Bandicoot is a video game series created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin, starring the titular character. The main games of the series are largely platform games, but there are also some spin-offs in different genres. |
|
| 22 |
Guitar Hero |
November 8, 2005 |
40 million[23] |
| Guitar Hero is a series of music video games published by RedOctane and Activision, and developed by Harmonix Music Systems from 2005 to 2007 before development duties of the series were transferred to Neversoft starting with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. |
|
| 23 |
Harry Potter |
November 2001 |
40 million[24] |
| Based on the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, the video game series one for each of the novels and a Quidditch simulation game, has been developed and published by Electronic Arts. |
|
| 24 |
Resident Evil |
March 22, 1996 |
40 million shipped[25] |
| Resident Evil (known in Japan as Biohazard (バイオハザード, Baiohazādo?)) is a media franchise consisting of a survival horror video games series, comic books, novelizations, three Hollywood motion pictures, and a variety of collectibles, including action figures, strategy guides and publications, created by Shinji Mikami and developed by Capcom. |
|
| 25 |
NBA Live |
1994 |
35 million[26] |
| The NBA Live series of basketball video games is developed and published by EA Sports annually since 1995. |
|
| 26 |
Tomb Raider |
November 15, 1996 |
35 million[27] (or 30 million)[8] |
| Tomb Raider is a series of video games, comic books, novels and movies, centering around the adventures of the female fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "Most Successful Human Video game Heroine" in 2006.[28] |
|
| 27 |
Pixar |
|
35 million shipped[29] |
| Based on Pixar properties, the franchise includes titles like Ratatouille, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, WALL-E, The Incredibles and Cars. |
|
| 28 |
Tekken |
December 9, 1994 |
33 million[30] |
| Tekken (鉄拳?, lit. Iron Fist) is a series of fighting games developed and published by Namco. Originally an arcade game, versions exist for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. |
|
| 29 |
Brain Age |
May 19, 2005 |
31.12 million[31] |
| Based on the book Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain by Professor Ryuta Kawashima and distributed under the Touch! Generations brand, the franchise includes two Nintendo DS games. |
|
| 30 |
Medal of Honor |
November 11, 1999 |
31 million[32] |
| Medal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, developed by DreamWorks Interactive (currently known as EA Los Angeles) and published by Electronic Arts. Medal of Honor spawned a series of follow-up games including multiple expansions spanning various console platforms and the PC and Apple Mac. |
|
| 31 |
Command & Conquer |
August 31, 1995 |
30 million[33] |
| Command & Conquer is a video game franchise, mostly of the real-time strategy style, initially developed by Westwood Studios between 1995 and 2003, with development being taken over by Electronic Arts with the liquidation of Westwood Studios in 2003. |
|
| 32 |
James Bond |
1983 |
30 million[34] |
| The franchise based on James Bond 007, the fictional British agent created in 1952 by writer Ian Fleming, consist of over 20 video games published through several companies like Nintendo and Electronic Arts. The license is currently handled by Activision. |
|
| 33 |
Kirby |
April 27, 1992 |
30 million[35][36] |
| The Kirby (星のカービィ, Hoshi no Kābi?) series is a fantasy video game series starring the character Kirby, developed by HAL Laboratory, Inc. and Nintendo, and produced by Nintendo. The gameplay of the majority of the games in the series consists mainly of action, platformer and puzzle-solving elements. |
|
| 34 |
Tony Hawk |
September 30, 1999 |
30 million[37] |
| The Tony Hawk's series is a skateboarding computer and video game series endorsed by Tony Hawk, created by game developer Neversoft and published by Activision. |
|
| 35 |
Mega Man |
December 17, 1987 |
28 million[38] |
| Mega Man, known as Rockman (ロックマン, Rokkuman?) in Japan, is a series of over 50 released video games from Capcom, usually starring the character Mega Man. |
|
| 36 |
Halo |
November 15, 2001 |
27 million[39] |
| Halo is a science fiction video game series created by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios which was later adapted to six novels, with five more games in the works, a graphic novel, numerous action figures, and a tabletop game. |
|
| 37 |
Street Fighter |
August 30, 1987 |
27 million[38] |
| Street Fighter (ストリートファイター, Sutorīto Faitā?), is a series of fighting games designed by Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto in 1987, developed and published by Capcom, which eventually turned into a media franchise covering comic books, anime series and movies. |
