The best-selling video game of each year since 1993 (ftw.usatoday.com)
from 2tone@lemmy.world to retrogaming@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 01:46
https://lemmy.world/post/3259277

#retrogaming

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CaptainFlintlockFinn@lemmy.ca on 16 Aug 2023 01:54 next collapse

I had no idea call of duty was such a big deal. It’s not my jam so I never notice it.

2tone@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:02 next collapse

Someone should make Call of Pokemon

CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml on 16 Aug 2023 02:16 collapse

GRAND THEFT POKEMON OF DUTY

I made $100 million just from typing that out

2tone@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:31 collapse

I just threw my wallet at your comment

Izzy@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:19 next collapse

I was thinking the same thing. I’ve never played a single one or even seen gameplay footage of them. Who is playing these games? I assumed they were just generic shooters.

TesterJ@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:23 next collapse

Sure, but they’re the generic shooter. And it had a big resurgence during COVID with everyone and their mothers playing Warzone. I hadn’t touched CoD since MW3 in like 2012 and I put so many hours into the 2019 Modern Warfare game with Warzone.

StalksEveryone@lemmy.villa-straylight.social on 16 Aug 2023 05:08 collapse

I haven’t touched CoD since the Medal of Honor team made Call of Duty.

cmbabul@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:23 next collapse

I mean they are, but they also kinda defined what a generic shooter is today, I haven’t picked one up in ages because I hate multiplayer these days, had a lot of fun playing them up until Black Ops. Kinda got stale for me after that

DrQuint@lemm.ee on 16 Aug 2023 05:18 collapse

By virtue of them selling the best, they ARE generic shooters. It’s just that the definition moves with them.

soyagi@yiffit.net on 16 Aug 2023 03:07 collapse

This is why Sony was making such a big deal about Call of Duty during the discussions about Microsoft acquiring Activision (owners of the Call of Duty franchise). Sony wanted reassurance that the Call of Duty games would still come out on the PlayStation consoles, and not be exclusive to Microsoft’s platforms (Xbox and Windows). When you see that Call of Duty has been the best selling game nearly every year recently, you can understand Sony’s plea.

Pregnenolone@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:05 next collapse

Mario Kart mechanics peaked in MK64

reddig33@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:29 next collapse

No way. The Wii version was wild, using gestures for actions like jumping.

cccc@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 04:05 next collapse

DS I reckon. It was just MK64 but slightly more refined.

Pleonasm@programming.dev on 16 Aug 2023 04:19 next collapse

And kart mechanics peaked in Crash Team Racing…

yyyesss@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 05:57 collapse

disagree, Double Dash defined dynamic driving.

Gallardo994@sh.itjust.works on 16 Aug 2023 02:14 next collapse

So pretty much history of COD with some other games alongside

ThirdWorldOrder@lemm.ee on 16 Aug 2023 02:17 collapse

It’s funny because the best COD wasn’t even #1 when it came out

reddig33@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:27 next collapse

Would be interesting to take this list all the way back to Pong in the 1970s.

[deleted] on 16 Aug 2023 02:28 collapse

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kratoz29@lemm.ee on 16 Aug 2023 02:40 next collapse

TLDR: Call of Duty.

drcouzelis@lemmy.zip on 16 Aug 2023 02:56 next collapse

And Pokémon, holy crap. The same games were the best sellers multiple years in a row??

mrbubblesort@kbin.social on 16 Aug 2023 03:03 next collapse

Well, more like ...

Mario, Mario, Pokemon, Pokemon, GTA, CoD, wtf Animal Crossing?, CoD

Corgana@startrek.website on 16 Aug 2023 14:28 collapse

Call of Duty… Call of Duty… Call of Duty… Animal Crossing

Did something happen in 2020?

bob@lemmy.ca on 16 Aug 2023 02:40 next collapse

This just made me miss the 90’s.

PaulDevonUK@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:47 next collapse

It’s a shame that it doesn’t go back far enough to include DooM.

Grabthar@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 14:00 collapse

It does? The list starts in 1993, when Doom came out. Everyone played it, but I have never even seen a purchased copy. That might impact a lot of PC game sales, and explain why the list is dominated by console titles.

