List of best-selling Super Nintendo Entertainment System video games

Last updated

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (North America) with controller SNES-Mod1-Console-Set.jpg
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (North America) with controller

This is a list of video games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game console, known as the Super Famicom (SFC) in Japan, that have sold or shipped at least one million copies. The best-selling game on the SNES is Super Mario World . First released in Japan on November 21, 1990, it went on to sell over 20 million units worldwide. [1] The second Super Mario game on the SNES, Super Mario All-Stars , is the second-best-selling game on the platform, with sales in excess of 10.5 million units. [1] The console's top five is rounded out by Rare's Donkey Kong Country in third, with sales of 9.3 million units, while its two follow-ups are also in the top ten, [2] Super Mario Kart in fourth, selling over 8.7 million units, and Street Fighter II: The World Warrior in fifth, with 6.3 million units sold.

Contents

There are a total of 54 SNES/Super Famicom games on this list which are confirmed to have sold or shipped at least one million units. Of these, thirteen were developed by internal Nintendo development divisions. Other developers with the most million selling games include Capcom and Square, with nine games each in the list of 54. Of the 54 games on this list, 21 of them were published in one or more regions by Nintendo. Other publishers with multiple million selling games include Capcom with nine games, Square with eight games, Enix with five games, and Acclaim Entertainment with three games. The best selling franchises on the SNES include Super Mario (46.18 million combined units), Donkey Kong (17.96 million combined units), and Street Fighter (12.4 million combined units).

List

Key
Game was bundled with SNES consoles during its lifetime
GameDeveloper(s) [lower-alpha 1] Publisher(s) [lower-alpha 1] Release date [lower-alpha 2] SalesRef.
Super Mario World Nintendo EAD Nintendo November 21, 199020,610,000 [1]
Super Mario All-Stars Nintendo EAD Nintendo July 14, 199310,550,000 [1]
Donkey Kong Country Rare Nintendo November 21, 19949,300,000 [2]
Super Mario Kart Nintendo EAD Nintendo August 27, 19928,760,000 [1]
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Capcom Capcom June 10, 19926,300,000 [3]
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Rare Nintendo November 20, 19955,150,000 [2]
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Nintendo EAD Nintendo November 21, 19914,610,000 [4]
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Nintendo EAD Nintendo August 5, 19954,120,000 [5]
Street Fighter II Turbo Capcom Capcom July 11, 19934,100,000 [3]
Star Fox Nintendo February 21, 19934,000,000 [6]
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Rare Nintendo November 22, 19963,510,000 [2]
Final Fantasy VI Square Square April 2, 19943,420,000 [5]
Killer Instinct Rare Nintendo August 30, 19953,200,000 [7]
Dragon Quest VI Heartbeat Enix December 9, 19953,200,000 [8]
F-Zero Nintendo EAD Nintendo November 21, 19902,850,000 [2]
Dragon Quest V Chunsoft Enix September 27, 19922,800,000 [8]
Chrono Trigger Square Square March 11, 19952,500,000 [9]
Final Fantasy V Square Square December 6, 19922,450,000 [10]
Mario Paint Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo July 14, 19922,310,000 [2]
Super Mario RPG Square Nintendo March 9, 19962,140,000 [2]
Pilotwings Nintendo EAD Nintendo December 21, 19902,000,000 [11] [12]
Super Street Fighter II Capcom Capcom June 25, 19942,000,000 [3]
SimCity Nintendo EAD Nintendo April 26, 19911,980,000 [2]
Secret of Mana Square Square August 6, 19931,830,000 [8]
Final Fantasy IV Square Square July 19, 19911,800,000 [13]
Disney's Aladdin Capcom Capcom November 26, 19931,750,000 [14]
Super Puyo Puyo Compile Banpresto December 10, 19931,700,000 [10]
Super Scope 6 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo February 19921,650,000 [2]
Mortal Kombat II Sculptured Software Acclaim Entertainment September 9, 19941,510,000 [15]
Romancing SaGa 2 Square Square December 10, 19931,490,000 [8]
Final Fight Capcom Capcom December 21, 19901,480,000 [3]
Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden Tose Bandai March 20, 19931,450,000 [10]
Kirby Super Star HAL Laboratory Nintendo March 21, 19961,440,000 [2]
Super Metroid Nintendo March 19, 19941,420,000 [2]
Dragon Quest III Heartbeat Enix December 6, 19961,400,000 [10]
Romancing SaGa Square Square January 28, 19921,320,000 [8]
Wonder Project J Almanic Corporation Enix December 9, 19941,300,000 [16]
Romancing SaGa 3 Square Square November 11, 19951,300,000 [10]
The Lion King Westwood Studios Virgin Interactive December 8, 19941,270,000 [15]
NBA Jam Iguana Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment March 4, 19941,220,000 [15]
Mortal Kombat 3 Sculptured Software Acclaim Entertainment October 13, 19951,220,000 [15]
The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse Capcom Capcom November 20, 19921,210,000 [14]
Dragon Quest I & II Chunsoft Enix December 18, 19931,200,000 [17]
Derby Stallion III ASCII Entertainment Nintendo January 20, 19951,200,000 [10]
Mega Man X Capcom Capcom December 17, 19931,160,000 [3]
Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2 Tose Bandai December 17, 19931,150,000 [10]
Derby Stallion '96 ASCII Entertainment Nintendo March 15, 19961,100,000 [10]
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts Capcom Capcom October 4, 19911,090,000 [3]
Final Fight 2 Capcom Capcom May 22, 19931,030,000 [3]
Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss Bullet-Proof Software Tose December 18, 19921,000,000 [18]
Tetris 2 Bullet-Proof Software Nintendo July 8, 19941,000,000 [19]
Space Invaders: The Original Game Taito Taito March 25, 19941,000,000 [20]
Super Star Wars JVC Musical Industries November 1, 19921,000,000 [21]
Super Bomberman 2 Produce! Hudson Soft April 28, 19941,000,000 [22]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Only developers and publishers for the original release of each game are listed.
  2. Only the initial release date on this platform is listed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Home video game console

