The top-selling games in the US over the last 15 years

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 5th 2008 at 6:20PM }

Forbes, with data supplied by NPD, has released a list of the top-selling games in the US over the last 15 years. NPD only began tracking data 15 years ago, so there may be an outlier from the '80s or early '90s, but it appears the industry really ramped up this millennium, with the top games all being released after 2001.*

Holding on to the top title -- and we imagine not for very much longer -- is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with 9.43 million units sold. Surprisingly, Guitar Hero III isn't too far behind with 8.2 million. Madden titles occupy four of the top ten spots. Find the full list after the break.

*Figuring it would be brought up, we checked with NPD about the original Pokémon Red and Blue released in 1998. Although they do have different titles, they are arguably the same game. NPD's data shows that Pokemon Red and Blue combined sold 3.1 9.9 million units. Pokémon Red with 4.9 million and Pokémon Blue with 5 million.

Update: NPD gave us incorrect Pokémon numbers. We've updated the figures.

[Via GameDaily]

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) – 9.43 million
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (2007) – 8.2 million
Madden NFL 07 (2006) – 7.7 million
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) – 7.3 million
Madden NFL 06 (2005) – 6.65 million
Halo 2 (2004) – 6.6 million
Madden NFL 08 (2007) – 6.56 million
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) – 6.25 million
Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001) – 6.2 million
Madden NFL 2005 (2004) – 6.1 million

Tags: forbes, npd, top-selling, topselling

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Fady Ibrahim @ Jun 5th 2008 6:25PM

Just curious, how is Halo 3 not on that list, did it really not sell that many?

AoE @ Jun 5th 2008 6:40PM

the fact that it's not on that list implies as much...

finnith @ Jun 5th 2008 6:50PM

Halo 3 hasn't really been out as long as many of the games on that list. It is also a console-exclusive game whereas games like GH3 are multiplatform.

RPGJock @ Jun 5th 2008 6:57PM

Also don't forget that this is North American sells, unless they are not count Canada or Mexico, then it would be just U.S. sales.

finnith @ Jun 5th 2008 7:18PM

The stats only involve the although I believe the differences would be minute if they decided to include the whole of North America. I'm not sure about Mexico's culture but Canada's is very similar to the US's.

finnith @ Jun 5th 2008 7:19PM

The stats only include US sales.*

That's what I get for not proof-reading my post.

J.Goodwin @ Jun 5th 2008 7:19PM

Halo 2 was an evergreen title that sold for years, and worked not only on Xbox but was a launch BC title on 360. Halo 3 may never sell as well as Halo 2 did, but you can expect that over time it's going to catch up somewhat.

bluestriker @ Jun 5th 2008 7:39PM

Really? Here it says it has sold 8.1 million copies, and that was in January.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6184291.html

severian00 @ Jun 5th 2008 8:52PM

that's the number I was going off too. Maybe that's the sold to retailers number. It seems like they are going by actual sold to consumers numbers in the NPD numbers sited. Even so I can't imagine there being well over 2 million copies of Halo 3 siting on retail shelves.

General Tso Wow @ Jun 5th 2008 9:49PM

halo 3 is not on the list because it sucks

auroragb @ Jun 6th 2008 2:56PM

8.1M is number Halo 3 sold WW. Assuming attach rate of 46%, Halo 3 should have sold just under 5M in the US

343 Guilty Fart @ Jun 5th 2008 6:26PM

Wait, didn't Call of Duty 4 sell over 10 million? I'm confused...

Einhanderkiller @ Jun 5th 2008 6:28PM

"The top-selling games in the *****US***** over the last 15 years"

343 Guilty Fart @ Jun 5th 2008 6:30PM

This was just posted yesterday on this site:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/04/call-of-duty-4-sells-10-million-units/

DiRT @ Jun 5th 2008 6:51PM

Wha...? There's a difference between US sales and Worldwide sales? I thought we were the world!

Zoesch @ Jun 5th 2008 6:57PM

We are the world... We are the children...

shawn @ Jun 5th 2008 10:25PM

i would be curious to see stuff from the nes days on this list not just games that came out in the last 10 years...like mario 3,zelda,etc i want too see what those games sold

Casper32 @ Jun 5th 2008 6:29PM

Wow surprised Halo 3 and World of Warcraft aren't on that list.

LaughingTarget @ Jun 5th 2008 6:45PM

WoW has 2.5 million US subscribers, not even close to make the list.

josh @ Jun 5th 2008 9:09PM

That's 2.5 million ACTIVE subscribers... how many people bought but no longer subscribe? I have like 5 friends (6 counting me) who used to play, but no longer.

josh @ Jun 5th 2008 9:11PM

The Sims has sold 6.3 million according to it's wiki, it's not listed, either. Hmm.

deslock @ Jun 6th 2008 1:42PM

Sorry, this list is BS. Simsabsolutely, guaranteed has more than those titles. And I'm not including expansion packs.

Also as mentioned by Josh, WoW has 2.5 million subscribers, right now! Everyone I work with (software engineering, 40 of us) has owned WoW. A few still play. So it has definitely sold more than 6 million in the US over the last 15 years.

Sounds to me like some jack at NPD it takes some liberties with the rules of this data.

343 Guilty Fart @ Jun 5th 2008 6:31PM

Wait, I get it, duh.

