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The Top 100 Best-Selling PC Games of the Century
Ground Glass writes "They already did this for consoles and handhelds, but now Next Generationhas finished the cycle by releasing a rather more interesting list of the best-selling PC games released since 2000. It's more interesting as, since most everyone has a Windows PC in some form or another, the games that are purchased for it are...rather more esoteric than you'd see being bought on console. You may also notice the sales numbers are quite a bit lower than on the other lists — is this the spectre of piracy given form? In any case, there's plenty of data to interpret here."
This is like announcing the best games of the year in January.
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"The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
There tend to be a lot MORE PC games than console games released, so the market is more spread. The report is also only since 2000, which means that games from '05 and '06 have had far less time to sell budget copies and the like, than big games released 5 or 6 years ago.
Also, some people have terrible taste...
These numbers are for the US only. In Sweden at least, the PC is still the number one platform, though if you take all the different consoles and handhelds games taken together that is a bigger market. They people who did this article also admit that they don't count sales by, for instance, Steam.
Penny Arcade summed it up pretty well I think -
"Also, when it was announced that Dark Messiah would be built using the Valve's Source engine, I said that if a publisher of Ubisoft's scale chose to deliver a title through Steam, digital delivery would quickly cease being a novelty. Well, that's happening. One sometimes hears that PC gaming is dead, and then you see something like what Valve is doing with Episode 2 and warmth spreads throughout your entire body - even if their bet is being hedged on next-gen systems. We know how good we have it. But try to find evidence of a strong PC platform at dedicated game retailers and the main thing you will find is that they have no interest in it. The games can't be traded in, and a PC gamer probably doesn't attach guides or peripherals to their purchases at the same rate, so it exists outside the philosophical continuum of their business. I'm aware that many gamers find Steam or other ethereal delivery methods distasteful, and I wonder how long they will have that luxury."
Well, as long as Neverwinter Nights 2 comes, I will be a happy gamer for a looong time.
Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die
You know I find it very funny that Scrabble was higher on the list than ghost recon....
The greatest revenge in life is massive success.
It's just shocking how much this article exposes the decline of PC Gaming. In the 90's, top sellers were the Wing Commander Series, LucasArt Adventure Games, Command and Conquer RTSes, Doom, Tomb Raider, and other Genre-busters. On the other hand, the list for this decade breaks down to:
- 1/3 "Edutainment" games
- 1/3 "Classic" Shovelware
- 1/3 Playing off of names from movies and OLD video games
- 1 MMORPG that took the PC community by storm
What's really shocking is that I can't find a single "must have" game on that list. (Unless you count WoW as a "must have" game rather than a service.) I'm tempted to blame the fact on the lack of originality from game makers, but the lack of a single instance of Activision's Star Trek properties on that list probably says a lot about how the PC Gaming market currently views originality. I mean, you'd think that Bridge Commander would be on there. Not to mention the Elite Force and Armada series. (Even if they are based on tired properties.) Each of those games showed a lot of innovation that was surprisingly not rewarded.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
You can name it "The top 100 best-selling games of the Millenium"!
You know when scrabble beats ghost recon....or freaking clue was higher on the list than Morrowind
I have to call shenanigans. Let's see what else we have.
Tonka Dig N Rigs Play set one below MechWarrior 4?
Bob the builder 1 below Far cry? wow this is getting funny.
Wow the game of life as better than Unreal 2k3
weee Atari arcade hits higher than Rome Total war.
OMFG Barbie pet rescue higher than Far Cry Unreal 2k3 Ghost recon and Morrowind....what the freaking hell
This is just completely bogus. Half of these crazy ass games that out shot the major hits I haven't even heard of...I mean seriously BARBIE PET RESCUE number 28 on the list...
Anyone else find these to be a bit bogus?
The greatest revenge in life is massive success.
There are some real stinkers on there. I was hoping to maybe find a gem in the list I hadn't given a shot yet, and didn't see ONE! It's bewildering to me that San Andreas didn't make the list either. That game is fundamentally more powerful than nearly any other game ever made on several levels. I've been especially enjoying SAMP, as well, which is a multiplayer mod. Not to be confused with "Multi Theft Auto" which sucks.
Luckily the emulator scene is still going strong, so us PC gamers can still run lots and lots of great console games, albeit a little later in the game, so to speak.
