Network now...FEATURE
The 60 Biggest Selling Games of the Last 12 Months
Each year, at around this time, Edge attempts to tally up the biggest selling games of the previous 12 months. Using a variety of sources, we try to estimate sales of games across North America and Europe.
It's not an easy job. No individual market-research firm makes such a tally. Those excellent organizations that count sales in either Europe or North America, such as NPD and Chart-Track, do not release their stats (though they are often leaked). Publishers themselves are sometimes willing to talk about sales, though often off the record, or they talk about numbers sold to retail. Historical records and hardware bases are also useful to us.
The fact is that these figures are guesstimates. We feel that they represent a good indication of how these products have fared on the market, but we do not suggest that they are exact or that our rankings are unimpeachable. We have attempted to include as many games that we believe have sold a million units or more; but if we have missed any - or made any genuine mistakes - do please let us know and we will pass on the info to our readers.
As is traditional, we have included, for each entry, a quote that we liked from a contemporaneous review.
Some notes before we begin -
•Games are ranked according to our estimate of their sales to consumers from launch-date up until Dec 31st 2008. We only count sales in North America and Europe NOT Japan, Asia or anywhere else.
•When two games have sold very similar amounts, the one on the fewest platforms ranks highest. If still tied, the one available for the least time ranks highest.
•Review score is for the highest-scoring platform. Average scores courtesy of GameRankings. Quotes taken from GameRankings and MetaCritic.
•Portable versions of games have been included, even when the name and style of the game differs slightly from the console versions.
•Sales do not include mobile phone versions or download-sales or bundles.
61. Major League Baseball 2K8
Take 2Multiple Platforms
1 million
March
Reviews: 72%
"MLB 2K8 is full of new ideas; unfortunately, it's also filled with technical problems."
- Aaron Thomas, GameSpot.
60. MLB 08: The Show
SonyPS3;PS2;PSP
1 million
March
Reviews: 86%
"Just about as good as baseball can get, and will no doubt keep fans happy for many months. Between the franchise, Road To The Show, and online modes, it’s packed with top-notch gameplay that rivals the best
we’ve seen."
- Richard Grisham, GamesRadar.
59. The Incredible Hulk
SegaMultiple Platforms
1 million
June
Reviews: 55%
"Bugs ruin fun."
- Thomas McDermott, Dark Zero.
58. Civilization: Revolution
Take TwoXbox 360; PS3; DS
1 million
July
Reviews: 85%
"Civilization Revolution's sunny presentation and bountiful depth might not be sufficient to draw legions of newcomers to turn-based strategy, but it easily the single greatest example of the genre ever to grace a console." - Cameron Lewis, Official Xbox Magazine.
57. High School Musical 3
DisneyMultiple Platforms
1 million
October
Reviews: 70%
"They're all just okay rhythm games that have the benefit of featuring the most popular teenagers in the world."
- Jack DeVries, IGN.
56. NBA Live 09
Electronic ArtsMultiple Platforms
1 million
October
Reviews: 78%
"Live 09's made significant strides, particularly in terms of innovation, but like the Houston Rockets exiting in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, it's the same old story here. NBA 2K9 continues to be the dominant basketball title, hands down."
- Todd Zuniga , 1-Up.
55. NBA 2K9
Take TwoMultiple Platforms
1 million
October
Reviews: 84%
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"2K seems very comfortable with their winning formula - they've got a game that plays and looks great that improves a little each year. They've succeeded in adding wrinkles that do what should be the #1 goal of anyone who makes sports games: They stay out of the way."
- Kent Bardo, Gaming Age.
54. Dead Space
Electronic ArtsXbox 360; PS3; PC
1 million
October
Reviews: 89%
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"Buy it. Do not think about it, just buy it. The game is simply amazing, the best survival horror game in years and maybe ever. This again proves how great games can be when done by competent developers who have a clear vision and understand how to give gamers the best experience possible."
- Brian Edey, Game Focus.
53. We Ski / Family Ski
Namco BandaiWii Exclusive
May
1 million
Reviews: 68%
"We Ski isn't a game that will satiate your need for high-speed thrills, over-the-top stunts, and fierce competition. Rather, it's a relatively sedate game in which you can have fun exploring, taking part in friendly contests, running errands for other skiers, and posing for photos"
- Justin Calvert, GameSpot.
52. Ninja Gaiden 2
MicrosoftXbox 360 Exclusive
1.1 million
June
Reviews: 82%
"Some things still remain true from the previous games, and while not all of them are positive carry-overs, the end result is a lot of fun to play, despite its technical issues."
- Dustin Chadwell, Gaming Age.
