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[Deleted member 774430]

I was looking this morning at the list of best-selling video game franchises on Wikipedia (and being surprised seeing some of those IPs so high or so low) and wonder how much that list has changed over the years and how it will change again over this decade, so let's turn that into a game!

It could be fun even years from now to go back to this thread and check if our predictions were on point or completely off base.

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RULES

1) For franchises already on the list you can choose ⬆ if you think the franchises will continue to grow and potentially outsell others or ⬇ if you think it will be surpassed / go stale.
I'm not asking a list of the top 30 games in 2029 in order as it would be too hard to predict.

2) You can have new entries on the list but you'll also have to mention those franchises that will get replaced.
Please take into consideration the sales those franchise collected so far (to make the top 30 today you have to sell around 60 mln copies)

3) Free to play games do NOT count (as Wikipedia also doesn't count them, this is about sales not revenue)

4) I do consider franchise as one entity (Wikipedia lists them both separately and together).
e.g. Mario (Super Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario RPG,...) counts as 1.

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You can motivate your decisions below.

Also please note that not only video game sales are considered but also merchandise, manga/comic books, etc. as long as it's related to the video game franchise.

So this is the top 30 best selling video game franchises as listed by Wikipedia

Spoiler

List of best-selling video game franchises - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Mario
Pokémon
Call of Duty
Grand Theft Auto
FIFA
Wii-series (Wii Play, Sports, etc)
Tetris
The Sims
Minecraft
Need for Speed
Final Fantasy
Assassin's Creed
Madden NFL
Pro Evolution Soccer
The Legend of Zelda
Sonic The Hedgehog
Lego
Resident Evil
NBA 2K
Tom Clancy's
Star Wars
Gran Turismo
Dragon Quest
Tomb Raider
Halo
Just Dance
The Oregon Trail
Monster Hunter
WWE 2K
Super Smash Bros.

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This is my prediction list

Mario ⬆
Pokémon ⬆
Call of Duty ⬆
Grand Theft Auto ⬆
FIFA ⬆
Wii-series (Wii Play, Sports, etc) ⬇
Tetris ⬆
The Sims ⬇
Minecraft ⬆
Need for Speed ⬇
Final Fantasy ⬆
Assassin's Creed ⬆
Madden NFL ⬆
Pro Evolution Soccer ⬇
The Legend of Zelda ⬆
Sonic The Hedgehog ⬆
Lego ⬇
Resident Evil ⬆
NBA 2K ⬆
Tom Clancy's ⬇
Star Wars ⬆
Gran Turismo ⬇
Dragon Quest ⬆
Tomb Raider ⬇
Halo ⬆
Just Dance ⬇ - replaced by Mortal Kombat
The Oregon Trail ⬇ - replaced by The Elder Scrolls
Monster Hunter ⬆
WWE 2K ⬇ - replaced by Battlefield
Super Smash Bros. ⬆

Some obvious ones will decline/go stale: for instance i don't expect Nintendo to ever remake the Wii-series using that IP. Just Dance's success also seemed heavily tied into the Wii era, nowadays is not as big (even though Ubisoft keeps making it and they are still selling fine!)

From the top 10 The Sims and NFS popularity also could decline, i don't see the same commitment from EA over those IPs as it was before, EA's biggest priority has been Sports titles for a while now. (but i do believe they will continue to push Battlefield and Star Wars)

Lego's interest into video games seems a bit faded compared to few years ago, for instance the recently partnership with Mario isn't about a video game which i thought was surprising. Gran Turismo also is less of a hit compared to the PS1-PS2 days.

Mortal Kombat 11 is selling really well and i'm expecting NetherRealm to make even a successor before 2030, same with TES who has TES VI releasing sometimes this decade.

In Square Enix's court, i expect Final Fantasy to grow obviously, as well as Dragon Quest considering the recent success of XI, the movie and the upcoming anime, while Tomb Raider may decline after the somewhat uninspiring recent entries and the disappointing movie.

 

[Husky]

I think the strict rules and formatting are gonna keep people from contributing.
However, I predict that Prey 2 will return, and skyrocket the Prey ⬆ series to #1. And Husky will be very, very pleased ⬆.
I'm pretty surprised Far Cry isn't on the list. Had like, four games this generation, plus a re-release of Far Cry 3?
Speaking of which, I just got Far Cry 4. Maybe I'm the reason this series can't make the list. I won't play a Ubisoft game until I can get the Gold/Deluxe edition mega-cheap.

 

[Deleted member 774430]

I think the strict rules and formatting are gonna keep people from contributing.
However, I predict that Prey 2 will return, and skyrocket the Prey ⬆ series to #1. And Husky will be very, very pleased ⬆.
I'm pretty surprised Far Cry isn't on the list. Had like, four games this generation, plus a re-release of Far Cry 3?
Speaking of which, I just got Far Cry 4. Maybe I'm the reason this series can't make the list. I won't play a Ubisoft game until I can get the Gold/Deluxe edition mega-cheap.

yeah it hasn't aged well already lol

Far Cry is at 50 mln so technically has a shot to make the list in this decade but i've the heard the last entry was very disappointing, most Ubisoft games of the past 1-2 years have been a bit of a downgrade

Also i do share your sentiment on Ubisoft especially on their open worlds: they are not bad but they all follow the same structure.

I've always wanted to try Watch Dogs, but for some reason never got it and now i have it for free through EGS.

 

[Husky]

yeah it hasn't aged well already lol

Far Cry is at 50 mln so technically has a shot to make the list in this decade but i've the heard the last entry was very disappointing, most Ubisoft games of the past 1-2 years have been a bit of a downgrade

Also i do share your sentiment on Ubisoft especially on their open worlds: they are not bad but they all follow the same structure.

I've always wanted to try Watch Dogs, but for some reason never got it and now i have it for free through EGS.

I really liked Watch Dogs. Has a super swell multiplayer invasion mode too. I'll definitely buy that sequel when the Gold Deluxe Complete edition is -75% or something.
Hopefully that Far Cry: New Dawn will especially appeal to me. Post-apocalypses are my favorite.

It's almost about time for Ubisoft to unveil another numbered Far Cry, right? Maybe E3 would've had the next cross-gen entry.

Hmm, I suppose I won't buy most games until I can get the complete edition for cheap... The backlog is so large that I can stand the wait for any particular game.