|
| 38 |
Metal Gear |
July 12, 1987 |
26.5 million[40] |
| Metal Gear (メタルギア?) is a series of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. The franchise also includes a novel, a radio drama, comic books, a toy line and an upcoming movie. |
|
| 39 |
Mortal Kombat |
1992 |
26 million[41] |
| Mortal Kombat is a series of fighting games created originally by the Midway Manufacturing Company. It is noted for its digitized sprites (which differentiated it from its contemporaries' hand-drawn sprites), and its high levels of blood and gore, including, most notably, its graphic fatality killing moves. |
|
| 40 |
Bejeweled |
May 30, 2001 |
25 million[42] |
| Bejeweled is a puzzle game first developed as a browser game by PopCap Games in 2001. A sequel to this game, Bejeweled 2, was released by PopCap Games in 2004. |
|
| 41 |
Marvel |
|
25 million[43] |
| Known for their comics, the franchise includes games from Spider-Man and X-Men published by Activision. |
|
| 42 |
Ratchet & Clank |
November 7, 2002 |
25 million[44] |
| Ratchet & Clank is a series of 3D platform/shooter video games. The franchise has been developed primarily by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the PlayStation 3 video game systems. |
|
| 43 |
Yu-Gi-Oh! |
July 1998[45] |
21.8 million[45] |
| Based on the Japanese anime and manga franchise Yu-Gi-Oh! (遊☆戯☆王, Yūgiō?, lit. "Game King") created by Kazuki Takahashi. All related video games are produced by Konami. |
|
| 44 |
Nintendogs |
April 21, 2005 |
21.67 million[46] |
| Nintendogs is a real-time pet simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console, originally released in three versions, plus two additional versions, all differing only in the starting available dogs to play with. |
|
| 45 |
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six |
August 21, 1998 |
21 million[47] |
| Initially developed by Red Storm Entertainment while the Rainbow Six novel was being written by Tom Clancy, the tactical shooter franchise soon spawned a number of sequels and expansion packs. Red Storm was later acquired by Ubisoft, who currently develops and publishes the games. |
|
| 46 |
Age of Empires |
October 26, 1997 |
20 million[48] |
| Age of Empires is a series of real-time strategy computer games developed by Ensemble Studios, and published by Microsoft Game Studios. There are seven titles in the series (four of which are expansions) and a spin-off titled Age of Mythology. |
|
| 47 |
Castlevania |
September 26, 1986 |
20 million[49] |
| Castlevania is a video game series created and developed by Konami originally released as Akumajō Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ, Akumajō Dorakyura?, lit. "Devil's Castle Dracula"). The franchise spawned a number of action figures and a future movie. |
|
| 48 |
Diablo |
December 1996 |
20 million[50] |
| Developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts, Diablo is a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game in a hack and slash or "Dungeon Roaming" style. |
|
| 49 |
Frogger |
1981 |
20 million[51] |
| Developed by Konami and released worldwide by Sega and Gremlin Industries in 1981, Frogger has seen numerous sequels for a number of systems including computers and video game consoles. |
|
| 50 |
Lego Star Wars |
April 5, 2005 |
20 million[52] |
| A platform-based video game series where the player takes the role of characters from the films, in minifigure form. |
|
| 51 |
Lemmings |
February 14, 1991 |
20 million[53] |
| Lemmings is a puzzle computer game, developed by DMA Design (now Rockstar North) and published by Psygnosis in 1991, originally for the Commodore Amiga. |
|
| 52 |
Rayman |
September 1, 1995 |
20 million[47] |
| Created in 1992 by graphic artist Michel Ancel, the main character of the series, Rayman, became the official mascot of the video game publisher Ubisoft. The Rayman series does not include the Raving Rabbits series. |
|
| 53 |
Simple |
1998 |
20 million[54] |
| The Simple series are a number of series of budget-priced console games, published by Japanese company D3 Publisher and developed by a variety of companies, covering many systems. |
|
| 54 |
SingStar |
May 21, 2004 |
20 million[55] |
| SingStar is a competitive karaoke video game series for the PlayStation family, published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and developed by London Studio. Fifteen English-language installments of the series have been released for the PlayStation 2, with recent versions also released for the PlayStation 3. |
|
| 55 |
SpongeBob SquarePants |
|
20 million[56] |
| SpongeBob SquarePants is an Emmy-nominated American animated television series and media franchise. The games are published by THQ. |
|
| 56 |
Spyro the Dragon |
September 10, 1998 |
20 million[57] |
