Top 10 Video Game Franchises Of All Time

Every gamer out there has that one video game
franchise that they can't resist. Whether you line up at midnight for the next game in the Halo series or start to lose it at the possibility that a new Zelda game is coming to town doesn't matter – you understand that even a stinker in the series won't mar the franchise's reputation.

[cmrbe]

Halo greatest franchise of all time?. hehe. Not even close. Must be a young gamer.

It the plumber guy that saves princess that is the greatest franchise ever.

[masterofpwnage]

halo is at first.
so much fail ha

okay halo should be behind pokemon, zelda, mario, final fantasy.

if you compare sales all those franchise destroys halo.
Those games are legends on sales and the gaming world.

[-Alpha]

As much as I love Halo I'd agree.

I actually don't think COD deserves to be on it. I'm a huge fan of COD4, but MW2 and even WaW, and the Wii titles all ruined that franchise for me. At least Halo was consistent. Mario is definitely #1. Way too much history, success, and brand power behind it.

I really don't mind the list. Everybody is going to hate it because it's not going to be what they think a top 10 franchise list is. That's the problem with articles like this: Nobody has the same opinion and it's completely subjective. Also, though I've never been a player, Gran Turismo deserves at least an honorary mention.

[Redrum059]

its saposed to be a list of the greatest franchises yet Grand"f***ing"Turism o isnt on the list. not only is gt cherished around the world by gamers, car enthusiests, and the automotive industry itself; but even ppl who dont care for games are interested in GrandTurismo. Me and a Doctor i work with talk about GT5 all the time.

GRAN"F***ING"TURISM O!!!!

[Nicholas Cage]

i think it would be zelda,gran turismo, mario bros.metal gear solid, final fantasy. resident evil, silent hill,god of war, tekken,world of warcraft, and for the new games...

uncharted 2, demons souls, mass effect, littlebigplanet.

[halojunkie]

this list sucks! gran turismo should be number 1 even though i love halo, its not as established as gran turismo.

EDIT:below me murderdolls. dude, i sincerely doubt you have ever played metal gear solid 1, through 4, if you have,(even if you played one of them) you can see just how well the game is made, the actors, the story, the franchise is very much alive. its one of the most established franchises ever.

[kaveti6616]

The same people who think Halo is a joke think it's reasonable to put Metal Gear Solid on the top of the list.

Opinions. Everyone's got one.

By the way, the article doesn't say "Top 10 Best Video Game Franchise of All Time." It just says Top Video Game Franchise of all time. Top in what? What the hell is our frame of reference, here?

[-MD-]

I'm more offended that Metal Gear Solid is in the top 10 at all than Halo being #1.

It's obvious Halo isn't the best franchise of all time but seeing Metal Gear on that list is just disgusting.

[Darkstorn]

This article is such fanboy bait that I'm not even going to touch it...

[-Alpha]

What the hell is wrong with Metal Gear? It's a very well known, established, and loved franchise that has not only been recognized by the industry but has also went on to sell millions. How can you be disgusted at it making a top ten franchise list? It has the same qualifications as every other franchise on that list. What would you rather see?

@Nicholas

I LOVE Demon's Souls, UC2, and LBP but we are talking about franchises. UC & ME are the only real franchises of the ones you mentioned and even they aren't worthy of the list just yet. I usually qualify a series to be a trilogy before considering it a franchise.

@redrum

LOL at you and a doctor talking about GT. That had me laughing for some reason. Yeah, GT should have been on that list. Should have replaced COD IMO.

[The Time Reaper]

"but seeing Metal Gear on that list is just disgusting. "

Why?

And let's be honest, Mario should probably be number one.

[cmrbe]

omission is a big fail but whats even a much bigger fail is no inclusion of Mario on the list anywhere. Seriously?. No Mario?. LMAO!!.

The kid obviously just started gaming last gen which is why he has MGS and Halo so far up with direct reference to MGS4 and Halo 3.

