Franchise FAQ

what is nintendo's biggest franchise

by Sonia Feest Jr. Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Franchises

  1. Mario (776.80 million) Super Mario (396.80 million) Mario Kart (166.41 million) Mario Party (68.87 million) Mario Sports (59.57 million) Mario RPGs (28.84 million)
  2. Pokémon (440.00 million)
  3. Wii Series (204.74 million)
  4. The Legend of Zelda (135.38 million)
  5. Animal Crossing (74.16 million)
  6. Super Smash Bros (69.46 million)
  7. Donkey Kong (65.00 million)*
  8. Kirby (44.04 million)

Franchises
  • Super Mario (396.80 million)
  • Mario Kart (166.41 million)
  • Mario Party (68.87 million)
  • Mario Sports (59.57 million)
  • Mario RPGs (28.84 million)

Full Answer

What are Nintendo's most popular franchises?

Nintendo has amassed what is inarguably the most storied collection of video game franchises. Staple series like Mario and Zelda have kept fans invested in the Nintendo ecosystem for decades, while the company's hardware innovations and more recent series like Splatoon continue to attract new fans.

What are Nintendo’s best selling games?

It’s no surprise that Nintendo’s mascot is also its bigger selling. Altogether, Mario has appeared in over 200 video-games. However, it’s the main series Mario games that are the best selling. From Super Mario Bros to Super Mario Odyssey the much-beloved former plumber is still selling big numbers for Nintendo.

How many games does Nintendo own?

Nintendo has a massive arsenal of franchises. Their Wikipedia page lists at least thirty game series that Nintendo entirely owns, and this isn’t even counting their one off projects like Geist or Eternal Darkness.

Does Nintendo own the rights to a franchise?

Nintendo owns parts of the content, but does not own the franchise. Games which generally Nintendo developed or co-developed, but the trademarks from the franchise belong to another company. This means that some part of the content belongs to Nintendo, as the case of music from GB Tetris, or even characters such as Dr. Wright from SimCity.

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What is Nintendo's main franchise?

Major Nintendo franchises ​New Super Mario Bros. ​Pokémon Trozei!

What is the biggest gaming franchise?

The Top 50 Highest-Grossing Video Game Franchises TranscriptRankFranchiseCreator1PokemonNintendo2MarioNintendo3Call of DutyActivision4WiiNintendo46 more rows

What are Nintendo's big three?

Nintendo's Big 3 | Fandom. I've seen discussion about the “Big 3” of Nintendo. Most people seem to agree that it's Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon.

Is Mario the biggest franchise?

It is the best-selling video game franchise of all time, with more than 776 million copies of games sold, including more than 390 million for the Super Mario games alone, leading to Mario being one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time....Mario (franchise)MarioTraditionalElectromechanical games list20 more rows

What is the second most sold game?

Grand Theft Auto VListRankTitleSales1Minecraft238,000,0002Grand Theft Auto V169,000,0003Tetris (EA)100,000,0004Wii Sports82,900,00046 more rows

What is the most sold game in 2022?

Elden RingTop 10 Selling Video Games (Retail and Digital), Year-to-Date 2022RankRank Last MonthTitle11Elden Ring22LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga35Madden NFL 2343Pokemon Legends: Arceus*6 more rows

Who is the Big 3 in video games?

The 'big three" game publishers are the three which currently make major home consoles: Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony.

Do Kirby games sell well?

As of March 2022, the Kirby franchise has sold over 44.04 million copies worldwide.

How much is the Animal Crossing franchise worth?

In total, the Animal Crossing franchise has sold 72.53 million units worldwide. In terms of gross revenue, the mobile game Pocket Camp grossed over $150 million by April 2020. New Horizons grossed an estimated $2 billion in its first year as of March 2021, the fifth highest ever first-year revenue for any video game.

What is Nintendo's most successful game?