| Spyro the Dragon is a platform game series starring the video game character Spyro, originally released for the PlayStation by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The franchise expanded to several other platforms including portable and mobile phones through different developers since then. |
|
| 57 |
Mobile Suit Gundam |
August 28, 1986 |
20 million shipped[58] |
| Gundam (ガンダム, Gandamu?) is a video game franchise based on one of the longest running series of anime featuring giant robots or mecha, created by Sunrise and currently published by Namco Bandai Games. |
|
| # |
Franchise name |
Original Release Date |
Sales |
| 58 |
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell |
November 18, 2002 |
19 million[47] |
| Splinter Cell is a series of video games endorsed by American author Tom Clancy which spawned a novel series in 2004 written under the pseudonym David Michaels. As a brand, it is owned by Tom Clancy's company, Rubicon, and is licensed to Ubisoft to make the games. The characters of the game, as well as "Third Echelon" itself, were created by Ubisoft writer J.T. Petty. |
|
| 59 |
Warcraft |
January 15, 1994 |
19 million[59] |
| Warcraft is a fictional universe in which a series of games and books published by Blizzard Entertainment are set. The franchise also includes tabletop games, collectible card games and an upcoming movie. Figure includes World of Warcraft. |
|
| 60 |
Dynasty Warriors |
February 28, 1997 |
18 million[60] |
| Dynasty Warriors (真・三國無双, Shin Sangokumusō?, lit. "True - Unrivaled Three Kingdoms") is a series of tactical action video games created by Koei which began as a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese epic of the same name. |
|
| 61 |
SimCity |
1989 |
18 million[61] |
| SimCity is an open-ended city-building computer and console video game series and the brainchild of developer Will Wright. It was published by Maxis (now a division of Electronic Arts). |
|
| 62 |
Battlefield |
September 10, 2002 |
17 million[62] |
| The Battlefield franchise is a series of computer and console games developed by Digital Illusions CE, and published by Electronic Arts. The games feature a focus on large maps and vehicle warfare over traditional first person shooters, including robust online capabilities. |
|
| 63 |
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon |
November 13, 2001 |
17 million[47] |
| Ghost Recon is a series of military tactical shooter video games created by Red Storm Entertainment, the game development studio founded by American author Tom Clancy. |
|
| 64 |
Petz |
1995 |
17 million[47] |
| Petz (which includes brands like Dogz and Catz) is a series of games in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their own virtual pets. |
|
| 65 |
Half-Life |
November 19, 1998 |
16 million[63] |
| Half-Life is a science fiction first-person shooter computer series developed by Valve Software, first released by Sierra Studios. |
|
| 66 |
Backyard Sports |
1996 |
15 million[64] |
| Backyard Sports is a series of video games that play on both consoles and computers. The series is best known for starring kid-sized versions of popular professional sports stars, such as Albert Pujols, Paul Pierce, Barry Bonds, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tom Brady, Alex Rodriguez, Joe Thornton and Andy Macdonald. The Backyard Sports series is the only game brand licensed by all the leading professional US sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLS). |
|
| 67 |
Barbie |
|
15 million[65] |
| Based on the Barbie doll made by Mattel, the video games are currently published by Activision. |
|
| 68 |
Burnout |
November 11, 2001 |
15 million[66] |
| Burnout is a series of high-speed racing games for game consoles. The game series was developed by Criterion Games, published by Acclaim and later Electronic Arts. |
|
| 69 |
Driver |
June 30, 1999 |
15 million[67][68] |
| Driver is a series of mission-based driving video games for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Wii, PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance, Mobile Phone and PC. Developed by Reflections Interactive in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, it was originally published by GT Interactive, later by Atari, and nowadays by Ubisoft. |
|
| 70 |
Need for Speed: Underground |
November 17, 2003 |
15 million[69] |
| A complete re-imagining of the original Need For Speed series of racing video games originally developed by EA Canada, a branch of Electronic Arts based in Vancouver, Canada, Need for Speed: Underground shifts focus to the import tuner culture. |
|
| 71 |
Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū |
1994 |
14.8 million[70] |
| Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū (実況パワフルプロ野球), known as Live Powerful Pro Baseball to non-Japanese speakers, is a traditionally Japan-only baseball series created by Konami. It is known for its big-headed characters, and arcade-style gameplay. |
|
| 72 |
Metroid |
August 6, 1986 |
14 million[12] |
| The Metroid (メトロイド, Metoroido?) is a series of science fiction-based video games produced by Nintendo, spanning through several Nintendo systems like the Famicom Disk System, NES, Game Boy, Super NES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, and Wii. |
|
| 73 |
Prince of Persia |
1989 |
14 million[47] |
| Prince of Persia is a series of platform games, originally developed by Jordan Mechner. |
|
| 74 |
Worms |
1995 |
14 million[71] |
| Worms is a series of turn-based computer games developed by Team17 Software. Players control a small platoon of worms across a deformable landscape, battling other computer- or player-controlled teams. The game's concept was devised by Andy Davidson. |
|
| 75 |
Disney |
|
13.2 million[38] |
| Includes games based on licenses from Disney properties. |
|
| 76 |
The Fast and the Furious |
March 31, 1999 |
13 million[72] |
| The Fast and the Furious is a series of racing games for mobile phones developed by Australian developer Firemint. |
|
| 77 |
Imagine |
|
13 million[47] |
| Imagine is a series of video games aimed primarily at girls released from 2007 and still expanding. |
|
| 78 |
Dragon Ball Z |
May 2002[73] |
12.7 million[74] |
| Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール, Doragon Bōru?), created by Akira Toriyama in 1984, is an internationally famous media franchise. It consists primarily of one manga series, three different anime, seventeen animated feature films, a collectible trading card game as well as other collectibles like action figures. Only games published by Atari since May 2002 are included in this specific amount. |
|
| 79 |
Kingdom Hearts |
March 28, 2002 |
12 million[8] |
| Kingdom Hearts (キングダムハーツ, Kingudamu Hātsu?) is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (formerly Square). It is the result of a collaboration between Square and Disney Interactive Studios and is under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square character designer. |
|
| 80 |
Mario Kart |
August 27, 1992 |
12 million in North America[75] |
| Mario Kart is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from their trademark Super Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games. |
|
| 81 |
Myst |
September 24, 1993 |
12 million[76] |
| The Myst franchise consists of a series of video games and novels, centering around the storyline of Atrus and his family, who are descendants of the fallen D'ni civilization – a subterranean city whose people could link to other universes by writing a descriptive book about that world. |
|
| 82 |
Midnight Club |
October 26, 2000 |
12 million[10] |
| Midnight Club is a series of free roam racing games within metropolitan areas developed by Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios). |
|
| 83 |
Dance Dance Revolution |
August 12, 1998 |
11 million[77] |
| Dance Dance Revolution is a music video game series produced by Konami. It was first introduced to Japanese video arcades in 1998, after being shown at the Tokyo Game Show earlier that year. The Dance Dance Revolution series is a subset of the larger Bemani series of music video games. |
|
| 84 |
Gears of War |
November 7, 2006 |
11 million[78] |
| Gears of War is a tactical third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. |
|
| 85 |
StarCraft |
April 1, 1998 |
11 million[50] |
| StarCraft is a science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and Bill Roper and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series has grown to include a number of other games as well as eight novels, two Amazing Stories articles, a board game and other licensed merchandise such as collectible statues and toys. |
|
| 86 |
Ace Combat |
1995 |
10 million[79][80] |
| Ace Combat is an arcade style flight/combat simulation video game series published by the Japanese company Namco. Although set in fictional countries, many details are similar to real-life wars, such as the Persian Gulf War, the Cold War, and World War II, and feature actual present day aircraft, but also fictional ones, especially flying fortresses. |
|
| 87 |
Adventure Island |
September 12, 1986 |
10 million[81] |
| Adventure Island (高橋名人の冒険島, Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima?, lit. "Master Takahashi's Adventure Island"), also known as Hudson's Adventure Island, is a platform game series developed by Hudson Soft. |
|
| 88 |
Asphalt Urban GT |
November 21, 2004 |
10 million[82] |
| Asphalt Urban GT is a series of racing games developed by Gameloft and published by Ubisoft for portable platforms including Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable and mobile phones. |
