CVG have a report that detail the 20 top-selling videogame franchises of all time. As the title of this post rather gives away, the moustachioed plumber took the top spot, with a franchise worth 193 million sales worldwide. The report was initially published by The Independent newspaper in the UK, and the list looks like this:
1. Mario, 193 million
2. Pokémon, 155 million
3. Final Fantasy, 68 million
4. Madden NFL, 56 million
5. The Sims, 54 million
6. Grand Theft Auto, 50 million
7. Donkey Kong, 48 million (centre)
8. The Legend of Zelda, 47 million
9. Sonic the Hedgehog, 44 million
10. Gran Turismo, 44 million
11. Lineage, 43 million
12. Dragon Quest, 41 million
13. Crash Bandicoot, 34 million
14. Resident Evil, 31 million
15. James Bond, 30 million
16. Tomb Raider, 30 million
17. Mega Man, 26 million
18. Command & Conquer, 25 million
19. Street Fighter, 25 million
20. Mortal Kombat, 20 million
It does make you think how amazingly popular Pokemon is, considering the head start Mario has had over it!
Are you surprised with the top 20? Any franchises that you thought would have been up there? The only one I can think of is Metroid, but I gather it's not that big a title in Japan (I may be wrong about that).