The Mario franchise alone has sold 167.11 million copies on the Nintendo Switch, which is the most the franchise has ever sold on a single platform. The Legend of Zelda has also sold the most on a single platform with the Nintendo Switch with 41.13 million copies.

What is the best-selling franchise of all time?

The 25 Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All TimePokémon – $92.121 billion.Hello Kitty – $80.026 billion.Winnie the Pooh – $75.034 billion.Mickey Mouse & Friends – $70.587 billion.Star Wars – $65.631 billion.Anpanman – $60.285 billion.Disney Princess – $45.187 billion.Mario – $36.143 billion.More items...

What is the most popular Nintendo game right now?

Here are the top 10 best-selling Nintendo Switch games as of June 2022:Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: 46.82 million.Animal Crossing: New Horizons: 39.38 million.Super Smash Bros. ... The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: 27.14 million.Pokemon Sword/Pokemon Shield: 24.50 million.Super Mario Odyssey: 23.93 million.More items...•

What game franchise has the most games?

Here are the video games with the most sequels!Mario – 119 games.Mega Man – 103 games.Sonic – 80 games.Final Fantasy – 80 games.Pokemon – 59 games.Dragon Quest – 43 games.Castlevania – 35 games.Resident Evil – 32 games.More items...•

Is Pokémon the biggest franchise?

That's right. Pokémon — not Mickey Mouse — is the highest-grossing media franchise as of 2022. The Japanese franchise debuted in 1996 with 150 characters or “pocket monsters.” Over the years, Pokémon has earned over $100 billion worldwide, according to Statista.

How much did Elden ring make?

Game sales accounted for 40.5 billion yen, an increase of 54.5% compared to the same period last year.

What is the top 10 selling sci fi franchise?

10 Highest-Grossing Sci-Fi Movie Franchises Of All Time7/10 Star Trek - $2.3 Billion.6/10 Avatar - $2.8 Billion.5/10 The Hunger Games - $2.9 Billion.4/10 Transformers - $4.8 Billion.3/10 Jurassic Park/World - $5 Billion.2/10 Star Wars - $10.3 Billion.1/10 Marvel Cinematic Universe - $22.6 Billion.More items...•

How many units did the Nintendo Switch sell?

After its release in March 2016, the handheld-console hybrid has sold over 14.86m units.

How many Mario games are there?

It’s no surprise that Nintendo’s mascot is also its bigger selling. Altogether, Mario has appeared in over 200 video-games. However, it’s the main series Mario games that are the best selling.

What is the best video game ever made?

The Legend Of Zelda. Nintendo’s fourth most biggest-selling franchise is also probably its most critically-acclaimed. Both 1998’s Ocarina Of Time and 2017’s Breath Of The Wild have been widely dubbed the greatest video-game ever made.

Is the Nintendo Switch successful?

Arguably, Nintendo Switch’s success is built on the back of those three franchises. To have brand new entries in the Zelda and Mario series both released in a console’s first nine months is a rarity for Nintendo. To have those two alone would be a recipe for success, but they were backed up by strong outings from other Nintendo franchises ...

Is Nintendogs a series?

Like Brain Training, Nintendogs was a series very much of its time. As Nintendo launched their kid-friendly Nintendo DS console, Nintendogs was the perfect accompaniment.

Is Yoshi a spin off of Mario?

What began as a Mario spin-off took on a life of its own as Yoshi found his own fans outside of the Mario bubble. The Yoshi games have become a proving-ground for Nintendo to try out some of their wackier, more unusual ideas.

Is Mario Kart on the Switch?

Mario Kart. Racing games are always big sellers, so it should be no surprise that Nintendo’s idea of putting their beloved mascot behind the wheel has gone down a treat with gamers. The future seems bright for Mario Kart, especially after a port of an older game has already become one of the top-sellers on Switch.

What is the most storied collection of video games?

Posted: 3 Aug 2020 11:17 am. Nintendo has amassed what is inarguably the most storied collection of video game franchises. Staple series like Mario and Zelda have kept fans invested in the Nintendo ecosystem for decades, while the company's hardware innovations and more recent series like Splatoon continue to attract new fans.