51. Sonic Unleashed
SegaMultiple Platforms
1.1 million
November
Reviews: 68%
.jpg)
"It's too fiddly and obtuse to appeal to children, and too generic and tacky to cater towards the discerning taste of a gaming adult. The only possible reason you'd have for wanting this game is because it's cheap."
- Martin Gaston, Play.
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Didn't expect most of that, i must say.
Where the hell is Wii Play? It was the single best selling game in 2008 int he US if you separate games by SKUs. Surely it'd make the worldwide list.
This list is just for games released in 2008, I'm sure wii play was out before then.
I hope a million sales of Dead Space green lights a Dead Space sequel, the controls are that good it makes the demo of Resident Evil 5 a little less appealing to me.
Got bored of GTA4 after a couple of hours game play I guess it didn’t have the charm of Vice City.
Like Fable 2, GTA4 isn't perfect. Both have serious issues with their game play mechanics.
What annoys me most is how the context sensitive controls seem to glitch and have lag WAY too often. I'd rather deal with Defender in the arcade where you had to press a button to change the direction your ship was facing.
I guess I'm old school, but one of my favorite moments in a well made game is when the controls mentally click. It's like the point when learning a piano sonata where all of the notes are in your head and you muscle memory, and you can actually express yourself. It's about playful creation, and in high quality video games the interaction is more like playing in a jazz band.
But the whole trend to make games easy to pick up and play for the uninitiated really pisses me off, especially when its not done right. However, I finished GTA4 because I related to Niko. Sometimes, I wish I could get revenge on all the rich bastards in this world who piss on morals in exchange for quick profit.
Call of Duty: World at War is a fantastic title. "
- Ron Burke, GamingTrend.
Are you serious, its one of the most bug infested rushed out bullshit ive played in years the online had so many issues the beta told me that , come on infinity i cant wait for six ! .I am never buying another Treyarch title they clearly havent got a clue how to produce a half decent shooter, as for the bloke @ gaming trend ron burke , his last name says it all .......
I'll second that, Jaumpasama
According to Ubisoft's third-quarter 2008-09 sales reports, Prince of Persia sold 2.2 Mil. units. So you think it's really 1.1 Mil. units still in the shelves?
http://pressextranet.ubisoft.com/EMEA/DE/PublicPages/PressReleasesDetails.aspx?prid=255&title=Ubisoft®%20reports%20third-quarter%202008-09%20sales
Apart from that, some comparisons seem a little unfair. If you call it the 60 biggest brands, it makes more sense, but it shouldn't be much of a surprise that all Guitar Hero games (including World Tour, Aerosmith and On Tour) sold significantly more than a Rock Band 2 (that hasn't yet come out for PS3 in Europe to date). On the other hand, Rock Band 1 was released by the end of 2008 for PS3, PS2 und Wii, so why not count them in?
Am I the only person in this universe that believes GTA IV is CRIMINALLY overrated? Anyone????
All those 10/10's for GTA were in fact the gaming journalists beating the drum for their own industry. The game itself was 'jack of all trades & master of..... ' well maybe 2 or 3 things; art design, vehicle crash dynamics certainly... but there was a lot of jack in there. Character movement was certainly not next gen compared with Assassin's Creed or Tomb Raider Underworld. As soon as you entered a 'mission' all the choice and freedom disappeared. There was no 'persistence' - you couldn't leave items in one part of the city then return to use them - btw Oblivion had full persistence. Players were not motivated to maintain frienships. That whole dynamic was underdeveloped.....
I'd agree with that as well, its not really solved any of the problems that existed with the previous games and just added a lot more.
The main thing I don't like is the shift in tone that San Andreas and GTA4 have had, moving from the more cartoony and surreal feel of Vice City and earlier incarnations into gritty realism just ruined it for me.
I'm with Jaumpasama on this one. So that's two of us vs the rest of the world... I haven't gone back to it since the first month of release.
Glad Bad Company got on here though.
Mmmm... Well... ermm... Yep you are probably the only one :P
Good grief there's some dross amongst that, but then again when isn't there in the best seller lists?
Why am i so surprised by this list?
No idea, do tell.
WTF George Lucas could release a turd in tin foil and people would buy it. Oh he already did - he opened each individual Force Unleashed box and took a dump into it. 5 million copies.... thats a disgrace.
Totally agree with you. Fortunately I only played the demo...
Interesting, but it makes me wonder how these games above would compare to the sales in Japan/Asia.
It's nice to see Ninja Gaiden2 and Sonic Unleashed on the list ( two criminally underrated games in my opinion,) but I am suprised not to have seen some 'big name' releases make the list.