Edit: Alpha, OK. Lol!. My old school Nintendo fanboy ways coming back not seeing Mario at 1.

[-Alpha]

Mario is #6 on the list. And GT did seem to get an honorary mention alongside Guitar Hero and Madden!

Also, it was written by some girl who looks like she's in her mid 20's.

I don't find anything wrong with him having his opinion but I do think that there is some objectivity in making lists like this and not having Mario as #1 no matter who you are is somewhat wrong.

Mario is a cultural celebrity let alone THE Icon of the industry.

Edit: Actually it's an easy overlook because Mario clearly should be #1. Don't worry I get it: if he's not #1 then he isn't on the list at all ;)

You don't even have to be an old school gamer to appreciate Mario. That alone shows you how much Mario deserves to be #1.

@HolyOrangeCows

I swear on my rare copy of Power Stone 2. Oh, oh, guess which franchise is #1...I hope your not drinking milk: Halo!

@Philaroni

I wouldn't even say Halo can be safely argued to be #1 in modern industry for online, especially with games like World of Warcraft. I adore Halo. I think it can be argued to be the greatest FPS of this generation but definitely not greatest franchise of all time. And you are right, these lists only bring lots of disagrees because everybody is different-- but almost everyone should agree Mario should be #1 and GT should be somewhere on that list.

[HolyOrangeCows]

Mario is only at 6? Are you freaking joking?

[Philaroni]

I never liked lists like this, are you talking bout sales? Impact on the industry? or what? If we are talking about modern impact then yes Halo of course is #1 every online game draws from what Halo 2 did back in the day.

At the same time you could say Unreal is #1 because due to that game most of the games made in the industry use the Unreal Engine, which is a huge impact. Same can be said for Half Life and the Source engine.

Other games like Starcraft could very easy be on the list. Unchated is now the game to beat when it comes to Story and character development. Just like Halo is the game to beat when it comes to online.

Anyway, point is there is no point to lists like this. Its one thing to say "Top 10 selling games" but another to do something like this as there is way too many games that have had major influence in the industry. Which, is what I am amusing this list is about.

[Redrum059]

the game mgs games have been around since the 80's, brought stealth to its own ganre, has one of the most engaging story(if not the best), and does what most games fail to do, capture players emotionally. call me a little B**** if you want but the ending of MGS3 waterd my eyes a lttle bit (ofcourse a person has to know the story and have had to played the previous games).

@alpha-male: actualy a few doctors at the hospital i work at are fond of the gt5 series, but come to think of it, my last comment did sound kinda funny :)

[-Alpha]

Damn man. See this is what I mean with Gran Turismo, I honestly never see a die hard audience on the internet. PS3 fanboys will hype it to hell but they hype any exclusive. I've never seen too many REAL Racing sim fans, yet they exist in the world so much so that they have made the series #1 in terms of sale for Playstation. There are some real enthusiasts out there that love the genre, it must be quite a passion.

Also, dude, if a game can make you feel emotions then you are human, far from a "little B****" lol. Least your not some 12 year old meathead who just wants "kewl gore games". I hold many games dear to my heart. Though none have made me cry Shadow of the Colossus gives a sinking feeling to my heart. Dark Cloud 2 really moves me too. Point is, no shame in feeling what you want to feel. It's actually quite a powerful feat for a game to pull that off. In fact I'd consider you a "little B****" if you didn't admit your emotions lol. I've never grew up with a lot of the franchises that people recognize today simply because I wasn't aware of them. Metal Gear from the sounds of it seems like quite an experience. Good for you that you enjoyed it.

@redrum below

Do you realize how carefully crafted SoTC is?

If you play it again go to the part RIGHT before Agro crosses the bridge before his death (before the last boss). As you run towards the bridge HE TRIES TO TURN THE OTHER WAY! The animation is streamlined RIGHT into that part where you are running down the bridge. It's pure foreshadow as if Agro knew he would die. Little things like that are awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Also, ICO is a sequel to SotC. So yeah, Wander basically started ICO. I've never played ICO but they are connected. SOTC is a spiritual successor to it. I am hoping TLG will piece together more mysteries of the Team ICO world.

