2006 Best-Selling Games of the Year

The 100 best selling games in North America last year - Next Generation


1. The stats were compiled using NPD stats as well as various public, analyst and publisher figures and dead reckoning.

2. Reviews were compiled via Metacritic and Gamerankings using the average rating for highest selling platform.

3. Reviews snippets are chosen for representing general view and corresponding with average score. No value is attached to the review chosen. Thanks to those journos and outlets whose snippets we have used.

4. Genres are very broadly defined for analysis purposes.

5. Games or platform versions of games released prior to January 1st 2006 are not included. Expansion packs, remixes and reissues not included. Games released after January 1st 2007 are not included.

6. We have not been able to gain reliable stats on downloaded games. These sales are not included. Games not available at retail are not included. Mobile phone games are not included.

7. Do bear in mind that games released late in the year likely to sell more copies in the months ahead, while those released a year ago are probably just about done. There is nothing ‘final’ about this list.

The entries work like this...

Game Name
Platforms
Copies
Sold in 2006 (North America)
Release Date / Genre / PublisherReview Quote


100. Okami
PS2 Exclusive
200K
93%
September / Action / Capcom

99. Rayman Raving Rabbids
Wii Exclusive
200K
77%
November / Puzzle / Ubisoft

98. Prey
Xbox 360 plus PC
200K
78%
July / Shooter / Take-Two

97. F.E.A.R.
Xbox 360 (PC version released in 2005; not counted here)
200K
85%
November / Shooter / Vivendi

96. Red Steel
Wii Exclusive
220K
63%
November / Action / Ubisoft

95. Battlefield 2142
PC Exclusive
220K
80%
October / Shooter / Electronic Arts

94. Tourist Trophy: The Real Riding Simulator
PS2 Exclusive
230K
74%
April / Racing / Sony

93. Star Fox Command
DS Exclusive
240K
76%
September / Action / Nintendo

92. Daxter
PSP Exclusive
240K
86%
March / Action / Sony

91. Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Xbox 360 plus PS3, Xbox and PC
240K
66%
March / Flight / Ubisoft

90. NFL Street 3
PS2 plus PSP
260K
71%
November / Sports / Electronic Arts

89. Family Guy
PS2 plus PSP; Xbox
270K
50%
October / License / Take-Two

88. Top Spin 2
Xbox 360 plus DS; PC; GB
270K
75%
March / Take-Two / Sports

87. Chromehounds
Xbox 360 Exclusive
270K
70%
July / Action / Sega

86. Burnout Revenge
Xbox 360 (PS2 and Xbox versions released in 05; not counted here)
270K
89%
March / Racer / Electronic Arts

85. Kirby Squeak Squad
DS Exclusive
280K
72%
December / Platformer / Nintendo

84. NBA Ballers: Phenom
PS2 plus Xbox
280K
71%
April / Sports / Midway

83. NASCAR 07
PS2 plus Xbox; PSP
300K
70%
September / Racing / Electronic Arts

82. Microsoft Flight Simulator X
PC Exclusive
300K
80%
October / Simulation / Microsoft

81. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
Xbox 360 (PS2 and Xbox versions released in 05; not counted here)
300K
78%
April / Shooter / Electronic Arts

80. Resistance: Fall of Man
PS3 Exclusive
300K
89%
November / Shooter / Sony

79. Catz
GBA plus DS
310K
44% (limited reviews)
December / Life / Ubisoft

78. Hanna Montana
DS Exclusive
320K
65%
October / License / BVG

77. Tetris
DS Exclusive
320K
84%
March / Puzzler / Nintendo

76. NFL Head Coach
PS2 plus Xbox
330K
64%
June / Sports / Electronic Arts

75. Final Fantasy III
DS Exclusive
330K
78%
November / RPG / Square Enix

74. Arena Football
PS2 plus Xbox
340K
67%
February / Sports / Electronic Arts

73. FIFA Street 2
PS2 and Most Others
340K
59%
March / Sports / Electronic Arts

72. SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Combined Assault
PS2 Exclusive
340K
77%
November / Shooter / Sony

71. Destroy All Humans 2
PS2 plus Xbox
340K
76%
October / Action / THQ

70. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja
PS2 Exclusive
350K
77%
June / License / Namco Bandai

69. Naruto: Clash of Ninja
GameCube Exclusive
360K
70%
March / License / D3Publisher

68. Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus
PS2 Exclusive
360K
60%
August / Action / Square Enix

67. Superman Returns: The Videogame
PS2 plus Most Others
370K
47%
November / License / Electronic Arts

66. Jaws Unleashed
PS2 plus Xbox
370K
53%
May / License / Majesco

65. Mario Vs Donkey Kong: March of the Minis
DS Exclusive
370K
76%
September / Platformer / Nintendo

64. Super Princess Peach
DS Exclusive
380K
77%February / Platformer / Nintendo

63. Eragon
PS2 plus Most Others
400K
51%
November / License / Vivendi

62. Metroid Prime: Hunters
DS Exclusive
410K
85%
March / Shooter / Nintendo

61. Mario Hoops 3 On 3
DS Exclusive
420K
70%
September / Sports / Nintendo

60. Star Wars: Empire at War
PC Exclusive
420K
80%
February / License / LucasArts

59. Bully
PS2 Exclusive
440K
87%
October / Action / Take-Two

58. Rampage: Total Destruction
PS2 plus Some Others
460K
51%
April / Action / Midway

57. Bratz: Forever Diamondz
DS plus GB; PS2
460K
50% (limited reviews)
September / License / THQ

56. Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
PS2 plus Most Others
460K
64%
October / Platformer / Vivendi

55. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
PS2 plus Wii
460K
76%
November / License / Atari

