If you’re connected to the gaming world in any way — whether through your children or as a gamer yourself — you’re probably already aware of some of the most popular video game trends right now. If not, the NPD Group, an American market research firm, recently released its list of the best-selling video games for the holiday season of 2021. To figure out what games people are buying, the company looks at digital and retail sales.
While some long-time family favourites remain popular, violent video games such as online multiplayer shooters have become increasingly popular, which may be concerning to parents. That’s why the Entertainment Software Rating Board assigns an age and content rating to each video game, making it critical for parents to understand these ratings so they can determine which games are appropriate for their children. “While video games receive a lot of attention, parents should also consider other places where their children may be exposed to violence, such as movies, television, and the Internet.When it comes to their children and violent video games, parents must make a decision, says Umang Jain, co-founder of the ed tech gaming company SplashLearn.
To determine the best video games on the market right now, we looked at the NPD list as well as a list of the best-selling games of all time from IGN, a popular video game site. If you decide to give one of these as a gift to a gamer in your life, we’ve included their ratings so you can make an informed decision.
- Minecraft – 238M Copies Sold
- Grand Theft Auto V – 155M Copies Sold
- EA Tetris – 100M Copies Sold
- Wii Sports – 82.9M Copies Sold
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – 70M Copies Sold
- Super Mario Bros. – 58M Copies Sold
- Pokémon Red and Blue – 47.5M Copies Sold
- Mario Kart 8 & Deluxe – 47.2M Copies Sold
- Wii Fit & Wii Fit Plus – 43.8M Copies Sold
- Nintendo Tetris – 43M Copies Sold
- Pac-Man – 42M Copies Sold
- Red Dead Redemption 2 – 39M Copies Sold
- Mario Kart Wii – 37.3M Copies Sold
- Terraria – 35M Copies Sold
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 34.8M Copies Sold
- Wii Sports Resort – 33.1M Copies Sold
- New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo DS – 30.8M Copies Sold
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii – 30.3M Copies Sold
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – 30M Copies Sold
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – 30M Copies Sold
- Diablo III & Reaper of Souls – 30M Copies Sold
- The Witcher 3 – 30M Copies Sold
- Human: Fall Flat – 30M Copies Sold
- Pokémon Gold, Silver & Crystal – 29.4M Copies Sold
- Duck Hunt – 28.3M Copies Sold
- Wii Play – 28M Copies Sold
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 27.5M Copies Sold
- Super Mario World – 26.6M Copies Sold
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – 26.5M Copies Sold
- Call of Duty: Black Ops – 26.2M Copies Sold
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 25.8M Copies Sold
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 25.7M Copies Sold
- Pokémon Sun and Moon & Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon – 25.2M Copies Sold
- Grand Theft Auto IV – 25M Copies Sold
- Pokémon Diamond / Pearl / Platinum – 24.7M Copies Sold
- Super Mario Bros. 3 – 24.4M Copies Sold
- Call of Duty Black Ops 2 – 24.2M Copies Sold
- Kinect Adventures – 24M Copies Sold
- FIFA 18 – 24M Copies Sold
- Sonic the Hedgehog – 23.9M Copies Sold
- Nintendogs – 23.9M Copies Sold
- Mario Kart DS – 23.6M Copies Sold
- Red Dead Redemption – 23M Copies Sold
- Super Mario 64 / DS – 22.9M Copies Sold
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – 22.7M Copies Sold
- Pokémon Sword / Shield – 22.6M Copies Sold
- Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald – 22.5M Copies Sold
- Borderlands 2 – 22M Copies Sold
- Super Mario Odyssey – 21.9M Copies Sold
- New Super Mario Bros. U / Deluxe / Luigi U – 20.3M Copies Sold
Apex Legends has a total of 228,439 players (Steam)
Apex Legends, a stealth game from Respawn, appeared out of nowhere and quickly swept the battle royale genre. It proved to be the perfect combination of engaging gameplay, AAA production quality, and a free-to-play business model, temporarily dethroning Fortnite and PUBG as the most popular multiplayer games.
Although the numbers have dropped since the game’s first month, when it had a record 2 million concurrent players, the game’s community has remained fairly large despite the occasional hiccup. Apex has firmly established itself in the genre and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
PUBG
Despite the battle royale genre becoming flooded with copycat titles, PUBG, the game that started a frenzy that saw the entire multiplayer gaming landscape reshaped over the last few years, still commands a large audience.
Most notably, it was cloned by Epic Games’ Fortnite, which was then superseded. Due to PUBG’s premium model and its late arrival on consoles, it quickly fell behind once Fortnite gained traction.
While PUBG may no longer be the king of the battle royale genre, it still offers a tactical military-sim experience that no other game in the genre can match.
DOTA 2
The Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre is dying, a sentiment that has long been assumed. While it’s true that MOBA games aren’t growing as quickly as they once were, don’t be fooled: they’re still extremely popular.
DOTA 2, the sequel to the genre’s forefather, continues to outperform the competition. Despite being around for nearly a decade, it has consistently approached and occasionally exceeded a million concurrent players over the past 12 months.
New World
With the release of New World in September, Amazon’s first foray into AAA MMORPGs was a resounding success. New World looks and plays like a ‘next-gen’ MMORPG, with high production values and a solid combat system that feels very Souls-inspired, even if its design lacks any particularly innovative features.
Counter-Strike: GO
Counter-Strike: GO is the FPS that just won’t quit. April 2020 saw its highest-ever concurrent player numbers, topping 1.3 million. Not only is that a hugely impressive figure on its own, but the game been cranking out this sort of performance for eight years.
As for this year so far, CS:GO has peaked at 1,198,581
A strong esports presence and the brand power of a franchise that’s been around since the late 1990s has kept CS: GO ahead of newer releases. The game remains especially in Europe, with countries like Russia contributing massively to the overall size of the active community