Yeah, TLG is my anticipated 2011 GOTY. I'm assuming it will come 2011. If it comes 2010 then Halo has serious competition to my GOTY choice. Red Dead Redemption also looks like my GOTY candidate too. Anyways, add me on PSN we should play sometime, or just message me.

[Redrum059]

dude, i totally forgot about shadow of the colossus. watching Agro(horse) sacrifice himself to save Wander, wacthing agro fall, and then watching Wander struggle to reach his love only to fail realy hit my heart; and it did it all with no words what-so-ever. epic game... cant wait for the last gardian, its been too long since ive felt an emotional game(mgs4 being the last one). but since the ico games hold very little diologue, it gives the games a bit of mystery.

SPOILER ALERT!!! when wander becomes a baby, is that baby ico or someother character. thats just one of the many questions that i hold for the ico games.

EDIT: @alpha well did you know that there is a secret location above the tower that you can reach by grabbing a dove or an owl. It's a secret garden that has harmful fruit and a headless body laying around... Creepy zhit huh. Anyways, add me on psn Redrum059 lol

[Cevapi88]

did this article just go and tout about how Halo is number 1

ummm Half-Life series says hello....one of the best if not the best FPS to come out at the time

[hetz15]

without Kojima and his Metal Gear series,stealth genre wouldn't be as great as today.No splinter cell,hitman series,or even assassin creed in my opinion. Do you ever play the original Metal Gear and MG2 in MSX?I bet no. Try it, it's free with msx emulator,just google it. Both of them are great games that everybody should try at least once.

As for the list,sucks. No Gran Turismo?????Half-Life???? Halo is a great series,but Half-Life(and Doom) redefine the FPS genre. Mario on 6?? I hate that bloody plumber :p,but I believe that it's in the top 3 in gaming franchise.Also,no Sonic??Yea,their last few games suck so bad,but still.Who doesn't know the blue hedgehog??

[Kingdom Come]

All of which Gran Turismo doesn't have, I mean really, are you being serious? Because if you honestly believe Gran Turismo is the Number One Games Franchise, that is the greatest Fail I have ever seen...

[AEtherbane]

I Halo'ld at that. Halo is a new franchise, its not nearly as accomplished as Zelda or Mario/

[Setekh]

What an absolute FAIL of a list.

[Shepherd 214]

I love Halo and it should be on the list but not number one. The Metal Gear series established itself long before Halo. Half-Life did a few years before as well. Hell even Mario was around 20 years before Halo.

I still dont know why people on this site regard Halo as being only for young people. By that standard, no one over 17 here should like Mario, Zelda, Ratchet and Clank, Banjo Kazooie, etc. See what i mean? Just because Halo has a nice color palette doesnt point directly to kids. Theres still tons of blue and purple alien blood spewed everywhere in Halo.

[TROLL EATER]

halo has 5 games max so far achieved huge sales. even the fastest selling game of all time. who knows wah damage halo reach will do. . comapre to mario and zelda which have combined 300 games.halo is up der wivout doubt

[Moo7a-Seven]

Where's Silent Hill & God of War & Uncharted &&&...??!
Power Rangers first?!! This mini game must be under Pokemon place!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAWN............... . .

[jeseth]

Mario is whether you like it or not the greatest gaming franchise of all time. He is a household name and the face of gaming and has been since the 80's. To list Mario as #6 is just disrespectful and ignorant.

My personal top 10 :

1. MARIO
2. Zelda
3. Final Fantasy
4. Metal Gear
5. Gran Turismo
6. Halo
7. Madden
8. Resident Evil
9. Gran Theft Auto
10. God of War

These are CONSOLE bests, PC franchises (Warcraft, Sims, etc.) have an even more rabid fanbase at times than console gamers.

