List of best-selling Sega Genesis games

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Sega Genesis, along with its controller

This is a list of Sega Genesis/Mega Drive video games that have sold or shipped at least one million copies, sorted in order of copies sold. The best-selling title is Sonic the Hedgehog, first released in North America on June 23, 1991. Due to being bundled with the console, it sold 15 million copies. The second best-selling game is its sequel, 1992's Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with 6 million copies sold.

List

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games that have sold or shipped at least one million copies
Title Copies sold Regional breakdown Release date
Sonic the Hedgehog 15 million (bundled with Genesis/Mega Drive hardware)[1][2][3] June 23, 1991
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 More than 7.55 million North America – 5 million as of 1996[4]
United Kingdom – 1.4 million+ (1 million in 1992,[5] 400,000+ in 1993)[6]
France, Germany, Spain, Austria – 750,000 as of 1992[7]
Japan – 400,000 as of March 1993[8] 		November 24, 1992
Mortal Kombat More than 4.33 million[9] September 13, 1993
Disney's Aladdin 4 million[10] November 11, 1993
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic & Knuckles 		4 million[11][2] Sonic & Knuckles: At least 1.24 million in the US[12]
Sonic 3: At least 1.02 million in the US[12] 		February 2, 1994/October 18, 1994
Jurassic Park At least 2.2 million in the US[13] August 10, 1993
NBA Jam At least 1.93 million in the US[12] March 4, 1994
Mortal Kombat II At least 1.78 million in the US[12] September 9, 1994
Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition 1.665 million[14] September 27, 1993
Eternal Champions More than 1.6 million[15] December 11, 1993
Altered Beast At least 1.4 million in the US (bundled with hardware)[16] August 14, 1989
Mortal Kombat 3 1.02 million in the US[12] October 13, 1995
Ms. Pac-Man More than 1 million in the US[17] July 1991
NFL '98 More than 1 million in the US[18] May 14, 1997
NFL Football '94 More than 1 million[19] November 1993
Sonic Spinball More than 1 million[19] November 23, 1993
X-Men More than 1 million[19][20] March 8, 1993
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 1 million in the US[21][22] November 1994
Sonic 3D Blast More than 1 million[23] November 1996

See also

References

  1. ^ Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective Pt. 3/4. Event occurs at 1:21. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective (Alternative Compilation Upload). Event occurs at 12:40 (Sonic 1), 14:39 (Sonic 2), 18:40 (Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles). Archived from the original on 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  3. ^ "Review: Sonic Jam". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 22. August 1997. p. 68. ISSN 1360-9424.
  4. ^ "Saturday Night". Saturday Night. Vol. 111, no. 1–5. Consolidated Press Limited. 1996. p. 92. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-07. Sonic 2 has sold 5-million copies in North America alone.
  5. ^ "Sonic: A brief history". MegaTech. No. 26 (February 1994). United Kingdom: Maverick Magazines. 20 January 1994. p. 24.
  6. ^ "Top-Selling Video Game Titles In UK — 1993 (All Formats)". Screen Digest. Screen Digest Limited: 110. 1994. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-07. 2   Sonic 2   Sega
    nb sales level at number 5 = 400,000 units
  7. ^ "Video game sales scale greater heights". Screen Digest. Screen Digest Limited: 271. 1992. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-07. Initial orders for Sonic The Hedgehog 2 game from Sega suggest it will become best-selling European title to date. First orders from UK, France, Germany, Spain and Austria totalled 1.5m units—0.75m in UK alone, worth £25m at retail.
  8. ^ "Sonic CD Slips Up" (PDF). Sega Force. No. 16 (April 1993). 4 March 1993. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2023. In other news, Sonic 2's enormous overseas success has surprisingly not been matched in Japan. (...) Sega officially claims to have sold 400,000 units.
  9. ^ Kent, Steven L. (2000). The First Quarter: A 25-year History of Video Games. BWD Press. p. 372. ISBN 978-0-9704755-0-3. Archived from the original on 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2023-02-07. Acclaim sold approximately 6.5 million Mortal Kombat cartridges. The Genesis version, which included the original arcade fatality moves, outsold the edited-down Super NES version by nearly three-to-one
  10. ^ Horowitz, Ken (2006-03-28). "Interview: Dr. Stephen Clarke-Willson". Sega-16. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  11. ^ Sonic the Hedgehog GameTap Retrospective Pt. 4/4. Event occurs at 1:39. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  12. ^ a b c d e "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. December 27, 2007. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  13. ^ "American Jurassic Boxes Clever". Computer and Video Games. No. 143. October 1993. p. 11.
  14. ^ "Million titles" (PDF). Company Profile. Capcom. May 2001. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  15. ^ Horowitz, Ken (2016). "Omega Group". Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games. McFarland & Company. p. 279. ISBN 9780786499946.
  16. ^ Shapiro, Eben (1991-06-01). "Nintendo Goal: Bigger-Game Hunters". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  17. ^ Cifaldi, Frank. "Retronauts Episode 91: A Tengen Family Reunion". Frank Cifaldi talks to rebellious NES game developers Franz Lanzinger (Toobin', Ms. Pac-Man), Steve Woita (Super Sprint, Police Academy) and Mark Morris (Hard Drivin', 007: License to Kill) about the old days. 1Up.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  18. ^ "FarSight Studio Games: NFL 98". Archived from the original on 2005-02-10. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  19. ^ a b c "Sega of America in the early 1990s - Sales Year for Sega's Genesis, Game Gear and Sega CD". SEGA Forum. Business Wire. factiva. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  20. ^ Iwasaki, Eric. "Part-time Artist / Western Technologies, Inc. / jun. 1990 - may. 1994". LinkedIn. Retrieved July 24, 2024. Company's first dedicated video game artist. Despite working summers-only before Fall 1993, made immediate and significant contributions including pixel-pushed 2D animated sprites appearing within SEGA's million-plus selling X-Men for Genesis. Team's first 3D artist - learned 3D Studio Release 3 on personal time, volunteering rendered elements for Trivial Pursuit titles on SEGA CD and Windows.
  21. ^ "Masterpiece Album". Development staff interview with Ryouichi Hasegawa. Sega Corporation. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2010-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ^ "Masterpiece Album (English translation)". English translation of the development staff interview with Ryouichi Hasegawa as published by Sega.jp. romhacking.net. Archived from the original on 2016-07-29. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  23. ^ Horowitz, Ken (2016). "Changing of the Guard". Playing at the Next Level: A History of American Sega Games. McFarland & Company. p. 145. ISBN 9780786499946.