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In honour of #InternationalVideoGameDay
Minecraft, Fortnite and GTA may have dominated the video game industry for the last few years, but how do they stack up when we compare them to some of the all-time classic best-sellers?
We’re talking the video games that separated people from the most amount of money throughout all of video game history.
We’ve set out to do some research, and thanks to a bunch of online articles, reports, interviews and websites, we’ve managed to compile a list of the top 10 best-selling video games of all-time.
Starting us off is in 10th place is…
10. Wii Sports Resort
Initial release date: 25th June 2009
Platforms: Wii
Wii Sports Resort was received quite well by the general population, receiving an 80% score on Metacritic. What really impressed the critics was the graphics of the game play compared to the other Wii games of the time, and its family friendly, fun approach to gaming.
In May 2010 the American Heart Association endorsed the Wii console, along with this particular game as a way to encourage people to take the first step towards fitness.
Wii Sports Resort has been listed alongside Wii Sports as being two of the greatest multi-player experiences in Nintendo history, stating that everyone can have a good time, whether it’s a young child who is playing or the child’s grandparents.
The game sold 150,000 copies in Japan on its first day of sales, staggering up to 514,000 copies sold in just 2 weeks!
In America the game sold 500,000 copies in its first week.
As of March 2019 Wii Sports Resort has sold 33.10 million copies worldwide since its first release!
In 9th place we have…
9. Mario Kart Wii
Initial release date: 10th April 2008
Platforms: Wii
This game is an absolute classic and still gets a mad run in our household! Released in April 2008, this is the 6th instalment in the Mario Kart series. Upon its release this game was very well received, getting a lot of praise for its online capabilities and large number of unique tracks, of course the characters and the karts were also a huge hit.
Joe Sinicki of Blast Magazine said that “while it still does suffer from some of the problems of the older games, Mario Kart Wii takes the simple and accessible formula set by its predecessors and tweaks it enough to make it feel fresh and dun, creating one of the most entertaining and rewarding gaming experiences in quite some time.”
Mario Kart Wii was hugely successful, selling 300,000 copies on its launch day in Japan alone.
In the UK the game was said to have the eighth biggest opening sales week in UK software history.
As of March 2019 37.20 million copies have been sold worldwide, making this game the best-selling Mario game for the Wii console, second-best selling game for Wii and is the best-selling racing video game of all time.
8. Wii Fit
Initial release date: 1st December 2007
Platforms: Wii
An exer-game video that is designed to be used in conjunction with the Wii Balance Board. The board assist in helping track the user’s centre of balance, which is useful for it’s game features such as yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance games.
The Director of the game, Hiroshi Matsunaga described the game as a “way to help get families exercising together.” Wii Fit was had a great success amongst health clubs, nursing homes and physiotherapy rehabilitation.
Despite being criticised for not offering a serious workout regime, the game sold over a quarter of a million copies in its first week. In Japan it was the third best-selling game in 2008.
As of March 2012 the game had sold 22.67 million copies world-wide and was 6th on the best-selling Wii games list.
7. Pokémon Red & Blue
Initial release date: 27th February 1996
Platforms: Gameboy
Another classic to make the list, in 7th Place is Pokémon Red and Blue – the first instalments in the Pokémon series, now a legendary, multibillion-dollar franchise.
In 1996 this role-playing game sold 1.04 million copies in Japan and another 3.65 million in 1997. Pokémon become Japan’s best-selling game of 1997.
Critics praised the game for its multi-player features, the ability to trade and battle Pokémon, plus people loved the fact that even though you may have finished the quest, you still might not have collected all of the Pokémon in the game. The challenge to “catch ‘em all” is the games biggest attraction.
The game has been praised time and time again for its longevity in the saturated market of video games.
6. Super Mario Bros.
Initial release date: 13th September 1985
Platforms: Multi platform
As we’re sure you’ve already guessed, Super Mario Bros. has been extremely successful, the game seriously helped popularise the side-scrolling game. With over 40.24 million copies sold, this is the best-selling video game in the Mario series.
The game was actually the best-selling game for over 20 years until its lifetime sales were surpassed by Wii Sports.
Critics praised the game for its precise controls, which allow the player to control how high and far Mario or Luigi jumps, and how fast they run.
5. PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds
Initial release date: 20th December 2017
Platforms: PC, Xbox, PlayStation 4
This one is an online multiplayer battle royale game, inspired by the 2000 Japanese film, Battle Royale. Despite some technical flaws, critics raved about this new type of gameplay that was approachable to players of any skill level.
Research has shown that Battlegrounds surpasses long-standing popular favourites on Steam, such as Fallout 4, Grand Theft Auto V and eventually it over took Dota 2, the most played game on the platform for years.
The game made US$11 million in the first three days of its Windows early access release in March 2017. By February 2018, the game has sold 30 million copies and was the third highest grossing game on Steam of all time.
4. Wii Sports
Initial release date: 19th November 2006
Platforms: Wii
A collection of five sports stimulations, designed to demonstrate the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii remote. Critics raved about this game saying that it was a “nice total package.” One of the main comments made was that the game provided enough gameplay for long time gamers without making it inaccessible to newbies.
By the end of 2007 Wii Sports was the best-selling Wii game of all time. In Japan, where the game was not included in the system, the game sold 176, 167 copies in the first two days of release, a record for a seventh generation console game in Japan. By March 2019, worldwide sales were reported at 82.87 million!
3. Grand Theft Auto V
Initial release date: 17th September 2013
Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Windows
Grand Theft Auto V is Metacritic’s fifth-highest rated game, receiving a score of 97% on the review platform. The game has been praised for its amazing graphic and absence of load screens.
The game won Most Anticipated Game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, plus various in game elements were recognised with awards, including characters and music. It was also awarded Most Immersive Game, User Choice Award and Community Choice Award.
At the PlayStation Awards it won the Platinum Award and was names the best British Game.
Within 24 hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto V generated more than US$800 million worldwide in revenue, equating to approximately 11.21 million copies sold.
As of May 2019 the game has sold 110million copies worldwide across multiple platforms.
2. Tetris
Initial release date: 6th June 1984
Platforms: Multii-platform
Known as one of the most addictive computer games of all time, Tetris was the first entertainment software to be exported from the Soviet Union to the United States, where it was published. The game, or one of its many variants is available for pretty much every gaming console or computer. It’s even made its way to calculators, phones and more!
Approximately 170 million copies of the game have been sold.
And in first place, the best-selling video game of all-time is…
1. Minecraft
Initial release date: 18th November 2011
Platforms: Multi-platform
Minecraft comes in at number 1, it has received critical acclaim for its creative freedom, as well as its ease for enabling emergent gameplay. Critics have commented that the open-ended gameplay is what makes this game so popular.
The game surpassed over a million purchases in less than a month after entering its beta phase in early 2011. At the same time, the game has no publisher and had never been commercially advertised.
In honour of #InternationVideoGameDay, here is your complete guide to the top 10 best-selling video games of all-time.
Did your favourite make the list?
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