From the time that the home gaming industry began to boom in the late ’70s, the market has continued to expand, with video games now prominently centred at the forefront of many individual’s lives. They the opportunity for adventure, competition, community, and – dependent on the game – even scares or laughter. While practically millions of video games have been released over the decades, some have turned into absolute phenomena.
Mario Kart 8
This instalment of the Mario Kart series was released on 29 May 2014 and sold 45.53 million copies. The unsurpassed fun gives the game ridiculously wide appeal. In addition the simplicity of the controls helps it along even more.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold well over 36 million copies since it was released in October 2018. This is according to publisher Take-Two Interactive announced in February 2019.
Super Mario Bros
The true sales numbers – as well as the number of gamers who have actually played Super Mario Bros. – are much higher than its official sales of above 40 million units. It’s crucial to remember that the title came bundled up into Super Mario All-Stars for SNES, which itself sold millions of copies. As well, at the moment it’s playable for free to anyone with a Nintendo Switch Online account.
Nevertheless, it’s extremely impressive that just the Super Mario Bros.’ physical sales keep the game in the top 10 list nearly 40 years after its first release. Since then, it’s spawned an entire franchise of games, a TV show, an unappreciated film adaptation that’s become a cult classic as well as billions of dollars in merchandise sales. It seems that while a number of gaming franchises fade away, Mario is here to stay.
Pokémon Red / Green / Blue / Yellow
The various versions of Pokémon were released between 27 February 1996 and 16 June 2000 dependent on the region. All of them together sold more than 47.52 million copies to the aspiring Pokémon masters. The anime set the groundwork for the game’s popularity, embedding it deep in the cultural zeitgeist for years to come.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
In spite of being released in 2017, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has already sold over 70 million copies. And as the video game is still for sale, that number continues to rise, much like player numbers at Black Lotus Casino.
This video game is a battle royale-style arena shooter. During play numerous online players battle it out to be the last one standing. The game was purportedly inspired by the Japanese film Battle Royale, which is – in addition – suspected to be the inspiration for The Hunger Games.
On top of the remarkable sales numbers for consoles as well as PC, in addition it’s been said that the mobile version of Battlegrounds has been downloaded more than 1 billion times. This makes this game one of the most downloaded mobile games of all time.
Tetris (EA)
The Electronic Arts release of Tetris was issued on 12 September 2006, for mobile devices. This version sold 100 million copies, thanks to its availability as well as familiarity. In addition, it’s Tetris – one of the best video games of all time – on the go.