When will Smash Ultimate be released?

Latest release: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (December 2018) Coming up on the two-year anniversary of Smash Ultimate, Nintendo continues to support its prize fighter through Challenger Packs, DLC that adds a new fighter, stage, and music. The latest pack introduced Min Min from Arms in late June.

Is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch?

However, in 2017, it released Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, an upgraded version of MK8 for Switch. MK8 Deluxe remains Nintendo's best-selling game on Switch and continues to sell well three years later — it was June's ninth-best-selling game in the U.S. — which offers a possible explanation for Nintendo's recent restraint with the franchise.

Is Pokemon Snap coming to Nintendo?

Two additional spinoffs, Pokemon Unite and New Pokemon Snap, have been announced, though Nintendo has yet reveal a release date for either. Nintendo is taking a new direction with its latest mainline releases by supporting Sword and Shield through two expansions.

When did Donkey Kong come out?

Nintendo's long history with the series, going back to the 1981 arcade original, has resulted in a diverse collection of Donkey Kong games. On console alone, the Kong family has been the subject of an educational game, two racers, several platformers, and a series of rhythm games.

Is Ness in Smash?

games. Outside of Smash, Nintendo's recent activity with the series includes the western release of Earthbound Beginnings (Mother 1) in 2015 and the inclusion of Earthbound (Mother 2) in the 2017 SNES Classic.

Is F Zero linked to Nintendo?

Hope was briefly rekindled earlier this year when a new F-Zero Twitter account was seemingly linked to Nintendo , according to VGC. Unfortunately, that hope was extinguished when the account posted a risqué video that was definitively not from Nintendo.

How many games does Nintendo own?

Nintendo has a massive arsenal of franchises. Their Wikipedia page lists at least thirty game series that Nintendo entirely owns, and this isn’t even counting their one off projects like Geist or Eternal Darkness. Choosing just fifteen of those, and ranking them, was probably the toughest thing I’ve done in a very long time.

Why are the Golden Sun games so popular?

The first two Golden Sun games were instantly lapped up by critics, because of their high production values, memorable sound track, great sprite based graphics, their cast of well developed characters, and a genuinely engaging story. After The Lost Age released on the Gameboy Advance, the series went missing in action for nearly half a decade. And whereas last year’s revival of the slumbering franchise might not have been the triumphant return that fans had been hoping for, it was still a genuinely compelling RPG that eld its own very well on a system that has arguably the best RPG library this generation.

Is Nintendo a money raker?

What’s best is that Nintendo franchises aren’t just money rakers- they are also consistently at the top of the game, constantly pushing the envelope and innovating, blazing the trail for the rest of the industry to follow.

Is Kirby a Nintendo character?

Kirby remains one of Nintendo’s most well recognized characters, and one of their most bankable franchises. Thankfully, all the commercial hoopla around the games is backed by a series of titles that is overall well made and consistently delivers.

Is Kirby a NES game?

Nintendo’s adorable pink puffball mascot, Kirby remains one of the few influential franchises that originally began on a handheld. The original Kirby was an easy and accessible sidescrolling platformer developed on the Gameboy, and its success saw a sequel being commissioned for the NES.

Did Nintendo develop Oracle games?

By that logic, neither do the Oracle games since they were primarily developed by Capcom. However, I agree that the CD-i games should be ignored. They weren't just not developed by Nintendo, but Nintendo refuse to even acknowledge them anymore.

Is Fire Emblem still in the game?

Fire Emblem still remains a bit of an enigma. The SRPG franchise never saw a release outside of Japan for nearly twenty years, with the NES and SNES installments of the series skipping out on western releases entirely. In fact, the first taste that western audiences had of Fire Emblem wasn’t even in a Fire Emblem game- it was in Super Smash Bros. Melee, which featured Roy and Marth, two of the series’ protagonists. The good reception to those characters saw a wide release of the GBA Fire Emblem games, along with one on the Gamecube, Wii, and the DS remake of the original NES game.