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. In Russia and CIS, the system was distributed by Steepler from 1994 until 1996. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.

<i>Street Fighter II</i> 1991 arcade video game

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a 1991 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the second installment in the Street Fighter series and the sequel to 1987's Street Fighter. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP System arcade system board. Street Fighter II vastly improved many of the concepts introduced in the first game, including the use of special command-based moves, a combo system, a six-button configuration, and a wider selection of playable characters, each with a unique fighting style.

In the history of video games, the fourth generation of video game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine. Though NEC released the first console of this era, sales were mostly dominated by the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo across most markets: the Sega Mega Drive and the Super Nintendo. Cartridge-based handheld game consoles became prominent during this time, such as the Nintendo Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear and TurboExpress.

In the history of video games, the third generation of video game consoles, commonly referred to as the 8-bit era, began on July 15, 1983, with the Japanese release of two systems: Nintendo's Family Computer and Sega's SG-1000. When the Famicom was released outside of Japan, it was remodeled and marketed as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This generation marked the end of the video game crash of 1983, and a shift in the dominance of home video game manufacturers from the United States to Japan. Handheld consoles were not a major part of this generation; the Game & Watch line from Nintendo and the Milton Bradley Microvision that were sold at the time are both considered part of the previous generation due to hardware typical of the second generation.

1993 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden, Mortal Kombat II, Secret of Mana, and Super Street Fighter II, alongside new titles such as Star Fox, FIFA International Soccer, Doom, Gunstar Heroes, Myst, Samurai Shodown, Ridge Racer, NBA Jam, Disney's Aladdin, and Virtua Fighter.

1992 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest V, Final Fantasy V, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and Super Mario Kart, along with new titles such as Art of Fighting, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat and Virtua Racing.

1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 4, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, along with new titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Battletoads, Lemmings, Sunset Riders, Duke Nukem, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, and Streets of Rage. The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II. The year's best-selling system was the Game Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game was Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which was also the year's top video game rental in the United States.

1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, Super Mario Bros. 2, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and Super Mario Bros. 3, along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q.

<i>Street Fighter II Turbo</i> 1992 video game

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting is a competitive fighting game released by Capcom for arcades in 1992. It is the third arcade version of Street Fighter II, part of the Street Fighter franchise, following Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, and was initially released as an enhancement kit for that game. Released less than a year after the previous installment, Turbo introduced a faster playing speed and new special moves for certain characters, as well as further refinement to the character balance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Nintendo</span>

The history of Nintendo is from 1889 to the present, starting as a playing-card company to eventually becoming a multinational video game conglomerate. It has always remained headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo video game consoles</span>

The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware for their consoles. As of September 30, 2021, in addition to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has sold over 863.07 million hardware units.