54. Spongebob Squarepants: Creature From Krusty Krab
PS2 plus DS; Wii; GB; GC
470K
55%
October / License / THQ

53. Thrillville
PS2 plus Xbox; PSP
470K
69%
November / Life / LucasArts

52. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas
Xbox 360 plus PC
480K
89%
November / Shooter / Ubisoft

51. Happy Feet
PS2 plus Most Others
500K
49%November / License / Midway

50. DDR Super Nova
PS2 Exclusive
500K
77%
September / Music / Konami

49. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
GameBoy plus DS and PSP
550K
70%
June / License / Vivendi

48. Yoshi’s Island DS
DS Exclusive
550K
82%
November / Platformer / Nintendo

47. X-Men: The Official Game
PS2 plus Most Others
550K
56%
May / License / Activision

46. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
PS2 plus Xbox
550K
76%
October / Fighting / Midway

45. Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II
PC plus Xbox 360
550K
84%
March / License / Electronic Arts

44. The Sims 2: Pets
DS plus P2, GC, PP, GB
580K
51%
October / Life / Electronic Arts

43. Nintendogs: Dalmation & Friends
DS Exclusive
600K
82%
October / Life / Nintendo

42. Tomb Raider: Legend
Xbox 360 plus Most Others
600K
80%
April / Action / Eidos

41. Dead Rising
Xbox 360 Exclusive
600K
85%
August / Action / Capcom

40. Saints Row
Xbox 360 Exclusive
610K
82%
August / Action / THQ

39. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
PS2 plus Most Others
630K
70%
March / License / Vivendi

38. Hitman: Blood Money
Xbox 360 plus PS2; Xbox; PC
650K
82%
May / Action / Eidos

37. MVP 06 NCAA Baseball
PS2 plus Xbox
700K
78%
January / Sports / Electronic Arts

36. NBA 2K7
Xbox 360 plus PS2; Xbox; PS3
700K
85%
September / Sports / Take-Two

35. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Xbox 360 and Most Others
700K
85%
October / Action / Ubisoft

34. Avatar: The Last Airbender
PS2 and Most Others
720K
65%October / License / THQ

33. Big Brain Academy
DS Exclusive
750K
75%
June / Puzzle / Nintendo

32. Sonic Riders
GameCube plus PS2; Xbox
780K
62%
February / Action / Sega

31. FIFA Soccer 07
PS2 and All Others
800K
82%
October / Sports / Electronic Arts

30. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
PS2 plus Most Others
800K
80%
October / Sports / Electronic Arts

29. The Godfather: The Game
PS2 plus Xbox; Xbox 360; PC
880K
77%
March / License / Electronic Arts

28. Tony Hawk’s Project 8
PS2 plus Most Others
900K
71%
November / Sports / Activision

27. Over The Hedge
PS2 plus Most Others
910K
58%
May / License / Activision

26. MLB ’06: The Show
PS2 plus PSP
910K
83%
March / Sports / Sony

25. Black
PS2 plus Xbox
950K
80%
March / Shooter / Electronic Arts

24. FIFA World Cup 2006
PS2 plus All Others
950K
77%
April / Sports / Electronic Arts

23. Major League Baseball 2K6
Xbox 360 plus PS2; Xbox; GameCube; PSP
950K
63%
April / Sports / Take-Two

22. Scarface: The World Is Yours
PS2 plus Xbox; PC
970K
77%
October / License / Vivendi

21. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
PS2 (PSP version released in 2005; not counted here)
1 million
77%
June / Action / Take-Two

20. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
PS2 and Most Others
1 million
82%
October / License / Activision

19. Brain Age
DS Exclusive
1.1 million
78%
April / Puzzle / Nintendo

18. NBA Live 07
PS2 plus Xbox 360; Xbox; PSP; PC
1.2 million
65%
September / Sports / Electronic Arts

17. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007
PS2 plus Xbox 360; PSP
1.2 million
79%
November / Sports / THQ

16. Final Fantasy XII
PS2 Exclusive
1.2 million
93%
November / RPG / Square Enix

15. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red & Blue
DS plus GB
1.3 million
66%
September / RPG / Nintendo

14. Guitar Hero 2
PS2 Exclusive
1.3 million
92%
November / Music / Activision

13. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Xbox 360 plus Xbox; PS2; PC
1.4 million
91%
March / Shooter / Ubisoft

12. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Xbox 360 plus PC
1.4 million
94%
March / RPG / Take-Two

11. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii plus Gamecube
1.5 million
95%
November / RPG / Nintendo

10. Need For Speed Carbon
PS2 and All Others
1.6 million
75%
November / Racing / Electronic Arts

9. Fight Night Round 3
Xbox 360 plus PS2; Xbox; PSP; PS3
1.6 million
85%
February / Sports / Electronic Arts

8. Call of Duty 3
Xbox 360 plus Most Others
1.7 million
84%
November / Shooter / Activision

7. Kingdom Hearts II
PS2 Exclusive
1.7 million
87%
March / RPG / Square Enix

6. Gears of War
Xbox 360 Exclusive
1.8 million
94%
November / Shooter / Microsoft

5. New Super Mario Bros
DS Exclusive
2 million
89%
May / Platformer / Nintendo

4. NCAA Football 07
PS2 plus Xbox 360; Xbox; PSP
2.2 million
87%
July / Sports / Electronic Arts

3. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
PS2 and All Others
2.5 million
85%
September / License / LucasArts

2. Cars
PS2 and All Others
2.6 million
71%
June / License / THQ

1. Madden NFL 07
PS2 and All Others
6.5 million
85%
August / Sports / Electronic Arts

Source - Next Generation