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
The Top 10 are;
01. The Sims
02. Diablo 2
03. World of Warcraft
04. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
05. Zoo Tycoon
06. Sim City 3000 Unlimited
07. Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos
08. RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
09. Medal of Honor Allied Assault
10. Age of Mythology
I wonder so what the criteria for the sorting of the list where.
The best game this century will be The Sims. PLEASE! WOW was number 3, Diablo 2 was number 2. Really? Diablo2 better then WOW? Even worse was that Civ3 only came in at number 21.
What where they thinking and what are they doped up on, cause if The Sims is the best this century will have to offer I really do want some of what they are smoking.
The article is trash.
It throws out some easily refutable numbers. World or Warcraft and it's 6.5+ million subscribers makes it the most profitable game of all time. It's shaking the game industry by syphoning off a huge percentile of money. The Sims never saw numbers like this in either sales (expansions) or subscriptions (the real money). Ever.
#7, Warcraft III, mentions starcraft as an impossible comparrison for success, and yet in the same line implies that SC didn't even make the list. (Didn't fully RTFA, so it may have, but #7 says it didn't.)
Mentioning these may make me seem like a Blizz fanboy, but I'm not. I just happen to know that Blizz made these games, and they all changed the face of the industry. WoW and SC both have had more impact in sales, culture, and game industry direction than the #1 pick. In fact, most of the Blizz games are still in production and sell to this day.
Facts are facts, and these numbers in this article are not in fact, facts. It's a very bad opinion piece from a very niave fanboy perspective. My brain hurts from havign looked at it.
The lower PC sales have very little to do with piracy. Fiascos like Anarchy Online's non-functional release are what almost killed PC gaming.
I know several people who stopped PC gaming because a) some games are released in a state that doesn't even merit the term "beta" b) Windows is so flaky, buggy, prone to spyware. Gamer does not necessarily imply technical understanding, and console's are so easy. That's why consoles sell more games.
The whole PC gaming genre is only about 20 years old. This list would be far more interestng if they included the biggest-selling, PC games of all time. I don't doubt that The Sims would probably still be in the top spot, but I would be far more intersted to see how the following games fared:
...and countless others. To take the last six years and compile a "most sales" is ludicrous. We're only talking 20 years or so. Would it have been so dreadfully hard to include all of PC gaming history?
- The various Ultima games
- The various Monkey Island games
- The individual LucasArts games like Sam and Max, Maniac Mansion, and Day of the Tentacle
- Myst
- The various King's Quest games
- The various Space Quest games
- The various Leisure Suit Larry games
1. Really smart and innovative games sell.
2. 5-yr old level stuff like the sims also sells. Big Time.
3. Adventures DO NOT sell.
4. Sim-anything-economic is a sure-fire hit. Especially if it has rails somewhere in it.
Something bad is coming when people are suddenly anxious to tell the truth.
I saw this here before.
Despite the hyperbolic title, it's an interesting article. NetGen is a US console game maker's rag, so that's its slant. People around here seem to hate it, but I feel like I have a better handle on their bias than the "for gamer" sites. You might argue about sales in Japan or the triumph of PC gaming, but that's not the point. This article is telling us what games sell in the US market.
Success comes from
1) Tie-ins (take Lego Star Wars with *two* tie-ins)
2) Franchise
3) Price (there are a good number of B-grade games that got moved to the $20 rack quickly)
The analysis of the games is interesting. If you play console games in the US, this is what the people with the money are thinking about when they fund their next game. Mostly, its scary to me. Tie-in games are mostly crap, and I don't buy them anymore. Franchise games are a big part of the copy-cat problem in the industry, but we all eat them up because we have some familiarity with the game. Price-wise, it looks like many games would benefit from a lower price to sell more units. But the price might be firmly controlled by the console company. Free market it ain't.
One of the gems in the list was some Iraqi invasion game that was bad by all accounts, but it sold well because it came out just after the start of the ongoing conflict. It's a disgusting use of suffering as marketing, but whatever I feel about it, it sold like hotcakes.
Use the Firehose to mod down Second Life stories!
I think you underestimate the Sims popularity and seriously overestimate the PC game buying population in the mid-90's and earlier. As a percentage of potential customer base, the Quest series probably rocked the Sims, but in terms of overall sales figures, anything that ends in the word Quest falls way short of the Sims base package sales.
