Japanese developers calling the shots

Thanks to a new list, we can now all see the best selling video game franchises of all time. 10 of these gaming legends are of Japanese decent, with the top 3 places being completely localized to the land of milk and honey.... and Mario.

1. Mario (Nintendo): 193 million
2. Pokemon (Nintendo): 155 million
3. Final Fantasy (Square Enix): 68 million
4. Madden NFL (Electronic Arts): 56 million
5. The Sims (Maxis/Electronic Arts): 54 million
6. Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar): 50 million
7. Donkey Kong (Nintendo): 48 million
8. The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo): 47 million
9. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega): 44 million
10. Gran Turismo (Sony): 44 million
11. Lineage (NCsoft): 43 million
12. Dragon Quest (Square Enix): 41 million
13. Crash Bandicoot (Sony/Vivendi): 34 million
14. Resident Evil (Capcom): 31 million
15. James Bond (Various): 30 million
16. Tomb Raider (Eidos Interactive): 30 million
17. Mega Man (Capcom): 26 million
18. Command & Conquer (Westwood Studios/Electronic Arts): 25 million
19. Street Fighter (Capcom): 25 million
20. Mortal Kombat (Midway): 20 million

Nintendo dominates the top two rungs on the ladder with everyone's favorite Square Enix coming in a weak third compared to the selling power of both the Mario Brothers and Pokemon franchises.

Interesting to note that only one licensed game (James Bond) appears on the list. Also, there are only two Euro developers on the list, Rockstar and Eidos.

Representing the States we have EA weighing in strong at both the number 4 and 5 slots.

I suppose my only surprise on the list is that Legend of Zelda is as low as it is. Sure 8 isn't something to be sad about, but given its illustrious history I assumed it would be been more indoctrinated into both our homes and pocketbooks similar to Mario.

\\drew