Video games have become a $350 billion industry as of 2022, and a look back at the sales data provides an fascinating look at the evolution of the industry and the rise and fall of various genres.
Fighting games, buoyed by excellent performance in arcades (remember those?), were strong sellers in the early 90s. In the late 90s, Pokémon became a worldwide phenomenon and topped the charts for four consecutive years.
Music games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band flooded the sales charts starting in 2006, but vanished just a few years later. And in 2009, Call of Duty became an unstoppable sales behemoth, selling millions of copies with yearly releases.
Check out: The top-rated video game of each year since Super Mario 64
Cumulative worldwide sales numbers are used whenever possible, though it can be difficult getting concrete numbers in some years. All U.S. sales data is via NPD.
Console: Super Nintendo, MS-DOS, Amiga, Commodore 64
Release date: June 10th, 1992 (Japan SNES release. Original arcade release occurred February 6th, 1991.)
Approximate copies sold: 5+ million
Console: Super Nintendo
Release date: November 18th, 1994
Approximate copies sold: 6+ million
Console: Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, PC, Game Boy, Game Gear
Release date: October 13th, 1995
Approximate copies sold: 2+ million*
The data is a little murky for 1995. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island and Chrono Trigger also sold 2+ million in 1995. Dragon Quest VI was the top game in Japan with 2.4+ million copies sold.
Console: Nintendo 64
Release date: September 29th, 1996 (in the United States)
Approximate copies sold: 2+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Madden NFL 97
3. Donkey Kong Country 2
4. Mortal Kombat Trilogy
5. Toy Story
Console: Nintendo 64
Release date: February 10th, 1997 (in the United States)
Approximate copies sold: 1.5+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Super Mario 64
3. Star Fox
4. GoldenEye 007
5. Diddy Kong Racing
Console: Game Boy
Release date: September 28th, 1998 (in the United States. Originally released in 1996 in Japan as Red and Green.)
Approximate copies sold: 4+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
3. GoldenEye 007
4. WWE Warzone
5. NFL Blitz
Console: Game Boy
Release date: Pokemon Yellow released October 19th, 1999 in the United States.
Approximate copies sold: 8.9+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Donkey Kong
3. Pokemon Snap
4. Super Smash Brothers
5. Madden NFL 2000
Console: Game Boy Color
Release date: October 15th, 2000 (in the United States)
Approximate copies sold: 4+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Pokemon Stadium
3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
4. Madden NFL 2001
5. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Console: Game Boy Color
Release date: Pokemon Crystal released July 29th, 2001 in the United States
Approximate copies sold: 4+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Madden NFL 2002
3. Grand Theft Auto 3
4. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
5. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
Console: PlayStation 2
Release date: October 29th, 2002. Later released on Xbox and PC in 2003.
Approximate copies sold: 4.4 million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Madden NFL 2003
3. Grand Theft Auto 3
4. Spider-Man: The Movie
5. Medal of Honor: Frontline
Console: PlayStation 2, GameCube, PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance
Release date: August 11th, 2003
Approximate copies sold: 2.3+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Need For Speed: Underground
3. Enter The Matrix
4. Tony Hawk’s Underground
5. True Crime: Streets of L.A.
Console: PlayStation 2
Release date: October 26th, 2004. Later released on Xbox and PC in 2005.
Approximate copies sold: 5.1 million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Halo 2
3. Madden NFL 2005
4. Need For Speed: Underground 2
5. Spider-Man: The Movie 2
Console: PlayStation 2
Release date: February 22nd, 2005
Approximate copies sold: 5+ million worldwide
Madden NFL topped the U.S. chart again, but strong European sales pushed Gran Turismo 4 over the top worldwide.
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Madden NFL 06
3. Star Wars: Battlefront II
4. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
5. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Console: Nintendo DS
Release date: May 15th, 2006
Approximate copies sold: 8.6 million worldwide
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Madden NFL 07
3. Gears of War
4. NCAA Football 07
5. Guitar Hero 2
Console: Xbox 360
Release date: September 25th, 2007
Approximate copies sold: 4.8+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
3. Madden NFL 08
4. Guitar Hero 2
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Console: Wii
Release date: April 27th, 2008 (in United States)
Approximate copies sold: 8.94 million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Rock Band
3. Guitar Hero World Tour
4. Wii Fit
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Console: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release date: November 10th, 2009
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Wii Fit
3. Wii Fit Plus
4. Madden NFL 10
5. Wii Sports Resort
Console: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS
Release date: November 9th, 2010
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Halo: Reach
3. Wii Fit Plus
4. Madden NFL 11
5. Red Dead Redemption
Console: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC
Release date: November 8th, 2011
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
3. Madden NFL 12
4. Battlefield 3
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops
Console: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, PC
Release date: November 13th, 2012
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Halo 4
3. Madden NFL 13
4. Assassin’s Creed III
5. Borderlands 2
Console: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release date: September 17th, 2013
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Call of Duty: Ghosts
3. Madden NFL 25
4. Battlefield 4
5. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Console: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Release date: November 4th, 2014
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Destiny
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. Madden NFL 15
5. Watch Dogs
Console: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Release date: November 6th, 2015
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Grand Theft Auto V
3. Star Wars: Battlefront
4. Madden NFL 16
5. Fallout 4
Console: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: November 4th, 2016
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Battlefield 1
3. Tom Clancy’s The Division
4. NBA 2K17
5. Madden NFL 17
Console: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: November 3rd, 2017
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. NBA 2K18
3. Destiny 2
4. Madden NFL 18
5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Console: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release date: October 26th, 2018
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII
3. NBA 2K19
4. Madden NFL 19
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Console: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: October 25th, 2019
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. NBA 2K20
3. Madden NFL 20
4. Borderlands 3
5. Mortal Kombat 11
Console: Switch
Release date: March 20th, 2020
Approximate copies sold: 30+ million
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
4. Madden NFL 21
5. Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Console: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Release date: November 5th, 2021
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War
3. Madden NFL 22
4. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl
5. Battlefield 2042
Console: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
Release date: October 28th, 2022
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. Elden Ring
3. Madden NFL 23
4. God of War Ragnarok
5. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Console: PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch
Release date: February 10th, 2023
Runners-up (U.S. sales):
2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
3. Diablo IV
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
5. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