|
| 89 |
Bomberman |
1983 |
10 million[83] |
| Bomberman is a strategic, maze-based computer and video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft. The original game was published in 1983 and new games in the series are still being published to this day. Today, Bomberman is featured in over 60 different games. |
|
| 90 |
Colin McRae Rally |
1998 |
10 million[84] |
| Colin McRae Rally is a racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters. The series is named after the late World Rally Championship driver Colin McRae, who provided technical advice during development. |
|
| 91 |
Deer Hunter |
December 31, 1997 |
10 million[85] |
| Deer Hunter is a first-person shooting game series of North American video games published by WizardWorks Software, a division of Infogrames. |
|
| 92 |
Devil May Cry |
August 23, 2001 |
10 million[38] |
| Devil May Cry is a series of video games set in the modern day, created by Shinji Mikami and developed by Capcom. |
|
| 93 |
DreamWorks |
|
10 million[86] |
| The franchise includes games based on DreamWorks movies like Shrek 2, Shark Tale and Madagascar, published by Activision. |
|
| 94 |
Hitman |
November 2000 |
10 million[87] (or 8 million)[8] |
| Hitman is a video game franchise available on PC as well as several video game consoles, including PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube, developed by the Danish company IO Interactive, now a division of Eidos Interactive. The games feature a mix of orchestral and electronica musical scores, composed by Jesper Kyd. The plot focuses on an extremely skilled clone assassin who is sent to silently kill the world's most powerful criminals. |
|
| 95 |
The Lord of the Rings |
October 21, 2002 |
10 million[88] |
| Based on the series of movies The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson, the series include The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, published by Electronic Arts. |
|
| 96 |
Momotaro Dentetsu |
October 26, 1987 |
10 million[83] |
| Momotaro Dentetsu (桃太郎電鉄, Momotarō Dentetsu?, Momotarō Electric Railway) (also known by the abbreviated name Momotetsu) is a long-running board game-style video game series in Japan. The game mechanics are often compared to the board games sugoroku and Monopoly. |
|
| 97 |
Pitfall! |
1982 |
10 million[89] |
| Pitfall! is a series of platform games developed by Activision. |
|
| 98 |
Puyo Puyo |
1991 |
10 million[90] |
| Puyo Pop, known in Japan as Puyo Puyo (ぷよぷよ?) is a series of computer puzzle games originally created in 1991 by Compile for various video game systems. |
|
| 99 |
Soul |
1995 |
10 million[91] |
| The Soul series is a weapon based fighting game series of arcade games. Each installment has its own version on a home console, published by Namco. |
|
| 100 |
Star Wars: Battlefront |
September 21, 2004 |
10 million[92] |
| The Star Wars: Battlefront series is a trilogy of first-person/third-person shooters based on the Star Wars films by George Lucas. Pandemic Studios developed the first two installments, while Renegade Squadron was developed by Rebellion Developments. LucasArts was behind the entire series’ publishing. |
|
| 101 |
Tales |
December 15, 1995 |
10 million[93] |
| The Tales (テイルズ, Teiruzu?) series is a media franchise of role-playing games published by Namco. |
|
| 102 |
Rock Band |
November 20, 2007 |
10 million[94] |
| Rock Band is a series of music video games developed by Harmonix Music Systems and MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox 360, and Wii game consoles. The series expands upon Harmonix' earlier work on the Guitar Hero series, and allows for up to four players to virtually perform rock music songs on lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals using special controllers modeled after musical instruments. |
|
| 103 |
Monster Hunter |
September 21, 2004 |
10 million shipped[95] |
| Monster Hunter is series of adventure video games released by Capcom. |
|
| 104 |
Tap Tap |
September 11, 2007 |
10 million[96] |
| Tap Tap is series of rhythm video games released by Tapulous for the iPhone OS platform. |
|
| # |
Franchise name |
Original Release Date |
Sales |
| 105 |
Civilization |
1991 |
9 million[97] |
| Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy video games produced by Sid Meier. Basic gameplay functions are similar throughout the series, namely, guiding a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory to the present day. |
|
| 106 |
EA Sports NASCAR series |
October 31, 1997 |
9 million[98] |
| EA Sports NASCAR series is a series of NASCAR video games published by EA Sports. The series began with NASCAR 98 and NASCAR 99 in 1997 and 1998 as NASCAR series EA Sports released NASCAR Thunder 2002 in 2001, and ever since then, Jeff Gordon (2002), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2003),and Tony Stewart (2004) were on the cover. |
