Top U.S.-selling Games of All Time: Violence and Football

And if American football, unabashedly violent, is also a combat simulation, then really one genre dominates the top 10 list that Forbes asked NPD to put together: the best selling home video games of all time, in units sold, in the United States. NPD’s data goes back to 1989, so this does not include units sold before them.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is the winner at 9.4 million. Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock clocks in at 8.2 million, but after that, it’s nothing but football and shooters: Three versions of Madden (06, 07 and 08), Vice City, Halo 2 and Call of Duty 4.

This list is almost immediately out of date, of course. Grand Theft Auto IV has shipped 11 million copies and sold 8.5 million, with an analyst saying it’ll move 15 million by the end of the month. That’s a global figure, but really, who wouldn’t expect it to park at No. 1 and bump Madden ‘05 off the list at No. 10.

The top all-time U.S. sellers, in order (since 1989):

• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock
• Madden NFL 07
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
• Madden NFL 06
• Halo 2
• Madden NFL 08
• Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Grand Theft Auto 3
• Madden NFL 2005

America’s All-Time Favourite Video Games [Forbes]