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The Best-Selling Game of the Biggest Consoles of All Time

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Ignacio Weil

Galleries - August 18th 2026, 01:00 GMT+2

Sonic Adventure 1998 — 15. Dreamcast: Sonic Adventure (1998) — Approximately 2.5 Million Copies

The Dreamcast needed to prove that its blue mascot could survive the jump into 3D, and *Sonic Adventure* answered with speed, spectacle and a camera struggling to keep up with both. Six playable campaigns, cinematic set pieces and the dangerously absorbing Chao Garden helped it sell approximately 2.5 million copies. Rough edges have become harder to ignore with age, but Emerald Coast remains an irresistible demonstration of the optimism surrounding Sega’s final console before reality arrived carrying a PlayStation 2. | © Sega

Super Smash Bros Melee — 14. GameCube: Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) — 7.41 Million Copies

That plastic handle made the GameCube easy to carry, while *Super Smash Bros. Melee* supplied the reason anyone would bring one to a friend’s house. Its 7.41 million sales placed it above *Mario Kart: Double Dash!!*, *Super Mario Sunshine* and every Zelda adventure on the system. Lightning-fast combat made casual matches wonderfully chaotic, yet hidden techniques produced a competitive scene that refused to retire. The console disappeared from stores; *Melee* tournaments apparently missed the announcement. | © Nintendo

13. Original Xbox: Halo 2 (2004) — 8.46 Million Copies

*Halo 2* did not merely become the original Xbox’s biggest game; it showed why the machine needed an internet connection. Matchmaking, parties, clans and downloadable maps turned Xbox Live into a nightly meeting place, laying down conventions that online shooters still use. Its 8.46 million sales were enormous for hardware that sold roughly 24 million units worldwide. The divisive cliffhanger annoyed campaign players, but multiplayer fans were too busy arguing over who had stolen the energy sword to care. | © Bungie

Gran Turismo 1997 — 12. PlayStation: Gran Turismo (1997) — 10.85 Million Copies

*Gran Turismo* treated the original PlayStation less like a toy and more like an affordable driving laboratory. Detailed tuning, demanding license tests and handling inspired by real vehicles brought a new seriousness to console racing. Its 10.85 million sales narrowly carried it past *Final Fantasy VII* to become the system’s biggest game. Players may remember failing the same braking test twelve consecutive times, but frustration apparently sells when accompanied by a sufficiently shiny Nissan Skyline. | © Polyphony Digital

Cropped Super Mario 64 1996 — 11. Nintendo 64: Super Mario 64 (1996) — 11.91 Million Copies

*Super Mario 64* sold more than 11.91 million copies while teaching an entire industry how movement should feel in three dimensions. Peach’s castle turned level selection into exploration, paintings became portals and the analog stick offered a degree of control that directional pads could never imitate. Its camera now behaves like an argumentative shopping cart, but that flaw barely dents the achievement. The game did not simply showcase the Nintendo 64; it wrote instructions that countless 3D adventures followed afterward. | © Nintendo

Sonic the Hedgehog 1991 — 10. Sega Genesis/Mega Drive: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) — Approximately 15 Million Copies

Speed became an attitude rather than a technical feature when *Sonic the Hedgehog* tore through Green Hill Zone. Bundling the game with the Genesis helped it reach approximately 15 million copies, giving Sega a mascot capable of staring directly at Mario without immediately blinking. Loops, springs and bright checkerboard landscapes made the console feel younger and louder than its competition. Half the players probably smashed into the first wall after holding right, but the television commercials wisely skipped that part. | © Sega

Marvels Spider Man 2 2023 — 9. PlayStation 5: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (2023) — Estimated 16.7 Million

Peter Parker and Miles Morales did more than save New York; they gave the PS5 its clearest single-player sales monster. Official figures passed 11 million while the game was still console-exclusive, and later estimates place its PS5 sales above 16.7 million. Faster web-swinging, instant character swapping and Venom-sized spectacle made it an irresistible hardware showcase. *Astro’s Playroom* may live on every PS5, but preinstalled software does not get to sneak into a best-selling competition. | © Insomniac Games

Cropped San Andreas — 8. PlayStation 2: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) — 17.33 Million Copies

*San Andreas* turned the PlayStation 2 into a three-city crime sandbox held together by ambition, attitude and what must have been terrified hardware. Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas came packed with gang wars, aircraft, bicycles, character statistics and an alarming number of fast-food stops. The conservative sales total stands at 17.33 million PS2 copies, although later estimates run higher. Even the Hot Coffee scandal could not overshadow a game that made competing open worlds resemble parking lots. | © Rockstar Games