|
| 107 |
RollerCoaster Tycoon |
March 31, 1999 |
9 million[99] |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon is a series of computer games that simulate amusement park management. Each game in the series challenges players with open-ended amusement park management and development, and also allows players to construct and customize their own unique roller coasters. |
|
| 108 |
Doom |
December 10, 1993 |
8.5 million[100] |
| Doom is a series of video games by id Software, and several licensed properties have been based on the series. |
|
| 109 |
Assassin's Creed |
November 13, 2007 |
8 million[47] |
| Assassin's Creed is a video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC video game consoles/computer. |
|
| 110 |
Cars |
June 6, 2006 |
8 million[101] |
| Cars is a video game based on the Cars film, and a sequel to the Disney/Pixar film. |
|
| 111 |
Spider-Man |
|
8 million[102] |
| Numerous electronic games featuring the popular Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man have been released. To date, Spider-Man has made appearances on over 15 gaming platforms, which also includes mobile games on cellphones. |
|
| 112 |
Zoo Tycoon |
October 17, 2001 |
8 million[103] |
| The Zoo Tycoon is a video game series that began in 2001. All of the games in the series focus around building up a successful zoo and running it, although scenarios may have other goals. It was developed by Blue Fang Games. |
|
| 113 |
Onimusha |
January 25, 2001 |
7.8 million[38] |
| Onimusha (鬼武者?, lit. "Oni Warrior") is a series of action-adventure games by Capcom. The series makes use of the historic figures that shaped Japan's history, retelling their stories with supernatural elements. |
|
| 114 |
Dead or Alive |
1996 |
7.5 million[104] |
| Dead or Alive (デッドオアアライブ, Deddo oa Araibu?) is a video game series produced by Tecmo that comprises primarily fighting games. The story and characters are the creation of Tomonobu Itagaki, and the game was developed by Tecmo's Team Ninja development team. |
|
| 115 |
Everybody's Golf |
July 7, 1997 |
7.5 million[105] |
| Everybody's Golf (みんなのGOLF, Minna no Golf?), known as Hot Shots Golf in North America is a series of golf games published by Sony for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 consoles. |
|
| 116 |
Jak and Daxter |
December 4, 2001 |
7.5 million[106] |
| Jak and Daxter is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2 named after its own protagonists. |
|
| 117 |
Professor Layton |
February 15, 2007 |
7.3 million[107] |
| The Professor Layton series ("Reiton-kyōju series" (レイトン教授シリーズ?) is a puzzle video game series for the Nintendo DS, currently consisting of three games. Three more are due for 2009/2010. The games are developed by Nintendo and Level 5. Each title is based in a series of puzzles and mysteries given by the citizens of towns that the main characters visit. It is not necessary to solve all the puzzles to progress, but some are mandatory and at certain points in the game a minimum number of puzzles must be solved before the story will continue. |
|
| 118 |
Animal Crossing |
April 14, 2001 |
7 million[108] |
| Animal Crossing, known in Japan as Dōbutsu no Mori (どうぶつの森?, lit. "Animal Forest"), is a video game series developed by Nintendo, in which the player lives his/her own virtual life in real time. |
|
| 119 |
Max Payne |
July 25, 2001 |
7 million[10] |
| Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game series originally developed by the Finnish company Remedy Entertainment, produced by 3D Realms and published by Gathering of Developers. Later versions were published by Rockstar Games, MacSoft and Feral Interactive. The Max Payne series has a major cinematic influence: the Hong Kong action movie genre, particularly the work of director John Woo, which features a great deal of slow-motion violence and gunfights, almost resembling ballet. |
|
| 120 |
Moto Racer |
|
7 million[109] |
| Moto Racer is a sports game based on motorbikes developed and published by Nobilis. |
|
| 121 |
Project Gotham Racing |
November 9, 2001 |
7 million[110] |
| Project Gotham Racing is a franchise of racing video games developed by Bizarre Creations and is published by Microsoft Game Studios. This series is exclusive to the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles only. This series of racing games consists of Project Gotham Racing, Project Gotham Racing 2, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Project Gotham Racing 4. |
|
| 122 |
SOCOM |
August 27, 2002 |
7 million[111] |
| SOCOM is a series of third-person shooter video games created by Zipper Interactive. The games focus on various teams of United States Navy SEALs completing missions with occasional help from other special operations forces from around the world such as the SAS,SBS, and GROM. |