To not mention Madden or Gran Turismo is a farce. Both are the cornerstones for their genres and are successful beyond comprhension. This KID is a tool and isn't older than 30 by my guess.

[The Shadow]

Where the F is GRAN TURISMO????? WHAT??? Halo is number 1(30 million)??? and Mario(222 million)number 6, what retard arrange this?

[ClownBelt]

I think the list is very spot on.

[halojunkie]

yea, i see. gotta admit though, they have a hell of potential.:)most likely to become giant franchises.

i also would like to add doom, tetris, mortal kombat and the nfl, mlb, and nba games! one every year!

[Inside_out]

When Halo 2 launched it was on the news every night that wk, rds were closed, kids camped out, helicopters flew overhead....it became an entertainment Hollywood blockbuster story...made millions and put xbox and xbox live on the map and changed everything...haters trying to rewrite history....they laughed at US M$ joining the gaming community...LOL...there not laughing anymore...after E3 and this holiday season, they'll be crying....

GTA became a monster...thru inventive game play, story and controversy...it still at the top of the charts in terms of overall sales....Why do you think EA wanted to buy it for billions...that's billions with a " B "....

Gran Turismo was a hit because in didn't have any serious competition...things have changed....Car sims are for an eclectic group of gamers...I'm sure it has it's fans...BUT...nobody standing in line for this game....

Mario and his Nintendo comrades will always have an audience...theirs magic in those characters, no different than Mickey Mouse and Disney....Mario getting a free pass this gen because of a gimmick...we'll see next gen how it holds up...IMO, I luv that franchise....

Stealth games like Splinter cell and MGS have there followers as well, different strokes for different folks....Me, I don't care for stealth...Didn't like MGS4...it sold well because it was packaged with the PS3...game play and voice acting was terrible tho graphics were good...Don't like Splinter Cell either...EXCEPT...Conviction which I think has some of the best game play this gen...

COD MW2 is a monster...plain and simple...one of the highest grossing entertainment products out there...everyone in the industry did a head snap when the numbers came in.....GOTY UC2 has been outsold by 4 to 1 by MW2...UC2 got the awards, MW2 got the money and gamers.....this franchise is for real...Millions and millions on line every wk....COD WaW has sold incredibly well and this holiday, COD 7 will also sell very well, the sign of a great franchise....KZ 1 & 2 deserve a mention as well...

Lets not forget the young lions making some noise this gen....Gears of war, Uncharted Drake fortune, Mass Effect and few others that are new with great potential...( Alan Wake, Deadspace, Biochock etc... )

The article is the authors OPINION....and opinions are like A$$holes, everyone has one, including myself....so instead of hating on someone for being different, post your OWN list and compare...

[52pickup]

Mario
Pokemon
Tetris
The Sims
Need For Speed
Final Fantasy
Madden NFL
Sonic
Grand Theft Auto
FIFA

Those are the official best selling franchises,dictated by sales. Halo is 34th on the list.

[mt]

he is obviously chose halo because of the sales. just read what he wrote " Halo: What Metal Gear did for the PS3, Halo did for the original Xbox, but on a much larger scale, and when Halo 2 was released, it became the fastest-selling media product of all time, a record that has now been broken by the third game in the series."

[cmrbe]

Mario made gaming as is and has sold more copies than any game could possibly hope to sell.

[Odion]

I'd take Resident Evil off and Call of Duty, Warcraft should be on there sicne Warcraft 1 sold like 3 million, Warcraft 2 sold 6, Warcraft 3 sold 11, and WoW is at 12 million.

[RagTagBnd445]

And then, WoW is at 12 million active accounts, i will bet it has sold about 30 million overall.

[flappersack]

Seeing the thumbnail picture being Halo, I knew this list would reek of fail

[Redrum059]

...

[halojunkie]

calm down, bubbles to you redrum.

