Think you know the gaming industry well? What do you think are the top 10 fastest selling games of all time? If we take a look at first week sales, which games have sold the best in the past 20 years?
You get one point for each correct guess, let’s see how many games you can list out of the 10 top selling games! If you think you really know your stuff, try getting the games in the right order as well – an extra point for each game in the right order.
#10 – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Being one of the most popular franchises of all time, it’s no surprise that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe got on this list. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 1.22 million in its first week.
Not only did Mario Kart 8 Deluxe manage to make it onto the top 10 fastest games within the past two decades with this number, but it also broke Mario Kart first week sales.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has quickly become the most popular Mario Kart game on the market.
#9 – Breath Of The Wild/Pokémon Gold and Silver
Breath Of The Wild probably came as no surprise. It’s estimated that The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild broke 1.4 million sales in a week.
The newly refined Legend Of Zelda franchise crashed down onto the Nintendo Switch in spectacular fashion – it brought a fresh new take on Zelda with a massive open world, brand new combat mechanics, and plenty of puzzles and quests that felt familiar to past Zelda players.
It certainly helped that Breath Of The Wild debuted on the Nintendo Switch as a launch title – the game brought in roughly 1.1 million Nintendo Switch sales.
Pokémon Gold and Silver just about tied with Breath Of The Wild on first week sales. This title sold 1.4 million units in its first week.
This was all the way back in the Gameboy Color days. It’s safe to say that the video game industry has only grown in size since then, so these sales are incredible.
Pokémon is, of course, another top worldwide video game franchise, once again from Nintendo. Whilst technically two games, most players would pick one of two versions, depending on what legendary Pokémon they wanted to catch later in the game.
#8 – Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
In 7th place, we have Pokemon Diamond and Pearl with 1.75 million sales in its first week.
Diamond and Pearl were the first Pokemon games on the Nintendo DS, so these great sales really were no surprise.
Diamond and Pearl had a lot to live up to, but Nintendo managed to make the most of the new technology available on the DS to turn these two games into something even more expansive than any previous Pokémon games.
#7 – GTA: San Andreas
At number 6, GTA: San Andreas debuts as the first game on this list from Rockstar Games. San Andreas sold 2.06 million units in its first week.
The GTA franchise offers a very different experience to the family-friendly titles on this list so far, but the popularity of the franchise over the years has helped it to grow exponentially.
Unsurprisingly, GTA: San Andreas isn’t the only Grand Theft Auto title on this list. But which other games managed to sell well? Can you guess?
#6 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Melee brought a grassroots scene of very dedicated competitive players. So it’s no wonder Super Smash Bros. Brawl sold 2.7 million units in its first week.
Super Smash Bros stands today as one of the most community-led competitive scenes in the world.
Brawl brought this competitive atmosphere to a whole new generation of players, but it also made itself a frontrunner for local co-op games in a generation where such games had almost died off.
#5 – Pokémon X and Y
Oh, another Pokémon game? Yep, this time it’s X and Y and it sold even more than past titles. In total, Pokémon X and Y managed to sell 4 million in its first weekend.
X and Y was once again the first Pokémon title for a brand new handheld console, this time the 3DS. The Nintendo 3DS had even more technology thrown into the mix and Nintendo took advantage of that as much as they possibly could.
The end result is a game that’s both impressive as an RPG and as a technical showcase of what the 3DS, and 3D Pokémon games can be.
#4 – GTA IV
Another Grand Theft Auto game makes its way onto the list in spot number 4. Fittingly, it’s Grand Theft Auto IV in spot 4, with approximately 6 million sales in its first week.
It really came as no surprise to us to find out how well GTA IV sold – it seems Rockstar’s rise to fame only goes up and up as time goes on. This may be partly due to the fact that as console technology has improved, the ability for Rockstar to make bigger, more engaging open world has grown too.
Or perhaps it’s the fact that Rockstar has never failed at good storytelling, a good flow of gameplay, and ultimately making good games.
#3 – Diablo III
This one was the most shocking to us. Despite being a PC-only title, Diablo III managed to sit in spot 3 with 6.3 million sales in its first week.
We understand there was a very strong following for Diablo II, but this number of sales is mind-boggling to us. The game continued to reach new levels of success, and it also sold reasonably well on consoles further down the line.
#2 – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
In number 2, we have one of the best RPG titles in history. Skyrim sits in spot number 2 with 7 million copies sold in a week.
There’s a lot to be said about Skyrim, but seeing it has sold so well, chances are you’ve already played it.
#1 – Grand Theft Auto V
You’ve probably heard a lot about how well GTA V has sold. GTA V sold 12 million copies on its first day.
No game has sold so well since, and we’re patiently waiting for GTA 6 to be the first game to top this record.
Summary
How many did you get right? If you managed to ace it, how many did you get in the right order?