|
| 123 |
The Settlers |
1993 |
7 million[47] |
| The Settlers (also known as Serf City, original German title Die Siedler) is a slow-paced real time strategy computer game by German developer Blue Byte Software. |
|
| 124 |
Unreal |
May 22, 1998 |
7 million[112] |
| The Unreal series is a computer game franchise developed by Epic Megagames, now known as Epic Games and originally published by GT Interactive, later by Infogrames, Atari, and currently by Midway Games. It was powered by the Unreal Engine which had been in development for over three years before the game was released. |
|
| 125 |
Nancy Drew |
December 1998 |
Almost 7 million[113] |
| Nancy Drew games follow the popular adventure game style of play. Players must move Nancy around in a virtual environment to talk to suspects, pick up clues, solve puzzles, and eventually solve the crime. They are usually published by Her Interactive. |
|
| 126 |
EyeToy |
November 4, 2003 |
6.7 million[114] |
| The EyeToy is a color digital camera device, similar to a webcam, for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. Games on these series require the camera to input gestures in order to achieve certain goals in themselves. |
|
| 127 |
MX vs. ATV |
|
6.5 million shipped[115] |
| MX vs. ATV is an offroad racing game franchise published by THQ. |
|
| 128 |
Alone in the Dark |
1992 |
6 million[73] |
| Alone in the Dark is a series of survival horror computer games from Infogrames, based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, although later games in the series drew inspiration from other sources including Voodoo, the Wild West, and the works of H.R. Giger. |
|
| 129 |
Brothers in Arms |
March 1, 2005 |
6 million[47] |
| Brothers in Arms is a first-person shooter video game series created by Gearbox Software and published by Ubisoft, originally released in early 2005. The game takes place during World War II and focuses on team strategy rather than the faster paced run and gun tactics of the Medal of Honor series. |
|
| 130 |
Buzz! |
October 21, 2005 |
6 million[114] |
| Buzz! is a series of video games originated by Sleepydog Ltd., developed by Relentless Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for the PlayStation 2 console. They are quiz games that sees the players answering trivia questions whilst competing in the fictional game show, Buzz. |
|
| 131 |
Carmen Sandiego |
1985 |
6 million[116] |
| Carmen Sandiego was originally conceived in 1983 by ex-Disney artist Gene Portwood, Mark Iscaro, Dane Bigham and Lauren Elliott at Brøderbund Software. The concept for the product evolved from a game the Carlstons (founders of Brøderbund) played as kids, using the world almanac and maps to play quiz games. The franchise later developed into television series and books. |
|
| 132 |
Championship Manager |
September 1, 1992 |
6 million[117] |
| The Championship Manager series is a series of British football-management simulation. It was one of the most popular computer game franchises of all time. The Championship Manager brand and game was conceived by two brothers: Paul and Oliver Collyer. |
|
| 133 |
Far Cry |
2004 |
6 million[47] |
| Far Cry is a franchise of first person shooter computer and video games, following the name of the first game of the series. |
|
| 134 |
Guild Wars |
April 28, 2005 |
6 million[118] |
| Guild Wars is an episodic series of multiplayer online role-playing games created by ArenaNet, a Seattle game development studio and a subsidiary of the South Korean game publisher NCsoft. |
|
| 135 |
NBA 2K |
1999 |
6 million[10] |
| NBA 2K is a basketball video game series that was initially exclusive for the Dreamcast starting in 1999. The series was originally published by Sega, under the label Sega Sports and developed by Visual Concepts. |
|
| 136 |
NBA Jam |
1993 |
6 million[119] |
| NBA Jam is a series of basketball-based video games created by Midway. |
|
| 137 |
Raving Rabbids |
November 14, 2006 |
6 million[47] |
| Raving Rabbids is a spinoff in the Rayman series released by the French company Ubisoft. |
|
| 138 |
Romance of the Three Kingdoms |
1986 |
6 million[120] |
| Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國志, Sangokushi?) is a turn-based computerized wargame series by Koei that originated from Japan. The games cover events of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms in China during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. |
|
| 139 |
Test Drive |
1987 |
6 million[68] |
| Test Drive is the name of a racing game franchise originally published by Accolade, which was later bought by Infogrames. The Test Drive games are now published by Atari, the name which Infogrames renamed itself in 2003. |
|
| 140 |
Turok |
February 28, 1997 |
6 million[121] |
