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NPD: San Andreas caps US best-seller list

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Jun 5, 2008 5:01 pm PT

Grand Theft Auto and Madden NFL franchises dominate industry-tracking group's top 10 list of all-time domestic sales leaders through April.

As part of its positive second-quarter earnings announcement earlier today, Take-Two Interactive said that the recently released Grand Theft Auto IV had logged 8.5 million units in worldwide sales, as of May 31. Released on April 29 in North America, the game's $310 million first-day haul shattered records to become "the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment," as recognized by the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition.

Given the franchise's sales track record, the feat is hardly surprising. As reported by Forbes earlier this week, the Grand Theft Auto franchise leads the list of top 10 best-selling non-PC games ever in the US, according to industry-tracking NPD Group. (NPD classifies PC games as PC software and ranks them separately.) With 9.4 million copies sold domestically, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas tops the list, followed by its predecessors Vice City at No. 4 with 7.3 million and GTAIII at No. 9 with 6.2 million. According to Take-Two, the GTA franchise has sold more than 65 million units globally through 2007.

GTA finds itself in familiar company atop the sales-rankings charts. At the No. 2 slot is Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which took the stage on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, PC, Mac, and mobile platforms last year. The last four installments of EA's annual Madden NFL gridiron franchise have been good to the publisher, with the '07 edition hitting slot 3 with 7.7 million units, '06 at No. 5 with 6.7 million, '08 at rank 7 with 6.6 million, and '05 rounding out the top 10 with 6.1 million units.

Activision's other massive hit from last year--the Infinity Ward-developed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare--landed in the 8th slot with 6.25 million units sold. Earlier this week, the publisher said that the fourth Call of Duty has been answered by 10 million gamers globally. And finally, Bungie's Halo 2 for the original Xbox and PC has logged 6.61 million units sold in the US, scoring slot 6 on the NPD Group's list.

The NPD Group's top 10 best-selling games of all time in the US through the end of April is listed below.

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas--9.4 million
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock--8.2 million
3. Madden NFL 07--7.7 million
4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City--7.3 million
5. Madden NFL 06--6.7 million
6. Halo 2--6.61 million
7. Madden NFL 08--6.6 million
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare--6.25 million
9. Grand Theft Auto 3--6.2 million
10. Madden NFL 2005--6.1 million

138 Comments

  • jimmmzerx

    Posted Oct 13, 2008 3:19 pm PT

    That's a good list, I didn't realize Madden NFL was that popular.

  • cuneofamily

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 8:30 pm PT

    ".... Oh - let me guess - then the truth would be out about how bad PC gaming is doing maybe?"

    Well HumorGuy, go look at a sales chart for any sims game pretty much

    And I'm sure WoW tops San Andread, and Spore will top that

  • Losarii

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 5:08 pm PT

    GrgSpunk
    Couldn't have said it better myself.

    The consumer decides what products are released onto the market. Well said.

  • GrgSpunk

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 1:24 pm PT

    Well, there's your reason why EA hardly ever changes the Madden series: No matter how much you idiots complain about it, you still end up buying it anyway. Why should a company like EA, whose purpose is to make money, listen to your complaints if you buy their products anyways?

    In the business world, dollar votes speak louder than words. I suggest you morons learn a thing or two about "consumer sovereignty" before you buy a game from a series that you've been complaining about.

  • gpvs posted Jul 7, 2008 10:20 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    gpvs

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 10:20 am PT (hide)

    Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Idiot Gangsters -

    Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Idols wanne'bees -

    Madden NFL - Utter GRAP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , aint there enough footbal on TV -

  • BNation

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 9:47 am PT

    You have to sell the game to have someone subscribe...

    The problem with that is those subscriptions are worldwide, not juse the United States...which is what the NPD tracks....

    It also started tracking this much more recently then when the original Mario Bros. came out....or for that matter even after Super Mario Bros. 3.

  • paul25

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 9:45 am PT

    WoW didnt sell 10 million it just has over 10 million subscriptions.

  • jmills1099

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 9:37 am PT

    The article is for US numbers only, thats why its so "american" with GTA and Madden. Also, its why GTA4 and COD4 have less than their worldwide totals.

  • dadeda

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 9:33 am PT

    WoW sold 10 million World Wide yes.. This was a US only list.

  • Mcderby4

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 9:22 am PT

    Apparently not Blazius2

  • Blazius2

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 8:41 am PT

    WoW sold 10 million...

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Jul 7, 2008 8:13 am PT

    I thought Super Mario Bros. sold 40 million...*looks confused*

  • techmaster330

    Posted Jun 28, 2008 6:11 pm PT

    whatever

  • abeard424

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 11:16 pm PT

    didn't realize madden did so well every year

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jun 14, 2008 11:47 am PT

    So let me understand - NPD lists best selling PC games separately - so why not have them in this article for comparison purposes?!

    .... Oh - let me guess - then the truth would be out about how bad PC gaming is doing maybe?

  • lil_luz_10

    Posted Jun 9, 2008 12:38 pm PT

    Damn right San Andreas is number 1. Turf wars, car modding, making CJ fat, and all the rpg like elements are what made that game the best. Vice City probably had the better story...since it was a complete rip off of Scarface, but San Andreas improved the character customization and running through neighborhoods gunning people down never got old.

  • Superdude475

    Posted Jun 9, 2008 11:45 am PT

    Wait I'm confused, is this only for games after 2000?

  • jimmulvaney

    Posted Jun 9, 2008 11:18 am PT

    I have to admit that although GTA IV is a great game in its own right, There is not much of an improvement (tech and specs aside) since Rockstar's proceeding crown jewel, San Andreas. Personally, I would rather play San Andreas' sequel. Even the ancillary characters of the past were more interesting than now. Nico Bellic is just so... meh

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