N8 @ Jun 5th 2008 11:13PM

Doesn't include walmart or download probably. NPD #'s are used to gauge the market.

jackbauer (mk:4811-7496-3209) @ Jun 5th 2008 6:32PM

yeee guns and football! and.... fake guitars!

mcatrage @ Jun 5th 2008 7:27PM

America, FUCK YEAH!

xeleion @ Jun 5th 2008 10:27PM

Haha, you took the words right out of my mouth. Shows what us Americans are into: Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. Oh, and football.

Oi Chez! What do you want Fizz? @ Jun 5th 2008 6:40PM

Well I've got 3 of them games on Steam, does that count?

Oi Chez! What do you want Fizz? @ Jun 5th 2008 6:41PM

Yanks are mad for Madden! Seriously though I don't think I've seen that in a shop here.

SugarDaddy @ Jun 6th 2008 8:59AM

Ya, but how are your Fifa sales? You get me? If yer in GB, then they don't have yank football there, mate. Sales are bound to be lower.

Charlie_Six @ Jun 5th 2008 6:42PM

First, I really think this list can be misinterpreted. The Sims has sold 100 million copies across its multiple games. Key term: multiple games. This list is about single games.

Still, this list is a big reason why video gamers have such a bad image in the media and society in general. It's really quite deserved. The whole list is, as Forbes said, full of "loud, violent" games. The only game I think we can be unabashedly proud of on that list is Guitar Hero. Video gamers look like a bunch of narrow-minded male barbarians if you look at this list.

I'll get flamed for this comment, no doubt. But think about this for a second. The entire list is essentially the equivalent of the SpikeTV cable channel on TV. There's nothing else! Heck, SpikeTV is actually better than this. At least they friggin' have Star Trek.

JerJer @ Jun 5th 2008 6:49PM

dahhh huuurrrrrrr. you're paragraphs dont connect logically.

nor do you have a coherent point.

carry on.

Charlie_Six @ Jun 5th 2008 6:53PM

The Sims is the sole exception to the point that "video gamers are narrow-minded barbarians." Despite the Sims, the point is still quite valid.

We also have to factor in how much was spent, in total, for those 100 million Sims titles, considering expansions are far cheaper than the $50-60 games on the list.

Shagittarius @ Jun 5th 2008 7:19PM

Being proud of Guitar hero? Guitar hero is not what gaming is about. I consider guitar hero to be the dirty little secret of the gaming spectrum.

finnith @ Jun 5th 2008 7:30PM

Although you are correct that the subject matter of the games is questionable, should we really be ashamed of ourselves? For the most part, the list is composed of quality games such as Call of Duty 4.

And it's not like other games don't sell at all either, Mass Effect (maybe a shooter isn't the best example, a game worthy of a sci-fi novel, sold 1 million in the first three weeks, http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164873

My point is that although it might say that we do love guns and football, you are only touching the surface if you say so. Even Madden is fun if you play multiplayer and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was a brilliant game due to the level of customization and scale of the game world.

It's not like a "Beyond Good and Evil" was going to be at the top of this list anyways, this list is not representative of niche gamers.

severian00 @ Jun 5th 2008 8:58PM

I would hardly call football a barbarian sport any more than hockey or rugby. If you looked at the European equivilant of this list it would replace Madden with Fifa and about everything else would be the same or very similar.

Korova Pyro aspect @ Jun 5th 2008 10:55PM

i am not crazy about the list either.

40% is practically the same football game, 30% is GTA, 20% FPS and Guitar Hero.

No Peggle! Anywhere!

Jhongerkong @ Jun 5th 2008 6:46PM

Tsk, tsk. You guys should've bought more Tetris Attack

Noshino @ Jun 5th 2008 7:01PM

No Yaris :(

Adam @ Jun 5th 2008 6:48PM

NPD doesn't count a lot of retailer numbers (Costco, Wal-Mart, etc.), so take these numbers with a grain of salt.

I know Wal-Mart is one of or the top game retailer in terms of games sold in the U.S., so not having them accounted for skews the NPD numbers considerably.

JerJer @ Jun 5th 2008 6:53PM

doubtful.

walmart sells, promotes and loves guitar hero 3.
as well as the gta's.
and madden.

so dont to pretend that there are "other retailers" that sell more obscure games that would even dent this list. all the retailers not taken into account sell similar proportions to this list.

Obie @ Jun 5th 2008 6:50PM

I see why they did 15 instead of 20 years.
The list would have been clogged with Nintendo games, such as Super Mario 3 ( 18 million sold ).

Still the omission of Halo 3 is a curious one.

RPGJock @ Jun 5th 2008 7:06PM

If you go by VGChartz, and I know people don't, Halo 3 at this point has sold 5,736,305 in North America so far. If this is strictly U.S. sales, then you can lop off at least a million off that total.

Obie @ Jun 5th 2008 7:08PM

I guess cat helmets and mountain dew ads don't make people buy games.

Noshino @ Jun 5th 2008 7:10PM

Halo 3 has sold less than 6 million in the US...

"I see why they did 15 instead of 20 years. The list would have been clogged with Nintendo games, such as Super Mario 3 ( 18 million sold )"

"...has released a list of the top-selling games in the US over the last 15 years. NPD only began tracking data 15 years ago..."

Nice try...and even then, SMB3 was nothing compared to SMW...12.97 million on the US alone...