List of best-selling Game Boy video games
Game Boy (original) and Game Boy Color
This is a list of video games for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color video game consoles that have sold or shipped at least one million copies, including games whose sales figures were published, and games which received the Player's Choice label for selling a million units. The best-selling game on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color is Pokémon Red/Green/Blue /Yellow , which released in 1996 and sold over 46 million units worldwide.[ 1] [ 2] The second best-selling title is Tetris ; first released in Japan on June 14, 1989, Tetris was often bundled with the original Game Boy and went on to sell in excess of 35 million units worldwide.[ 3] It is followed by the best-selling Game Boy Color game, Pokémon Gold/Silver /Crystal , which sold over 29 million units in total.[ 2] The top five is rounded out by the platform's first Super Mario game, Super Mario Land , which sold over 18 million units worldwide,[ 4] and Dr. Mario with over 5.34 million units sold.[ 5]
There are a total of 67 Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on the list which are confirmed to have sold or shipped at least one million units. Of these, 20 were developed by internal Nintendo development divisions. Other developers with the most million-selling games include Capcom with seven games, as well as Game Freak , Rare , and Tose with five games each in the list of 66. Of the 66 games on this list, 48 were published in one or more regions by Nintendo. Other publishers with multiple million-selling games include Konami with three games and Bandai and Enix with two games each. The most popular franchises on Game Boy and Game Boy Color include Pokémon (84.54 million combined units), Tetris (38.12 million combined units), Super Mario (34.39 million combined units), Donkey Kong (12.55 million combined units), and Kirby (10.91 million combined units).
List
Pokémon Red / Green / Blue / Yellow
Game Freak
Nintendo
GB
February 27, 1996
46,020,000
[ 1] [ 2]
Tetris †
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
June 14, 1989
35,000,000
[ 3]
Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal
Game Freak
Nintendo
GBC
November 21, 1999
29,490,000
[ 2]
Super Mario Land
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
April 21, 1989
18,140,000
[ 4]
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
October 21, 1992
11,180,000
[ 4]
Dr. Mario
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
July 27, 1990
5,340,000
[ 5]
Pokémon Pinball
Nintendo
GBC
April 14, 1999
5,310,000
[ 6]
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
January 21, 1994
5,190,000
[ 6]
Kirby's Dream Land
HAL Laboratory
Nintendo
GB
April 27, 1992
5,130,000
[ 6]
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
Nintendo R&D2
Nintendo
GBC
May 1, 1999
5,070,000
[ 6]
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
Flagship
Nintendo
GBC
February 27, 2001
3,990,000
[ 6]
Donkey Kong Land
Rare
Nintendo
GB
June 26, 1995
3,910,000
[ 6]
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening †
Nintendo EAD
Nintendo
GB
June 6, 1993
3,830,000
[ 7]
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Nintendo
GBC
December 18, 1998
3,720,000
[ 6]
F1 Race
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
November 9, 1990
3,410,000
[ 6]
Yoshi
Game Freak
Nintendo
GB
December 14, 1991
3,120,000
[ 6]
Donkey Kong
Nintendo
GB
June 14, 1994
3,070,000
[ 6]
Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi
Bandai
Bandai
GB
1997
3,000,000
[ 8]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists
Konami
Konami
GBC
December 7, 2000
2,500,000
[ 9]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories
Konami
Konami
GBC
July 13, 2000
2,396,518
[ c]
Kirby's Dream Land 2
HAL Laboratory
Nintendo
GB
March 21, 1995
2,360,000
[ 6]
Donkey Kong Land 2
Rare
Nintendo
GB
September 23, 1996
2,350,000
[ 6]
Dragon Warrior Monsters
Tose
Enix
GBC
September 25, 1998
2,350,000
[ 12]
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Nintendo EAD
Nintendo
GBC
December 12, 1998
2,220,000
[ 7]
Wario Land 3
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GBC
March 21, 2000
2,200,000
[ 6]
Kirby's Pinball Land
HAL Laboratory
Nintendo
GB
November 27, 1993
2,190,000
[ 6]
Donkey Kong Country
Rare
Nintendo
GBC
November 4, 2000
2,190,000
[ 6]
Golf
Nintendo
Nintendo
GB
November 28, 1989
2,120,000
[ 6]
Tennis
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
May 29, 1989
1,990,000
[ 6]
Alleyway
Nintendo
GB
April 21, 1989
1,940,000
[ 6]
Tetris DX
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GBC
October 21, 1998
1,880,000
[ 6]
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
November 1991
1,720,000
[ 6]
Baseball
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
April 21, 1989
1,610,000
[ 6]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Konami
Konami
GB
December 16, 1998
1,610,000
[ 13]
Dragon Warrior Monsters 2
Tose
Enix
GBC
March 9, 2001
1,570,000
[ 12]
Yoshi's Cookie
Bullet-Proof Software
Nintendo
GB
November 21, 1992
1,530,000
[ 6]
Wario Land II
Nintendo R&D1
Nintendo
GB
March 1, 1998
1,480,000
[ 6]
Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi 2
Bandai
Bandai
GB
1997
1,450,000
[ 9]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories
Konami
Konami
GBC
July 8, 1999
1,450,000