Agreed. But given that most people have the TV and PC in separate rooms, what platform for 4-player party games (e.g. Bomberman) is best for smaller developers? And (perhaps veering off topic) what handheld platform is best for smaller developers?
Slashdotters will want to link back to this and call "dupe" in 94 years.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
You obviously missed the part where I said that I have no doubt that The Sims would still be in the top spot. I simply would like to see where other PC games have fared in the list of all-time, unit sales.
World of Warcraft
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Released: Nov '04
Estimated Sales: 1.4 Million
The hell? How can they use cite such a paltry number when WoW is at damn near 7 million active subscribers worldwide? 2 million in the State, alone!
I noticed that the description for the Mahjong game (Ultimate Mahjong or some other such tripe) was pretty much a disclaimer for the actual game of Mahjong (the poker/rummy-like betting game with tiles), explaining that this particular game was actually the Solitaire-like game Shanghai, often called Mahjong because it happens to use Mahjong tiles. It's fascinating to me, anyway, since I love playing Mahjong. As for the rest: 1) Add Tycoon to any game and you can make a quick buck. 2) Despite the kiddy games, the tripe and the obvious mega-selling franchises (Blizzard + Sim), several great games* made the list as well, which surprised me. Icewind Dale, Flight Simulator, etc. 3) Apparently Scooby Doo is a best-selling children's game franchise... I had not noticed. * (reviewed well and subjectively liked by yours truly)
As a percentage of potential customer base, the Quest series probably rocked the Sims...
Actually, now that you mention it, I would love to see a list that had the top 100 games of all time, as a percentage of potential customer base. That would be an informative list. Any takers?
Sit, Ubuntu, sit. Good dog.
I just glossed over the word "don't." My apologies. I imagine some of those games could crack the top 100 but I imagine it would be more depressing than anything. I'm just imagining some gomes like Falcon 3.0 that were absolutely HUGE at the time and how they couldn't possibly hold up to a world where you can get a wide range of PC games at you local Wal-Mart. And where you can get a computer to play those games on at that same Wal-Mart for $400 to $500 in today's money.
Somehow, I find it really hard to believe that Command & Conquer: Renegade (#79) outsold
Command & Conquer: Generals (not on their list at all)...
Semantics, semantics. The year 2000 vs. 2001 issue is only because we have a tendancy to call years 1-100 the "first" century A.D. And even then, it is the scientists versus general populace. As far as I've read, the same nomenclature problem (if you can call it a problem) was raised between 1899-1901. You claim the 21st century didn't begin until 2001, but I would counter instead the Gregorian system should begin counting from Jesus' birth... i.e. the first century being years 0-99. In effect, nitpicking what to call dates on a calendar ends up being pointless.
BTW - From your method of counting to your first decade, you didn't actually live between birth and your first birthday. More so, your post and now mine are veering way offtopic from game sales.
{ - Generic Guy - }
Sorry, I can't resist:
Captain O'Hagan: I swear to God I'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says, " Shenanigans."
Mac: Hey Farva what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Farva: You mean Shenanigans?
Mac: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Thorny: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
[as they hand the Captain their pistols]
But wait, won't any karma whore copy the whole list to be rated +5 Informative?
FTA on Game of Life by Hasbro: (#38 on the list)
As far as introducing new players to the basics of video game using mechanics they already know it's respectable, but otherwise it's just another example of unintimidating banality equaling huge gains.
I have to disagree with this comment. My girlfriend and I happened across this game somehow and we play it all the time. You can play with the same rules as the board game or you can play an "enhanced" version with minigames instead of Life tiles. Every square shows either a still comic with one of many corny but funny captions, or an amusing simplistic 3D animation. Aside from the frills it's well programmed and bug free so there's nothing to intimidate computer noobs.
If you can find this rare gem it will cost no more than $5. Even if this game doesn't interest you, consider it an investment. It really is fun for all ages.
And for the record, this advice is coming from a FPS and Civilization gamer.
That list is TERRIBLE!!! Survivor, the game?! C&C Renegade?!
Console games have a much higher resale value and don't require CD keys. Many PC games register the CD Key to the user, meaning if you buy a used copy you'll have to HOPE the user will give you their login and password.
Also, console games hold their value much longer than do PC games.
...All I can say is that my life is pretty strange...