Special Report

50 Most Popular Video Games of All Time

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Video games have been wildly popular since the release of Atari’s Pong. Since then, video games have evolved at a rapid pace. Improving technology and customer demand resulted in faster, better-looking, and all around more complex games.

Along the way, some titles have sold far better than others. 24/7 Wall St. has reviewed unit sales data for over 100,000 video games to identify the most popular games of all time.

Click here to see the most popular video games of all time.

Benefiting from the most recent technological developments and a growing market, games released in recent years are largely the winners, achieving the most sales. Twenty-five of the top selling games of all time were released in the 2000s and 18 came out in 2010 or after.

A number of outstanding games released in the 1980s and 90s also appear on the list thanks to high sales since their release. All of these, including such games as Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros., and the early Pokémon games, were released by Japanese gaming giant Nintendo. Overall, the company accounts for 24 of the 50 most popular games.

A more diverse range of publishers appear when looking at games released in more recent years, including Electronic Arts, Bethesda Softworks, and Microsoft Game Studios. Rockstar Games appears multiple times with several installments of its hugely successful Grand Theft Auto series, as does Activision, the company behind the extensive line of Call of Duty games. Of these two series alone, 13 titles made the list.

Other series with multiple titles on the list include FIFA, Mario Kart, and Pokémon.

To identify the most popular games of all time, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the total units sold of video game titles since their respective releases as provided by VGChartz. Sales for titles released across multiple consoles were combined. Data on release dates and publishers also came from VGChartz.

"Hsyper" / Flickr

50. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
> Total copies sold: 14.98 million
> Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
> Primary console: PS2 (100% of sales)
> Release date: July 9, 2001

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Courtesy of EA

49. The Sims 3
> Total copies sold: 15.12 million
> Publisher: Electronic Arts
> Primary console: PC (53% of sales)
> Release date: June 2, 2009

mattjerome_88 / Flickr

48. Pokémon Black/White Version
> Total copies sold: 15.18 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: March 6, 2011

Amazon.com

47. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day
> Total copies sold: 15.29 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 20, 2007

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Courtesy of Disney

46. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
> Total copies sold: 15.33 million
> Publisher: LucasArts
> Primary console: Wii (37% of sales)
> Release date: November 6, 2007

RCuerda29 / Flickr

45. FIFA 13
> Total copies sold: 15.36 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS3 (52% of sales)
> Release date: September 25, 2012

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Courtesy of EA Sports

44. FIFA 16
> Total copies sold: 15.80 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS4 (52% of sales)
> Release date: September 22, 2015

Courtesy of Pokémon

43. Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire Version
> Total copies sold: 15.85 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy Advance (100% of sales)
> Release date: March 17, 2003

GameKiller346 / YouTube

42. Call of Duty: World at War
> Total copies sold: 15.91 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (47% of sales)
> Release date: November 10, 2008

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Honou / Flickr

41. Pokémon X/Y
> Total copies sold: 16.15 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo 3DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 12, 2013

SARS Ninja / Flickr

40. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
> Total copies sold: 16.19 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: PS2 (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 28, 2002

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Courtesy of Activision

39. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
> Total copies sold: 16.38 million
> Publisher: RedOctane
> Primary console: PS2 (30% of sales)
> Release date: October 28, 2007

Courtesy of EA Sports

38. FIFA Soccer 14
> Total copies sold: 16.38 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS3 (40% of sales)
> Release date: September 24, 2013

Courtesy of EA Sports

37. FIFA 17
> Total copies sold: 16.92 million
> Publisher: Electronic Arts
> Primary console: PS4 (64% of sales)
> Release date: September 27, 2016

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Courtesy of Nintendo

36. Super Mario Bros. 3
> Total copies sold: 17.28 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: NES (100% of sales)
> Release date: February 12, 1990

Courtesy of Microsoft

35. Battlefield 3
> Total copies sold: 17.32 million
> Publisher: Electronic Arts
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (42% of sales)
> Release date: October 25, 2011

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BagoGames / Flickr

34. FIFA 15
> Total copies sold: 17.98 million
> Publisher: EA Sports
> Primary console: PS4 (35% of sales)
> Release date: September 23, 2014

Courtesy of Nintendo

33. Super Mario Land
> Total copies sold: 18.14 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 1, 1989

TantrisOST / Flickr

32. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl Version
> Total copies sold: 18.25 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: April 28, 2007

