2008 in video games


2008 saw many new installments in established video game franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Gears of War 2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Persona 4, Fable II, Call of Duty: World at War, Mario Kart Wii, Madden NFL 09, NBA Live 09, NBA 2K9, and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009. New intellectual properties included Army of Two, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge, iRacing, Race Driver: Grid, and Spore, De Blob, Meat Boy.

Legend

Hardware releases

DateConsole
August 22LeapFrog Didj
November 1Nintendo DSi

Hardware and software sales

Worldwide

The following are the best-selling games of 2008 in terms of worldwide retail sales. These games sold at least units worldwide in 2008.
RankTitleSalesPublisherPlatform
1Wii Sports22,660,000NintendoWii
2Mario Kart Wii13,670,000NintendoWii
3Wii Fit12,960,000NintendoWii
4Wii Play11,680,000NintendoWii
5Grand Theft Auto IV10,000,000Take-Two InteractivePS3, X360
6Super Smash Bros. Brawl8,100,000NintendoWii
7Call of Duty: World at War5,890,000Activision BlizzardPS3, X360, WIN
8Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!5,110,000NintendoDS

Canada

  • Based on figures from the NPD Group:
Video game console sales in Canada
PlaceConsoleUnits sold
1Wii376,000
2PS3200,000
3X360154,000

Japan

  • Based on figures from Enterbrain:
Video game console sales of 2008 in Japan
PlaceConsoleUnits sold
1DS4,029,804
2PSP3,543,171
3Wii2,908,342
4PS3991,303
5PS2480,664
6X360317,859
7Other9,575

Best-selling video games of 2008 in Japan
PlaceTitlePlatformPublisherUnits sold
1Monster Hunter Portable 2nd GPSPCapcom2,452,111
2Pokémon PlatinumDSPokémon Company2,187,337
3Wii FitWiiNintendo2,149,131
4Mario Kart WiiWiiNintendo2,003,315
5Super Smash Bros. BrawlWiiNintendo1,747,113
6Rhythm HeavenDSNintendo1,350,671
7Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly BrideDSSquare Enix1,176,082
8Animal Crossing: City FolkWiiNintendo895,302
9Kirby Super Star UltraDSNintendo855,427
10Wii SportsWiiNintendo841,736

  • Based on figures from Dengeki:
Best-selling video games of 2008 in Japan
PlaceTitlePlatformPublisherUnits sold
1Monster Hunter Portable 2nd GPSPCapcom2,507,400
2Pokémon PlatinumDSPokémon Company2,125,348
3Wii FitWiiNintendo2,024,113
4Mario Kart WiiWiiNintendo1,973,089
5Super Smash Bros. BrawlWiiNintendo1,808,709
6Rhythm HeavenDSNintendo1,320,047
7Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly BrideDSSquare Enix1,228,014
8Kirby Super Star UltraDSNintendo724,608
9Animal Crossing: City FolkWiiNintendo709,640
10Wii SportsWiiNintendo694,765

United States

  • Based on figures from the NPD Group:
PlaceConsoleUnits sold
1Wii3.5 million
2PS31.6 million
3X3601.34 million

PlaceTitlePlatformPublisherUnits sold
1Wii PlayWiiNintendo5.28 million
2Mario Kart WiiWiiNintendo5.00 million
3Wii FitWiiNintendo4.53 million
4Super Smash Bros. BrawlWiiNintendo4.17 million
5Grand Theft Auto IVX360Rockstar Games3.29 million
6Call of Duty: World at WarX360Activision2.75 million
7Gears of War 2X360Microsoft2.31 million
8Grand Theft Auto IVPS3Rockstar Games1.89 million
9Madden NFL 09X360Electronic Arts1.87 million
10Mario Kart DSDSNintendo1.65 million

  • Based on figures from the NPD Group via IGN; the games' publishers are listed in brackets:
PlaceDSPCPS3PSPWiiX360
1Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Spore
Grand Theft Auto IV
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Grand Theft Auto IV
2Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and
Explorers of Darkness
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Mario Kart Wii
Madden NFL 09
3Guitar Hero: On Tour
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Madden NFL 09
MLB 08: The Show
Wii Fit
Fable II
4Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
The Sims 2: FreeTime
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Iron Man
Rock Band
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
5Kirby Super Star Ultra
Spore Creature Creator
MLB 08: The Show
Patapon
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Army of Two
6Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Sins of a Solar Empire
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Madden NFL 09
Mario Super Sluggers
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
7Kung Fu Panda
The Sims 2: Apartment Life
NCAA Football 09
Lego Indiana Jones
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Battlefield: Bad Company
8Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
Army of Two
Major League Baseball 2K8
Deca Sports
NCAA Football 09
9Crosswords DS
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm
Soulcalibur IV
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Endless Ocean
Rock Band 2
10Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
The Sims Castaway Stories
Devil May Cry 4
Need for Speed: ProStreet
UnknownNinja Gaiden II

  • Based on figures from the NPD Group:
Note: This list only includes games that were released after NPD started tracking video game sales data.
PlaceTitleUnits sold
1Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas9.40 million
2Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock8.20 million
3Madden NFL 077.70 million
4Grand Theft Auto: Vice City7.30 million
5Madden NFL 066.70 million
6Halo 26.61 million
7Madden NFL 086.60 million
8Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare6.25 million
9Grand Theft Auto III6.20 million
10Madden NFL 20056.10 million