Roundcat@kbin.cafe on 16 Aug 2023 03:22 next collapse

Very interesting how despite being the distant runner-up (and the 3rd place console in Japan) N64 games were consistant best sellers from 1996 to 1999. Either taking first, or several of the runner-up spots. Then in the 2000s, You don't see a single place from 2002 until 2006. I think this shows the real tragedy of the Gamecube. At least with the N64, games still sold numbers, but with the gamecube, Nintendo was struggling with consoles and software. Surprised not even any Gameboy Advance games made the list.

PlasticExistence@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 03:56 collapse

I think an important aspect of Nintendo losing their best sellers during the early 2000s was the expensive choice to keep using cartridges on the N64. Then they failed with the 64DD to fix the problem of insufficient storage space available on the cartridges for the games other developers wanted to make.

The prime example is Square moving the Final Fantasy series to PlayStation starting with FF7. They could not have achieved the scale and 3D animations of FF7 on the N64. They needed the cheap and abundant storage space of CDs to make FF7.

If I was a single-console gamer who was more satisfied with the games available on PlayStation than on N64, then for the next generation I likely would choose a PS2 over whenever the N64’s successor would be (as Nintendo has typically released last within a console generation while Sony usually releases early). And then at that point, I’m not buying Nintendo games at all, so I’m not contributing to their sales numbers. Xbox also rose during those years too.

Nintendo dug their own grave with respect to being the market leader in large part because they did not value their third party partners as much as they should have, and by the time the N64 was out, they had chased away a lot of important game developers. Those developers being absent for the GameCube generation hurt them. They somewhat repaired things during the Wii era, but I don’t think their relationships with 3rd party developers and publishers were close to the same until the Switch.

TheMauveAvenger@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 04:30 next collapse

Lots of good points. Xbox is a big factor in this. Also, this was around the time many millennials were starting to buy consoles on their own and Nintendo was seen as somewhat childish. The more mature games were coming out on the other consoles at the same time that the first generation that grew up with pervasive gaming were becoming adults.

PlasticExistence@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 15:26 collapse

I was such a millennial. Disappointed by the game selection (and perceived childishness) on the N64, I wound up with a PlayStation. Then I went with an Xbox for the next gen, followed by a Slim PS2. I did buy a Wii but owned few games for it. I basically skipped the Wii U era altogether.

I got a Switch on launch, but it was the same thing within a couple of years: I wanted a console with better performance because many of the best games of the generation would not be on Nintendo’s platform or would be ported years later with worse graphics (and with the premium of the Switch tax). I have a fairly big library for the PS4/5 while my Switch sits unused.

I still very much appreciate Nintendo’s own games, but a console needs more than first party titles.

fidodo@lemm.ee on 16 Aug 2023 06:58 collapse

The actual game part of ff7 could have easily run on the N64, it was just the fmvs and music that were too big.

GenericUsername28@lemmynsfw.com on 16 Aug 2023 12:58 collapse

Without the FMVs or music, a large part of what made FF7 great would have been lost.

FinalBoy1975@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 03:25 next collapse

I distinctly remember everyone playing Ocarina of Time in 1998. I didn’t know anyone that was playing Pokemon Red/Blue.

AnonTwo@kbin.social on 16 Aug 2023 03:38 collapse

You have a really small circle then. Pokemon literally was making the news with how much it was dominating media at the time of it's western release in 1998.

To be fair, it's not like OoT wasn't popular. Even the article says it was second. But Pokemon was a phenomenon

FinalBoy1975@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 04:55 collapse

It’s probably something to do with age. In 1998 I was 22. I was probably too old for Pokemon. I remember my nephews played the card game throughout the 90s. I didn’t play Ocarina or Pokemon, but I knew tons of people into Ocarina, like my nephews. Memory is also unreliable and yes, it’s listed as number 2, which surprised me, my poor or selective memory would have placed it number 1.

MajorHavoc@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:52 next collapse

That Pokemon run from 1998 to 2001. Wow.

Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 02:53 next collapse

COD, COD, COD, COD, Animal Crossing, COD, COD COD, COD

Lol.

drcouzelis@lemmy.zip on 16 Aug 2023 02:58 next collapse

1995: Mortal Kombat 3

Console: Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, PC, Game Boy, Game Gear

I have Mortal Kombat 3 for Game Boy! Fun fact, it’s the only original Game Boy game officially released rated M for Mature.