[johnsonbenjy]

I am a fans of this game.it is very interesting to play the game.it is the gud design game
http://www.wellnessstarts.c...

[madpuppy]

shouldn't that read console franchises?

and even that is wrong seeing that they left out a ton of great console franchises as well.

[jalen247]

This list must be a joke...LMFAO

Back to GOW III...Just beat the game on Titan and earned the Platinum trophy...second Zeus battle was brutal on Titan...next up Chaos

[tavo1117]

WTF?, Halo might be a good franchise in terms of sales, specially for the multiplayer boom, but is far behind the best one: MGS saga.

[foxxy]

American media is bias to the 360 what is new about this master cheif looks like a power ranger / samus look a like snake is number one comon mgs4 was the game of the decade.

[kissmeimgreek]

COD is not an RTS. what a stupid article

[Raypture]

This list is junk, the sims and CoD don't belong on there. The rest i can see on there, but ordered around differently and pokemon definitely desrves to be higher as almost anyone who has played it loves it.

[alexdulcianu]

It's funny, every now and then a bunch of guys from some obscure website get together and say: "Well dudes, it's time for us to decide the greatest game/franchise/whatever of ALL TIME!", even though they've been playing video games for like 5-10 years. No one can decide that, it's bullshit.

[MWH]

a top 10 of Your time. with respect to all the mentioned games.

[BannedForNineYears]

Scattered list.
Seems like he just named the ones that came to mind first.

[AngryTypingGuy]

I'm an Xbox guy, but I'd have to say Mario is the top video game franchise ever. They have done more with the Mario character than any other.

[knifefight]

Wow this must have taken someone a whole 20 minutes to write.

[clembo]

Terrible article and generic opinions from some blog. Looking not only at the choices on that list but the order they are put in is actually quite infuriating.

[DelbertGrady]

Sorry but where's Gran Turismo?

[saimcheeda]

God of War or Gran turismo?

[moomooakai]

Halo? FAIL.

[karan8624]

"CoD had exploded in the last few years and for good reason – the developers realized that this is an online real-time strategy game as much as it is a first person shooter, and they cater to that market."

....what? How is COD anything like a strategy game?

Are they high?

[SephireX]

Halo shouldn't be number one. Halo is good but not that good. Fian Fantasy deserves number one. Metal Gear deserves number two. Gta deserves 3. Halo deserves 4. Resident Evil deserves 5. Mario 6. Call of Duty doesn't deserve to be in the top 10.

[despair]

Mario first Zelda second after that MGS, Final Fantasy, RE, maybe pokemon i guess, COD, GTA, Half Life and probably Ratchet and Clank. Halo is probably 11th in my list.

[raicoon]

okay halo is a very good franchise...but the best of all time...i mean..where are you living? the topic should be..."top 10 video game franchises who promoted with the most money of all time" , then its halo..but halo over mgs?no way!

[TheFlyingPenguin]

Where the hell is Half-Life? Epic Fail.

[condorstrike]

MARIO.... enough said.

[Rageanitus]

gran turismo, quake, warcraft...

there are much better fps out there than halo.

[DannyVenom]

This isn't news, this isn't even a good novelty article.

Go away.

[Solo227]

I'd put Gran Turismo and Madden on the list over COD and FF..

Mario should be #1

[Infamous Gamer]

How the hell is this news. Its just one fanboys opinion. Halo? Really just because it sold so well and you play the online everyday makes it the best? the story doesn't match anything to Metal gear solid, I really do not get it. I can get that 360 fanboys will always support their consoles games. But even a retarded fanboy knows Halo is nothing compared to other franchises. If a Fanboy is reading this and disagrees with me. I just want to ask you one question. What makes Halo so special its better then games that actually revolutionized gaming like Metal Gear Solid or Gran Turismo? Golden eye and Wolfenstein 3D revolutionized first person. What about Halo? How is it any more special then Call of Duty? Both good for sales, but lacks story and actual gameplay. Metal Gear Solid FTW.