Cropped Grand Theft Auto V — 7. PlayStation 3: Grand Theft Auto V (2013) — More Than 20 Million Copies Reported

The PS3 is where *Grand Theft Auto V* first performed its most audacious trick: squeezing an enormous, seamless Los Santos onto hardware already approaching retirement. Its three-protagonist campaign kept missions unpredictable, while *GTA Online* transformed a blockbuster into a permanent address. No final PS3-only lifetime figure was published, and reported totals vary considerably. Even the most conservative figures put it above 20 million copies and safely ahead of *Gran Turismo 5*, the console’s strongest challenger. | © Rockstar Games

Super Mario World 1990 — 6. Super Nintendo: Super Mario World (1990) — 20.61 Million Copies

Yoshi hatched, Mario grabbed a cape and the Super Nintendo received a pack-in game that barely seemed interested in playing things safely. *Super Mario World* sold 20.61 million copies while hiding alternate exits, secret areas and entire routes behind its cheerful surface. Reaching Bowser was straightforward; uncovering all 96 exits became the real obsession. Plenty of launch games demonstrate new hardware, but this one arrived looking suspiciously like the finished masterpiece other platformers spend years trying to become. | © Nintendo

5. Xbox 360: Kinect Adventures! (2010) — Approximately 24 Million Copies

The Xbox 360 sales crown does not belong to *Halo 3*, *Minecraft* or even *Grand Theft Auto V*. It belongs to *Kinect Adventures!*, the cheerful minigame collection bundled with the Kinect sensor as it approached 24 million units. River Rush and Reflex Ridge mostly existed to demonstrate that your body was now the controller—and that your furniture was badly positioned. Its record doubles as an enormous receipt for the brief period when motion controls looked like gaming’s unavoidable future. | © Microsoft Game Studios

4. PlayStation 4: Grand Theft Auto V (2014) — Approximately 24.7 Million Copies

Yes, Los Santos is back already—and this will not be its final appearance. The PS4 edition arrived at the perfect intersection of a rapidly expanding audience and a game apparently engineered never to leave the charts. Estimates place it near 24.7 million copies, though no definitive PS4-only lifetime figure was published. Expanded visuals, a first-person mode and the gravitational pull of *GTA Online* kept it selling long after most early-generation upgrades had reached the bargain bin. | © Rockstar Games

Super Mario Bros 1985 — 3. NES/Famicom: Super Mario Bros. (1985) — 40.24 Million Copies

The NES crown belongs to *Super Mario Bros.*, whose 40.24 million copies include cartridges bundled with millions of consoles. Pack-in status explains the enormous number, but not why players kept returning after they understood how the controller worked. World 1-1 taught movement, enemies, power-ups and secrets without opening a tutorial window or delivering a lecture. It did not single-handedly rescue the North American game industry, but it gave the NES revival one extremely persuasive mustache. | © Nintendo

Mario kart 8 — 2. Nintendo Switch: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017) — 71.53 Million Copies

An expanded version of a Wii U racer somehow became the Nintendo Switch’s permanent welcome mat. *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe* repaired the battle mode, included the original DLC and kept growing until its sales passed 71.53 million copies. Its real genius is accommodating everyone, from children relying on Smart Steering to adults quietly ending friendships over a blue shell. After nearly a decade of domination, the checkered flag appears to have been included strictly for decoration. | © Nintendo

Cropped Wii sports — 1. Wii: Wii Sports (2006) — 82.90 Million Copies

*Wii Sports* did not merely win the Wii generation; it greeted millions of buyers at the front door. Bundling it with the console across most territories helped those five wonderfully simple sports reach 82.90 million copies. The record is inseparable from the hardware, but the game still accomplished something remarkable: grandparents understood bowling within seconds, children discovered the dangers of unsecured wrist straps and living rooms everywhere suddenly required considerably more public liability insurance. | © Nintendo

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Sales charts have a mischievous way of turning gaming history into a fight between Nintendo mascots, blockbuster sequels and whatever happened to be bundled inside the box. From the NES and Game Boy to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, every major console produced one title that towered over the competition. Here are the best-selling games on the 15 biggest consoles ever—including enough appearances from Grand Theft Auto V to make counting generations feel slightly pointless.

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Sales charts have a mischievous way of turning gaming history into a fight between Nintendo mascots, blockbuster sequels and whatever happened to be bundled inside the box. From the NES and Game Boy to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, every major console produced one title that towered over the competition. Here are the best-selling games on the 15 biggest consoles ever—including enough appearances from Grand Theft Auto V to make counting generations feel slightly pointless.