| Turok is a first-person shooter video game series, set in a primitive world inhabited by dinosaurs and other creatures, published by Acclaim Entertainment. |
|
| 141 |
Conflict |
September 30, 2002 |
6 million shipped[117] |
| Conflict is a series of tactical third-person shooter developed by Pivotal Games and published by SCi. |
|
| 142 |
Major League Baseball 2K |
March 1, 2004 |
5.5 million[10] |
| Major League Baseball 2K is a series of Major League Baseball video games, developed by Visual Concepts and Kush Games, and published by 2K Sports. Visual Concepts called the series World Series Baseball in years prior to 2004 for the Dreamcast, with Pedro Martínez as the cover athlete. |
|
| 143 |
Ninja Gaiden |
December 9, 1988 |
5.5 million[104] |
| Ninja Gaiden (忍者外伝?) is a series of video games by Tecmo featuring the dragon ninja, Ryu Hayabusa. The series was originally known as Ninja Ryukenden (忍者龍剣伝, Ninja Ryūkenden?, lit. "Legend of the Ninja Dragon Sword") in Japan, while the original arcade title and early home installments of the series were usually known as Shadow Warriors in the PAL region. |
|
| 144 |
Anno 1602 |
February 1, 2000 |
5 million[47][122] |
| Anno is a series of games with both real time strategy and city building elements, developed by Germany-based Sunflowers Interactive Entertainment Software company. |
|
| 145 |
Asterix |
1993 |
5 million[123] |
| Based on The Adventures of Asterix (French: Astérix), a series of French comic books by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). The video game franchise has been handled by Infogrames since 1993. |
|
| 146 |
Baldur's Gate |
November 30, 1998 |
5 million[124] |
| Baldur's Gate is a series of computer role-playing games that take place on Faerûn, the main continent from Dungeons & Dragons's Forgotten Realms campaign setting, set in the years following the cataclysmic Time of Troubles, originally developed by BioWare. |
|
| 147 |
Chessmaster |
1986 |
5 million[125] |
| Chessmaster is a chess playing computer game series by Ubisoft initially developed by The Software Toolworks. It includes numerous tutorials by International Master Joshua Waitzkin for players of all skill levels. |
|
| 148 |
Mario Party |
December 18, 1998 |
5 million in US[126] |
| Mario Party is a multi-player party game featuring Mario series characters in which four human- and/or computer-controlled characters compete in a board game interspersed with minigames. Most of the Mario Party games have been developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo (though the arcade version was developed by Capcom). |
|
| 149 |
Oddworld |
September 19, 1997 |
5 million[127] |
| Oddworld is a comprehensive fictional universe presented in video game form, created by game developers Oddworld Inhabitants under the direction of Lorne Lanning. |
|
| 150 |
Saints Row |
August 2006 |
5 million[128] |
| Saints Row is a popular video game series created by Volition, Inc.. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure and driving and has gained controversy for its adult nature and violent themes. |
|
| 151 |
Stronghold |
October 21, 2001 |
5 million[129] |
| Stronghold is a historic real-time strategy (RTS) game series developed by Firefly Studios starting from 2001. The game focuses primarily on conquest and expansion through military pursuits, but also provides space for economic strategy and development. |
|
| 152 |
Tecmo Bowl |
1987 |
5 million[104] |
| Tecmo Bowl is an arcade video game series of American Football released by Tecmo, Inc. |
|
| 153 |
TOCA Touring Car series |
1997 |
5 million[130] |
| TOCA is a racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters, initially focusing specifically on Touring car racing but more recently expanding to cover a wide variety of motorsport. |
|
| 154 |
Twisted Metal |
November 5, 1995 |
5 million in North America[131] |
| Twisted Metal is a vehicular combat series made for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PSP. The series is published by Sony and developed by the game studio Incognito Entertainment. |
|
| 155 |
V-Rally |
July 1997 |
5 million[132] |
| V-Rally is a racing game franchise originally developed by Eden Studios and published by Infogrames and later by Electronic Arts. |
|
| 156 |
ATV Offroad Fury |
February 5, 2001 |
almost 5 million[133] |
| ATV Offroad Fury is a series of PlayStation 2 racing games, developed by Rainbow Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. |
|
| 157 |
Cooking Mama |
March 23, 2006 |
nearly 5 million in US[134] |
| Cooking Mama (クッキング ママ, Kukkingu Mama?) is a series of cookery simulation-styled minigame compilation video games developed by Cooking Mama Limited (formerly known as Office Create) and published by Taito in Japan and for the iPhone OS, Majesco in North America and 505 Games in Europe. |
|