Also the Game Boy version is garbage. XD

2tone@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 04:16 collapse

Hahaha. Can’t imagine playing that on the Game Boy!

ftothe3@lemm.ee on 16 Aug 2023 04:08 next collapse

I read that tears of the kingdom is the best selling game of 2023 so far. I wonder where the author got their numbers from.

Stoney_Logica1@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 06:45 collapse

Yeah, no way Harry Potter is selling more copies than TotK.

AtomicPurple@kbin.social on 16 Aug 2023 04:49 next collapse

I'm surprised that Gran Turismo was number one is 2005. I remember Star Wars Battlefront II being the hot new game everyone was playing at the time, and Star Wars being huge in general due to Episode III releasing that year. Just the fact that a PS2 exclusive driving sim, beat out a multi-platform Star Wars game that was one of the most hyped releases at the time is insane to me.

PhantomPhanatic@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 04:14 next collapse

Everyone here talking about CoD and all I want to know is how Star Fox on SNES beat out GoldenEye in 1997.

RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 08:13 collapse

More people had a SNES and could afford Star Fox compared to buying a Nintendo64 console which was only one year old + GoldenEye.

LegoManIAm94@lemmy.zip on 16 Aug 2023 03:13 next collapse

I would not expect games on hand held consoles to reach best selling game of the year. I am shocked how Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare made the top spot in 2016. I remember that game getting booed before it was released.

MeatsOfRage@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 04:15 next collapse

Shout out to Elden Ring. It’s the only non-sequel, non-ip based game to chart since Destiny and Watch Dogs in 2014.

Stoney_Logica1@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 06:43 collapse

Seems wrong to not consider it a sequel to the Dark Souls games though. I know it’s not, but it’s more than a spiritual successor IMO.

optissima@possumpat.io on 16 Aug 2023 21:09 collapse

I mean you could say that about DS too. It’s just demon souls spiritual successor. Which is a spiritual successor of Kingsgate.

tallwookie@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 06:03 next collapse

eh, consoles maybe. Starcraft wasnt in that last though.

Wodge@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 06:35 next collapse

Nah, there is no way it outsold Pokemon Red/Blue.

Ashtear@lemm.ee on 16 Aug 2023 07:36 collapse

PC gaming was a much smaller market in the 90’s compared to today. 1998 was also an insane year for gaming. Starcraft wasn’t even in the top 10 for the year.

outdated_belated@lemmy.sdf.org on 16 Aug 2023 06:48 next collapse

Wow, the most recent GTA game is still ten years old?

superkret@feddit.de on 16 Aug 2023 10:00 next collapse

cries in Elder Scrolls

Pumpkinbot@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 17:41 collapse

The PlayStation 2 had three GTAs.

GTAV had three PlayStations.

morganth@discuss.tchncs.de on 17 Aug 2023 00:33 collapse

You just blew my mind.

Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 08:34 next collapse

Pretty sure if they updated this year’s entry today that it’d be taken over by Baldur’s Gate.

cam_i_am@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 11:59 collapse

Nah no way. I’m as big a BG fanboy as anyone but it’s a decidedly niche genre. The vast majority of people are not interested in CRPGs.

Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 15:55 collapse

Possible counterpoint worth noting, that game has been breaking concurrent player records on steam for several days in a row, and the game has yet to release on consoles. So if it’s not the biggest game this year yet, it’s likely to happen in the nearby future.

tgcp@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 08:41 next collapse

Was Minecraft never a top 5 best selling game in any year?

JFowler369@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 12:48 next collapse

Really speaks to Minecraft’s staying power that even without ever being in the top five for a single year it is the best selling game of all time. Cumulative COD clearly wins out but I would guess the majority of each game’s sales are repeat customers.

secret301@sh.itjust.works on 16 Aug 2023 18:59 collapse

Honestly I expected it to be at one ☝️ nt but guess not

Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 09:57 next collapse

Call of Duty: The list

[deleted] on 16 Aug 2023 15:14 next collapse

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Call_Me_Maple@lemmy.world on 16 Aug 2023 15:22 collapse

As expected, Pokémon and then CoD primarily. Gamers just wanna catch cool monsters and kill dudes. Kinda messed up tbh but like, whatever.