The Top Videogame Franchises of All Time

January 10, 2007

The Independent, a British newspaper, has assembled a list of the top 20 videogame franchises of all time. (The full list was reprinted in Gamasutra). Check it:

1. Mario (Nintendo): 193 million
2. Pokemon (Nintendo): 155 million
3. Final Fantasy (Square Enix): 68 million
4. Madden NFL (Electronic Arts): 56 million
5. The Sims (Maxis/Electronic Arts): 54 million
6. Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar): 50 million
7. Donkey Kong (Nintendo): 48 million
8. The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo): 47 million
9. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega): 44 million
10. Gran Turismo (Sony): 44 million
11. Lineage (NCsoft): 43 million
12. Dragon Quest (Square Enix): 41 million
13. Crash Bandicoot (Sony/Vivendi): 34 million
14. Resident Evil (Capcom): 31 million
15. James Bond (Various): 30 million
16. Tomb Raider (Eidos Interactive): 30 million
17. Mega Man (Capcom): 26 million
18. Command & Conquer (Westwood Studios/Electronic Arts): 25 million
19. Street Fighter (Capcom): 25 million
20. Mortal Kombat (Midway): 20 million

As you can see, the list is based on number of units sold, which is an interesting choice. The list would look different if you looked at the total revenues earned from each game (MMOs like Lineage might scoot up the list), and it would change even more if you totaled up all the licensing dollars earned (in which case Pokemon might edge up above Mario, but Nintendo would still rule the roost).

The list is dominated by Japanese products. Six entries were developed in the 'states (Madden tops the list at number 4) while the U.K. chimed in with Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider. Korea makes a surprising splash at number 11 with the runaway MMO successes of Lineage I and Lineage II.

I was also surprised to see Command & Conquer ranked just ahead of Street Fighter on this list -- even with all the versions of C&C available and all the expansion packs, it's still impressive to see how far that PC-only franchise has gone. Wondering about Warcraft? It's got a ways to go. Sales of the RTS and its sequels, combined with sales of World of Warcraft so far, still don't add up to the 20-million units required to bump Mortal Kombat off of the list. Personally, I blame those old TV commercials. "Mooorrrttaaaalll Koooommmmmbbaaattttt!!" You're with me on this one, right?

      -Fargo

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