[ 9]
DuckTales
Capcom
Capcom
GB
September 21, 1990
1,430,000
[ 14]
The Final Fantasy Legend
Square
Square
GB
December 15, 1989
1,370,000
[ 12]
Yakuman
Intelligent Systems
Nintendo
GB
April 21, 1989
1,280,000
[ 6]
Tetris 2
Nintendo
GB
December 1993
1,240,000
[ 6]
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
Nintendo R&D2
Nintendo
GBC
August 23, 2000
1,230,000
[ 6]
Game & Watch Gallery 2
Tose
Nintendo
GBC
September 27, 1997
1,220,000
[ 6]
Game & Watch Gallery 3
Tose
Nintendo
GBC
April 8, 1999
1,220,000
[ 6]
Solar Striker
Minakuchi Engineering
Nintendo
GB
January 26, 1990
1,200,000
[ 6]
Mario Tennis
Camelot Software Planning
Nintendo
GBC
November 1, 2000
1,180,000
[ 6]
Qix
Minakuchi Engineering
Nintendo
GB
April 13, 1990
1,150,000
[ 6]
Super R.C. Pro-Am
Rare
Nintendo
GB
June 1991
1,140,000
[ 6]
Donkey Kong Land III
Rare
Nintendo
GB
October 27, 1997
1,030,000
[ 6]
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
Kemco
Kemco
GB
September 5, 1989
1,000,000
[ 15]
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2
Kemco
Kemco
GB
April 26, 1991
1,000,000
[ 15]
Mickey's Dangerous Chase
Now Production
Capcom
GB
May 15, 1991
1,000,000
[ 15]
The Little Mermaid
Capcom
Capcom
GB
July 19, 1991
1,000,000
[ 15]
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
Minakuchi Engineering
Capcom
GB
July 26, 1991
1,000,000
[ 15]
Mega Man II
Japan System House
Capcom
GB
December 20, 1991
1,000,000
[ 15]
Wave Race
Nintendo
GB
July 1, 1992
1,000,000
[ 15]
Star Wars
NMS Software
Capcom
GB
November 1992
1,000,000
[ 15]
DuckTales 2
Make Software
Capcom
GB
April 23, 1993
1,000,000
[ 15]
Mortal Kombat
Probe Software
Acclaim
GB
September 13, 1993
1,000,000
[ 16]
Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands!
Kemco
Kemco
GB
December 22, 1993
1,000,000
[ 15]
Space Invaders
Taito
Nintendo
GB
1994
1,000,000
[ 15]
The Smurfs
Bit Managers
Infogrames
GB
1994
1,000,000
[ 15]
Street Fighter II
Sun L
Nintendo
GB
August 11, 1995
1,000,000
[ 15]
Game & Watch Gallery
Tose
Nintendo
GB
February 1, 1997
1,000,000
[ 6]
James Bond 007
Saffire
Nintendo
GB
January 29, 1998
1,000,000
[ 15]
Notes
^ a b Only developers and publisher for the original release of each game are listed.
^ Only the initial release date on this platform is listed.
^ 726,518 copies sold in Japan.[ 10] 1.67 million units sold in the United States and Europe.[ 11]
References
^ a b DePietro, Andrew (March 19, 2017). " 'Pokken Tournament' and Pokemon's $1.5 Billion Brand" . The Huffington Post . AOL . Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2017 .
^ a b c d Terry, Paul (October 6, 2016). Top 10 of Everything 2017 . London, England: Hachette UK . p. 115. ISBN 978-0600633747 . Retrieved April 25, 2017 – via Google Books .
^ a b Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (June 5, 2009). "Computer Game Tetris Celebrates 25 Years" . The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2017 .
^ a b c O'Malley, James (September 11, 2015). "30 Best-Selling Super Mario Games of All Time on the Plumber's 30th Birthday" . Gizmodo . Univision Communications . Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2017 .
^ a b Terry, Paul (October 6, 2016). Top 10 of Everything 2017 . London, England: Hachette UK . p. 118. ISBN 978-0600633747 . Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2017 – via Google Books .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah 2021CESAゲーム白書 (2021 CESA Games White Papers) . Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association . 2021. ISBN 978-4-902346-43-5 .
^ a b "March 25, 2004" . The Magic Box . Archived from the original on November 26, 2005. Retrieved April 25, 2017 .
^ Allison, Anne (2006-06-30). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination . University of California Press . p. 292. ISBN 978-0-520-24565-5 . Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2021-12-25 – via Google Books .
^ a b c "Japan Platinum Game Chart" . The Magic Box . Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2017 .
^ "【GBC20周年企画(2)】いちばん売れたゲームボーイカラー専用ソフトは『遊☆戯☆王DM4』! では2位は? GBC専用ソフト販売ランキングTOP10!" . Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain . October 21, 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2018 .
^ "Million-Seller Genealogy" . Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCEJ) (in Japanese). Konami . December 31, 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 11 September 2021 .
^ a b c "February 2, 2004 - February 4, 2004" (PDF) . Square Enix . February 9, 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2017 .
^ "Million-Seller Genealogy" . Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCEJ) . Konami . December 31, 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-03-15. Retrieved 11 September 2021 .
^ "Platinum Titles" . Capcom . Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved April 25, 2017 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "31 Player's Choice Gb Games (jpeg) 14%" . Internet Archive . January 22, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2021 .
^ Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games . Three Rivers Press. p. 465. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4 . Retrieved 2024-04-09 . Acclaim also released Game Gear and Game Boy versions of Mortal Kombat. Amazingly, Acclaim sold 1 million copies of the Game Boy cartridge.
External links