How many copies of Super Smash Bros. have been sold?

Nintendo violently mashed almost its entire history into this ever-popular fighting game, and the result is over 66 million copies sold and a revival in interest in several older or less popular franchises. Super Smash Bros. is one of the canniest intellectual property plays ever devised by any media company, and of course it helps that all five games in the series have been pretty great, whether you know your Nintendo history or not. As its spread past Nintendo’s own properties and started to embrace iconic characters from other game companies, Super Smash Bros. has grown from a (very violent) museum devoted to Nintendo, to one that pays respect to the larger world of Japanese games from the ‘80s through the ‘00s.

How many Kirby games have been sold?

Kirby might seem like a second-tier Nintendo mascot to old-timers who started with the original NES, but he moves units like a true Hall of Famer. Over 41 million Kirby games have been sold since the series debuted on the Game Boy in 1992, besting several of Nintendo’s older series, including Metroid, F-Zero, and Fire Emblem. Granted the pink ball of fluff has also had a lot of games released under his name, significantly more than many of Nintendo’s other high profile characters—we’re talking three times as many Kirby games as Metroid games. Still, you can’t deny that he’s one of Nintendo’s most beloved characters, and clearly one of its most successful.

Is Nintendo a video game?

The rise of the PlayStation and Xbox mostly killed off that practice over the last 25 years, but Nintendo is still synonymous with videogames in a way no other company is. Nintendo is both the Coca-Cola and Pepsi of gaming, and they’ve got the sales figures to back up that comparison.

Is Donkey Kong a Nintendo game?

Yes, Donkey Kong is Nintendo’s original hit character, and I know the Donkey Kong Country games were massive successes on the Super Nintendo, but I was still a little surprised to see the big ape up this high. His peak years were the early ‘80s and then the mid ‘90s; if you check the release timeline on Donkey Kong’s Wikipedia entry, you’ll see several games clustered around those two time periods, with a third small cluster in the early ‘00s representing the Donkey Konga rhythm game series. Otherwise Donkey Kong games are few and far between, with only two being released since 2007, and none since 2014. But that just shows how hugely popular the arcade original and the SNES series were; the original sold almost nine million copies across a handful of home releases in the 1980s, and the first Donkey Kong Country is the third-best selling Super Nintendo game of all-time. The various sequels, ports and rereleases of the arcade original and the SNES trilogy account for over half the total sales of the Donkey Kong series, with only 2010’s Donkey Kong Country Returns coming close to hitting their highs on the Wii, Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time. So, yeah: this is one popular monkey.

Is Zelda a 1B game?

If Mario is clearly Nintendo’s 1A property, Zelda always felt like 1B—an iconic, groundbreaking, epochal series whose every game is a major event. Sales-wise, though, there’s no contest: Mario and Luigi dunk all over Link and Zelda. In fact, as you can see, there are two other Nintendo franchises in addition to Mario that have outsold the over two dozen Zelda games released over the last 35 years. It’s not surprising to see Zelda not come in second, though; as an action RPG, it requires a bit more patience and attention than more immediate genres, like the platformer. My two older brothers, who were majorly into arcade games and the Atari 2600 in the early ‘80s, were both big Super Mario Bros. fans but couldn’t parse Legend of Zelda, and although that’s clearly anecdotal, I think there is something to Zelda drawing a line between those raised on very straight-forward, pick-up-and-play games like you’d find in the arcade, and those who embraced and grew with the medium as it became more complex in the years to come. Anyway: People like them Zelda games! Apparently just not as much as they like…

Franchises

This list includes all Nintendo franchises that have crossed the 5 million mark. Sales data mostly based on Nintendo's official sales data.

Best-selling games

This list includes all Nintendo games that have crossed the 10 million mark. For rereleases and remasters of the same game, the sales data is combined.

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