Top Ten Best Selling Video Game Franchises by Most Sold

There are literally thousands of Video Game franchises out there, and fortunately most of them are pretty good. Unlike movie franchises, which generally die out pretty quickly, video game franchises often go on for ten or more games in the series. As well as creating regularly better gameplay in each new version of the video game franchise, a video game franchise can also last for decades, without flagging in the slightest!

In this Hub I am going to go over some if the best selling video game franchises in the world, and why they are where they are. You can find out more about the best video game franchsies at This is Freelance!

I did consider running several variables in to choosing which of the best selling video game franchises should reach which position in my top ten list.  In the end I decided to let the public decide, and have gone on the number of video games sold in each franchise.

So without further ado, welcome to the top ten best selling video game franchises! 

The Legend of Zelda is a fantastic best selling video game franchise that has endured for decades.  Despite its strong willed fan base, Nintendo have simply failed to create enough games to satisfy demand.  Whereas Mario, Pokemon, and similar have had several offerings every year, The Legend of Zelda seems to only get pulled out of the closet when a new console is released.

Even though not many video games have been released for the Legend of Zelda, it is still one of the most successful video game franchises in the world, having sold over 57 million copies. And despite it's low number of games produced, each game has a fantastic playability and entertainment value.  This makes the Legend of Zelda the tenth best selling video game franchise of all time!

The FIFA series is probably one of the most well known, especially in Europe. While Madden may be the most popular in America, it actually only beats the FIFA video game franchise by 5 million sales! FIFA has sold over 65 million copies of it's FIFA brand football (Soccer) games, from football management and football simulation.

The FIFA brand is the most successful soccer game to be released, although it has come under huge competition from Pro Evolution Soccer.

The FIFA brand has grown considerably over the years, from a simple top down game, to the full 3D play screen, and complex managerial controls.  This great evolution of the game explains why FIFA is one of the best video game franchises in the world!

Where FIFA corners the soccer market in Europe, Madden NFL has become a huge success in the American Football video game franchise market.  Madden NFL is one of the most famous NFL games in the world, and has sold over 70 million copies worldwide.

While Madden has now retired, the series will continue to be named Madden NFL in all the upcoming games.  

As with the FIFA series Madden has become increasingly better with every release version.  As the Madden Game Franchise has evolved over the years it has increased in both complexity and gameplay to give one of the most immersive football experiences ever.

Grand Theft Auto has been an immensely successful since it's inception in 1997, selling over 125 million copies world wide, Technically these sales should put it in the top spot, however there have been some conflicting stats on it's actual sales (Some putting it between 70 and 80 million so I'm leaving it in this position till I get some more reliable statistics!

Grand Theft Auto is a series of games based on crime, mutilation and violence, so it is no surprise it has done incredibly well around the world.  There has been plenty of controversy over the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, which has caused outcry with nearly every single game release that has been made.  Fortunately the censors have failed to battle against the millions that this series has generated, and there are still future plans to expand this beautiful video game franchise. 

The Need for Speed video game franchise has been one of the few games to have survived from it's early days in the beginning of the PC games market.  Giving police chases, in depth races, and some great cars, the Need for Speed video game franchise has hooked millions.

I have to admit I was a huge fan of the early games, although my attention did wane as they became more console focused.  The Need for Speed video game market has still done amazingly well considering the competition in racing games, 

The Need for Speed series has easily been one of the Best Video Game Franchises of all time.  Its real joy however is in multiplayer, where you and your friends can engage in intense one on one battles.

Final Fantasy turned from a small time Japanese game to one of the worlds best video game franchises. Selling over 90 million copies, the Final Fantasy series has reached homes around the globe for decades.  The Final Fantasy games will generally keep people occupied for hundreds of hours, as they grind, battle and quest to grow their characters to the ultimate level.

While the Final Fantasy Series has progressed significantly through it's inception, the best selling game franchise has remained true to its roots.  Every Final Fantasy game follows the same tried and tested formula to ensure it remains one of the worlds best selling video game franchises.

It's no surprise that the Sims in near the top spot as one of the best video game franchises of all time.  It has a huge number of expansion packs to go with it's in depth addictive games.  In the Sims you create a family, or even several families, and watch as they grow, breed, and advance in skills and jobs.

The Sims video game franchise has grown considerably over the years, and it has now sold over 110 million copies worldwide.  Its astounding success can in some ways be accounted to the games uniqueness, mixed with its amazing gameplay.

This sims is one of those games which nearly everyone has played, it's simplicity overlays a huge complexity, which ensures that one of the best selling video game franchises will never grow old

A time old classic, Tetris started off as a time wasting game, but now with its carious incantations, it has sold over 125 million games.  While it may not be complex, advanced, or as graphically pleasing as the other games which have developed over the last 30 years.

There isn't much I can say about this legendary game, it's simple, addictive, and has become THE game to waste time on around the globe!

While it doesn't quite make the top spot, Tetris is one of the best video game franchises ever created, and not surprisingly, it came from Japan! 

The only question remaining is, what level can you reach before the speed becomes just a little bit too fast?

Ok, i'll admit it, I was addicted to this, along with the majority of people I knew.  Even the cool kids would be quietly playing Pokemon when they thought nobody was looking. 

With over 175 million copies sold, Pokemon easily makes it in to the top ten video game franchises of all time.  It is hard to deny that this game has been one of the greatest games ever released, and its continuing incantations have given it more and more appeal.

Initially Pokemon came out for the Gameboy, that green screed monster, now however the great video game franchise has brought out increasingly advanced versions of Pokemon, so now people can even play online against other Pokemon Masters.  

It is not hard to see how the monster collecting game Pokemon became one of the best video game franchises of all time, but despite its impressive sales, it did not quite make the top spot. 

The Mario series has been around for decades, most recently with the New Super Mario Brothers series.  Needless to say the Mario Franchise is easily one of the top video game franchises with over 220 million sales over it's lifetime.  This staggering amount seems phenominal, but nearly everyone has some kind of Mario game, whether it is for the Nintendo DS or Nintendo Wii! 

The Super Mario Bros have appeared in both games and films, fought mushrooms and turtles, jumped through pipes, jumped OVER plant, but most of all, they have jumped in to our hearts.  As the Italian plumbers save the princess time and time again, gamers the world over buy in to this great game franchise!

While Mario seems a little bit dated nowadays, the sales are still racking up as they release new games for both the Nintendo DSi and the Nintendo Wii, whether you are in to racing, or fighting, there is a game for you in the Mario Video Game Franchise!