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GameKiller346 / YouTube

31. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
> Total copies sold: 18.33 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (51% of sales)
> Release date: November 5, 2007

BagoGames / Flickr

30. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
> Total copies sold: 19.61 million
> Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (45% of sales)
> Release date: November 11, 2011

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Courtesy of Nintendo

29. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
> Total copies sold: 20.16 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: April 17, 2006

Courtesy of Nintendo

28. Super Mario World
> Total copies sold: 20.61 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Super NES (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 13, 1991

Courtesy of Activision

27. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
> Total copies sold: 21.76 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: PS4 (35% of sales)
> Release date: November 4, 2014

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Courtesy of Nintendo

26. Wii Fit Plus
> Total copies sold: 21.81 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 4, 2009

DanQ8000 / YouTube

25. Kinect Adventures!
> Total copies sold: 22.09 million
> Publisher: Microsoft
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 4, 2010

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Courtesy of Rock Star Games

24. Grand Theft Auto IV
> Total copies sold: 22.51 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (49% of sales)
> Release date: April 29, 2008

Courtesy of Nintendo

23. Wii Fit
> Total copies sold: 22.70 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: May 21, 2008

BagoGames / Flickr

22. Pokémon Gold/Silver Version
> Total copies sold: 23.10 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 14, 2000

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Lordcolus / Flickr

21. Mario Kart DS
> Total copies sold: 23.26 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 14, 2005

Mariam Maldonado / Flickr

20. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
> Total copies sold: 23.87 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: PS2 (87% of sales)
> Release date: October 26, 2004

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Courtesy of Nintendo

19. Nintendogs
> Total copies sold: 24.68 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: August 23, 2005

SS Games Online / Flickr

18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
> Total copies sold: 25.00 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (54% of sales)
> Release date: November 10, 2009

Courtesy of Activision

17. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
> Total copies sold: 26.46 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: PS4 (57% of sales)
> Release date: November 6, 2015

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Courtesy of Activision

16. Call of Duty: Ghosts
> Total copies sold: 28.10 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (37% of sales)
> Release date: November 5, 2013

Courtesy of Nintendo

15. Duck Hunt
> Total copies sold: 28.31 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: NES (100% of sales)
> Release date: October 15, 1985

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Courtesy of Nintendo

14. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
> Total copies sold: 28.47 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 15, 2009

Courtesy of Nintendo

13. Wii Play
> Total copies sold: 28.92 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: February 12, 2007

BagoGames / Flickr

12. Minecraft
> Total copies sold: 29.13 million
> Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (33% of sales)
> Release date: June 4, 2013

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ggalvan1800 / Flickr

11. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
> Total copies sold: 29.58 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (47% of sales)
> Release date: November 13, 2012

Courtesy of Nintendo

10. New Super Mario Bros.
> Total copies sold: 29.85 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Nintendo DS (100% of sales)
> Release date: May 15, 2006

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Courtesy of Activision

9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
> Total copies sold: 30.71 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (48% of sales)
> Release date: November 8, 2011

Courtesy of Activision

8. Call of Duty: Black Ops
> Total copies sold: 30.99 million
> Publisher: Activision
> Primary console: Xbox 360 (48% of sales)
> Release date: November 9, 2010

Courtesy of The Pokémon Company

7. Pokémon Red/Green/Blue Version
> Total copies sold: 31.37 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (100% of sales)
> Release date: September 30, 1998

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yoppy / Flickr

6. Wii Sports Resort
> Total copies sold: 32.90 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: July 26, 2009

Courtesy of Nintendo

5. Mario Kart Wii
> Total copies sold: 35.78 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: April 27, 2008

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Courtesy of Nintendo

4. Tetris
> Total copies sold: 35.84 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Game Boy (84% of sales)
> Release date: June 1, 1989

Courtesy of Nintendo

3. Super Mario Bros.
> Total copies sold: 45.31 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: NES (89% of sales)
> Release date: October 18, 1985

BagoGames / Flickr

2. Grand Theft Auto V
> Total copies sold: 61.85 million
> Publisher: Rockstar Games
> Primary console: PS3 (33% of sales)
> Release date: September 17, 2013

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BagoGames / Flickr

1. Wii Sports
> Total copies sold: 82.65 million
> Publisher: Nintendo
> Primary console: Wii (100% of sales)
> Release date: November 19, 2006

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