In a recent Twitter post by Mat Piscatella, the executive director and video game industry advisor at Circana, a comparison was made between the best-selling video games in July 2014 and July 2004. The data from 10 years ago revealed some interesting insights, showing that games like Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, and GTA V, which were popular back then, are still dominating the best-seller lists in 2024.
Looking back at the July 2004 data, we get a glimpse of what the video game industry looked like two decades ago. The top 20 premium software titles from that time include games like NCAA Football 2005, Spider-Man 2, and NFL 2K5. What stands out the most is that the top-selling game was EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2005, a far cry from the big blockbuster titles we see today. Movie tie-in games like Shrek 2 also managed to crack the top ten, beating out more traditional titles like Red Dead Revolver and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. It’s a stark reminder of how different the gaming landscape was back then.
Comparing the old list to the best-selling games of May 2024, we see a mix of new and familiar titles. Games like Ghost of Tsushima, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) are among the top sellers. Baseball games continue to do well, and Spider-Man sequels remain popular among gamers. It’s clear that while the gaming industry has evolved significantly over the past 20 years, some things have remained constant.
In today’s gaming landscape, top-selling games often include expensive first-party exclusives, big multiplayer hits, and long-standing titles like GTA V that continue to sell well years after their initial release. The shift from movie tie-in games and sports titles dominating the charts to a more diverse range of genres and franchises reflects the changing preferences of gamers over the years.
As we look ahead to the future of gaming, it will be interesting to see how trends continue to evolve and which new titles will rise to the top of the best-seller lists. The gaming industry is constantly changing, but the nostalgia of looking back at the top-selling games from 20 years ago reminds us of how far we’ve come and how much has stayed the same in the world of video games.