The 1990s was the third decade in the industry's history. It was a decade of marked innovation in video gaming. It was a decade of transition from sprite-based graphics to full-fledged 3D graphics and it gave rise to several genres of video games including, but not limited to, the first-person shooter, real-time strategy, survival horror, and MMO. Arcade games, although still very popular in the early 1990s, began to decline as home consoles became more common. The fourth and fifth generation of video game consoles went on sale, including the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and the Sega Dreamcast. Notable games released in the 1990s included Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Tekken 3,Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Final Fantasy VII, Unreal Tournament, Star Fox, Half-Life, Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario 64, Pokémon Red and Blue, NBA Jam,Daytona USA, GoldenEye 007, System Shock 2, Civilization,Ridge Racer, Sonic Adventure, Gran Turismo, Super Mario Kart, Pokémon Gold and Silver,Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Super Metroid, Silent Hill, Dead or Alive 2, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro The Dragon, Fallout, Metal Gear Solid, Diablo, Virtua Fighter, Tomb Raider,Sega Rally Championship, Wing Commander,Super Smash Bros, Secret of Mana,Thief: The Dark Project, Age of Empires, Nights into Dreams, Panzer Dragoon, Gunstar Heroes, EverQuest, Chrono Trigger, Battletoads, Worms, Myst, Micro Machines, Streets of Rage 2,Baldur's Gate,Donkey Kong Country, Wipeout, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins,Lemmings, EarthBound, StarCraft, Banjo-Kazooie, PaRappa the Rapper, Resident Evil, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Soulcalibur, Command & Conquer, and Dance Dance Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Home video game console

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on July 15, 1983, as the Family Computer (Famicom). It was released in US test markets as the redesigned NES in October 1985, and fully launched in the US the following year. The NES was distributed in Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia throughout the 1980s under various names. As a third-generation console, it mainly competed with Sega's Master System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NES Classic Edition</span> Home video game console by Nintendo

NES Classic Edition is a dedicated home video game console by Nintendo, that emulates the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Family Computer (Famicom). Originally launched on November 10, 2016, the console aethetically is a miniature replica of the NES, and it includes a static library of 30 built-in games from the licensed NES library, supporting save states for all of them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super NES Classic Edition</span> Home video game console by Nintendo

The Super NES Classic Edition is a dedicated home video game console released by Nintendo, which emulates the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The console, a successor to the NES Classic Edition, comes with twenty-one Super NES titles pre-installed, including the first official release of Star Fox 2. It was first released on September 29, 2017 and was produced until December 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Malley, James (September 11, 2015). "30 Best-Selling Super Mario Games of All Time on the Plumber's 30th Birthday". Gizmodo . Univision Communications. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2021CESAゲーム白書 (2021 CESA Games White Papers). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. 2021. ISBN   978-4-902346-43-5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Platinum Titles". Capcom. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  4. "March 25, 2004". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on November 26, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Guinness World Records 2016: Gamer's Edition. Vancouver, British Columbia: Jim Pattison Group. September 10, 2015. p. 43. ISBN   978-1-9105610-8-9. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  6. "The Argonaut Group". Argonaut Software. Archived from the original on May 12, 1998.
  7. "Ex-RARE emplotees talk Killer Instinct SNES sales, says Killer Instinct 2 for SNES was in the works". Go Nintendo. Go Nintendo. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "February 2, 2004 - February 4, 2004" (PDF). Square Enix. February 9, 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  9. "アルティメット ヒッツ クロノ・クロス" [Ultimate Hits Chrono Cross]. PlayStation Official Site (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Japan Platinum Game Chart". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  11. "New Games: Pilotwings 64". Computer and Video Games . No. 177 (August 1996). Future Publishing. 11 July 1996. p. 93.
  12. "ProNews". GamePro . No. 80. March 1996. pp. 16–7.
  13. "Final Fantasy III". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 63. Ziff Davis. October 1994. p. 172.
  14. 1 2 "Platinum Titles". Capcom. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "US Platinum Game Chart". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on April 21, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  16. "Features: Played in Japan - The next wave of Far Eastern RPGs (Page 5)". Next Generation . Imagine Media. 1996. Archived from the original on 1997-06-06. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  17. "Dragon Quest History". Planet Nintendo. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  18. "Game Search". Game Data Library. Famitsu . Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  19. "Tetris 2 (Players Choice) (US, 1995)". GameFAQs . Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  20. "Nintendo: Super NES". Nintendo. Archived from the original on December 2, 2000. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  21. "Super Star Wars (Players Choice) (US, 1996)". GameFAQs . Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  22. "Super Bomberman 2 (Nintendo Classics) (EU, 1998)". GameFAQs . Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.

[1]

  1. Bond, Nick (March 14, 2024). "Best Multiplayer SNES Games". Dark Nation.