The most popular and best-selling games today often include expensive first-party exclusives, big multiplayer hits and outdated titles such as GTA-V that remain in circulation for years after their launch. However, that was not the case 20 years ago, as newly released sales figures show.
On Wednesday, Mat Piscatella, CEO and video game industry consultant at Circana, posted a picture on Twitter shows the best-selling video games in July 2014 and July 2004. The data from 10 years ago is interesting, especially because many games like Minecraft, And GTA-V that were big back then can still be found on the bestseller lists in 2024.
Top 20 premium software titles in July 2014
- The last of us
- FIFA14
- Watchdog
- Mario Kart 8
- Minecraft
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Call of Duty Ghosts
- Sniper Elite III
- UFC
- NBA2K14
- Battlefield 4
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
- Titanfall
- The LEGO Movie Video Game
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
- Pokémon X/Y
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Injustice: Gods Among Us
- FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014
- MLB 14: The Show
But what we’re really looking at here is the data from July 2004, as it provides a 20-year overview of the video game industry and shows how different it was two decades ago. Here’s the list:
Top 20 premium software titles in July 2004
- NCAA Football 2005
- Spider Man 2
- NFL2K5
- Driver 3
- Stories of the Symphony
- Shrek2
- MVP Baseball 2004
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Splinter Cell: Pandora tomorrow
- Pokémon: Ruby/Sapphire
- Halo: Combat Evolved
- Need for Speed Underground
- Mega Man: Anniversary Collection
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction
- Fight Night 2004
- Mega Man: Battle Network 4
- The Sims
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004
- Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
The first thing that stands out is the game at the top. It is not call of DutyA Grand Theft Autoor even a big RPG or sci-fi action game. No. It is NCAA Football 2005 by EA Sports. It was a long time since that happened, but EA’s latest college football game – the first in over a decade – is exploding and could top the list of best-selling games in July 2024.
In the meantime, Shrek2—a licensed action-adventure game based on the animated film—is in the top ten, beating titles like Red Dead Revolver, Need for Speed: Underground,
And if you compare this old list with The best-selling games in May 2024it is clear that while a lot has changed, some things remain the same. Baseball games sell well and people still like Spider-Man sequels.
The best-selling games in May 2024
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Paper Mario: The Gate to Legend
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)
- Helldivers II
- MLB: The Show 24
- Sea of Thieves
- Minecraft
- Fire ring
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Starblade
- Fallout4
- EA Sports FC 24
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Homeworld 3
- Mario Kart 8
- Madden NFL 24
- Rise of the Ronin
- F1 24
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Dragon’s Dogma II
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