[PeteWntz]

The list appears to be a mixture of top sales (Pokemon is actually really big even if serious gamers don't touch them), influence on future design concept for games (Online play for first shooters with Halo alone was a huge step forward and worked out a lot of the bugs in this inherent system) and world wide recognition of characters (Mario specifically, but also with honorable mention Mega Man). I agree with the other comments, it's hard to gauge the list without specific criteria being listed (is it number of units being sold, technologies used, etc).

Then again it's 100% a bait article, just look at all the comments arguing the list, no two people are ever going to agree, I'm a big time gamer (probably a little too addicted), but I honestly don't like the God Of War series, it just isn't my cup of tea, then again I also wouldn't touch Pokemon.

I would personally have liked to see Pitfall on the list, it took side scrolling games to a whole new level, but wasn't much of a franchise, also Donkey Kong, PacMan, I know we look at current games, but there are so many influences I won't even bother arguing the list as it's based on one gamers preferences which is obviously going to be different than my own.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

:)

[commander]

I dont mind it being on the list but no way is it number 1.

For me mario is number 1 for the simple reason that mario 1 on the nes brough me in the gaming. The article does not mention what he is basing this list off of.

[DizzyDino]

ZELDA 4 me

[A_doc]

For every sensible comment in any of these flame war starters there is at least 30 "u suck, go die" comments. Heck these articles should be called kerosene for the incoherent, irrelevant, profanity, and flaming they start.

That being said, I agree with a few of the people who have commented on this. Coming up with a "Top 10 franchises of all time" list is a poor choice of words because it is very vague in reference. This person sort of mixes most mixed into pop culture, largest fanbase, biggest impact on the gaming industry, and most games sold into the descriptions for the games they picked. Now they also said that this is their opinion so relax people and disagree or agree with civility.

To me, franchise implies length of time that a game has been around or amount of games under a specific cannon. So by that definition games like:
Castlevania (I don't even know what number they are at now).
Mario would be still included.
Mega man would be one (10 numbered plus spin offs)
Sonic would be one (4 numbered, so many spin offs....)
Donkey Kong (As old as mario is)
Final Fantasy (13 numbered, several spin-offs)
Command and Conquer (There's at least 10 of those, split over two production studios)
Metal Gear (9 main games, a few spinoffs)
Pokemon (Let's see 4 generations, 5th coming soon, at 2 to 3 games per generation, that's over 10 core games plus the spin off games)
Prince of Persia (Also over 10 games in the series)
Resident Evil ( 5 Numbered, I lost count of the spin offs)
Street Fighter ( 4 Numbered, like 10 or so spin offs)
Tomb Raider (Been around since 96 and still going)
Need for Speed (Sorry GT but there are 5.5 of you (prologue is half a gt game) and 12 of Need for Speed)
Mortal Kombat (There's 12 of them, and I'm sure Skorpian/Sub-Zero/Johnny Cage/Raiden will find their way into more games whether midway is gone or not)
Metroid (There's 12 of them, not counting spinoffs that aren't really based in the metroid universe)
Legend of Zelda (There's 16 of them...though a lot are them are handheld only and I don't like to count that)
King of Fighters (Bet you haven't heard of this one, there are 16 of them)
EverQuest (2 numbered...and yeah I know the rest are just downloadable expansions but there are over 20 of them! warcraft's got 5 total explansions including warcraft III's two)
Dynasty Warriors (They need to stop making this franchise..please developers)
Dragon Warrior (There's like 20 of these)
Crash Bandicoot (There's 13 of them...yes kart counts too)
Call of Duty (It is a large franchise, 7 "numbered" series, and 4 spin offs)
Bomberman (I lost count...less than mario, more than anything else)

(by the way sport games do not count as nothing much changes from year to year other than graphics over time and the players in the game. Sorry FIFA, or Madden, or any of the other sports games. I also sort of consider Tony Hawk in this category)