United States Annual Best-Sellers (Ohga Shrugs)

Note: Only retail console and handheld games are counted.

2002

1. Super Mario Sunshine - 3.2 million
2. Super Smash Bros Melee - 3.0 million
3. Sonic Adventure 2 - 2.2 million
4. Metroid Prime - 1.9 million
5. Kingdom Hearts - 1.8 million
6. Super Mario Advance 2 - 1.2 million
7. Super Monkey Ball 2 - 1.1 million
8. Mario Party 4 - 1.0 million
9. Super Mario Advance 3 - 0.9 million
10. Luigi's Mansion - 0.9 million

2003

Pokemon Sapphire

1. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire - 4.0 million
2. Mario Kart: Double Dash - 2.5 million
3. Donkey Kong Racing - 2.3 million
4. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - 2.1 million
5. Soul Calibur 2 - 1.9 million
6. Super Mario Advance 4 - 1.5 million
7. Final Fantasy 11 - 1.3 million
8. Madden NFL 2004 - 1.1 million
9. Pokémon Colosseum - 1.0 million
10. Kirby Air Ride - 1.0 million

2004

The killer app of a generation.

1. Mario Kart: Double Dash - 4.0 million
2. Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen - 2.0 million
3. Sonic Heroes - 1.4 million
4. Madden NFL 05 - 1.3 million
5. Sega Superstars Smackdown - 1.2 million
6. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - 1.0 million
7. 'Metorid Prime 2: Echoes - 1.0 million
8. Classic NES: Super Mario Bros. - 0.9 million
9. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - 0.7 million
10. Metal Gear Solid 3 - 0.7 million

2005

Pokemon Emerald

1. Pokemon Emerald - 2.1 million
2. Spider-Man 2 - 1.5 million
3. Madden NFL 06 - 1.4 million
4. LEGO Star Wars - 1.4 million
5. Resident Evil 4 - 1.3 million
6. Pokemon XD - 1.0 million
7. Mario Kart: Double Dash - 1.0 million
8. Shadow the Hedgehog - 0.9 million
9. Mario Party 7 - 0.8 million
10. Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary - 0.8 million

2006

1. LEGO Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy - 2.4 million
2. New Super Mario Bros - 1.9 million
3. Madden NFL 07 - 1.7 million
4. Nintendogs - 1.5 million
5. Final Fantasy 12 - 1.3 million
6. Mario Kart Nitro - 1.3 million
7. Super Mario 64 Deluxe - 1.0 million
8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 0.9 million
9. Animal Crossing: Wild World - 0.7 million
10. Sonic Riders - 0.7 million

2007

The first full year of the seventh generation, 2007 was marked by transition. Madden, which was released for platforms both old and new, was one of the biggest sellers. However, 2007 also marked the beginning of Nintendo's domination for years to come. Eight of the ten top selling games were published by Nintendo, and were thus exclusive. These included three Mario and two Zelda titles.

The only other two games on the list, the already mentioned Madden and the new series Assassin's Creed, were multiplatform, and thus not particularly helpful for Sega's Pluto. Note the absence of Sonic the Hedgehog, despite much hype for the game from Sega and the game's Summer release date.

Pokemon Diamond

1. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - 3.8 million
2. Madden NFL 08 - 2.3 million
3. Assassin's Creed - 2.2 million
4. Nintendogs - 2.1 million
5. Super Mario Galaxy - 1.6 million
6. New Super Mario Bros - 1.3 million
7. Brain Age 2 - 1.2 million
8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 1.0 million
9. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - 1.0 million
10. Mario Party 8 - 0.8 million

2008

2008 was the year of the Revolution. The top three best selling titles were all Revolution exclusives that came out this year, selling well over 10 million copies combined. Madden actually sold worse this year than in 2007, in part due to the abandonment of the Dreamcast and GameCube. Licensed games did quite well this year, with LEGO Indiana Jones and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed both selling over 1.5 million between multiple platforms.

Revolution Fitness

1. Revolution Fitness - 3.9 million
2. Mario Kart X - 3.5 million
3. Super Smash Bros Brawl - 3.2 million
4. Madden NFL 09 - 2.1 million
5. New Super Mario Bros - 2.0 million
6. LEGO Indiana Jones - 1.9 million
7. Nintendogs - 1.8 million
8. Mario Kart Nitro - 1.7 million
9. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - 1.6 million
10. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - 1.6 million

2009

2009 was in many ways similar to 2008. The top three games were Revolution exclusives, two of which were new. The Pluto continued to not have any exclusives chart, instead only being represented by multiplatform games like Assassin's Creed 2 and Resident Evil 5. Madden's decline continued, and several older Mario games continued to chart.

New Super Mario Bros Revolution

1. New Super Mario Bros Revolution - 3.4 million
2. Revolution Fitness - 3.3 million
3. Revolution Fitness Plus - 2.8 million
4. Assassin's Creed 2 - 2.6 million
5. Pokemon Platinum - 2.4 million
6. Mario Kart X - 2.3 million
7. Resident Evil 5 - 2.1 million
8. New Super Mario Bros - 1.8 million
9. Madden NFL 10 - 1.8 million
10. Nintendogs - 1.7 million

2010

For the first time in years, the best selling game of 2010 did not come out that year. New Super Mario Bros Revolution had the distinction of reaching the #1 spot two years in a row. Assassin's Creed officially became an annual franchise this year, and would become a regular part of the top 10. The second generation of Pokemon remakes performed as per expectations, and new Revolution games like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Donkey Kong Country Returns charted.

It's also worth noting that 2010 was the first year that a Pluto exclusive, NBA 2K11, charted. This was due to Electronic Arts cancelling their competing basketball game, giving Sega a de facto monopoly for the sport that year.

1. New Super Mario Bros Revolution - 4.5 million
2. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver - 3.5 million
3. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - 2.6 million
4. Revolution Fitness Plus - 2.5 million
5. Mario Kart Nitro - 2.2 million
6. Super Mario Galaxy 2 - 2.1 million
7. Donkey Kong Country Returns - 1.5 million
8. Mario Kart X - 1.5 million
9. Madden NFL 11 - 1.5 million
10. NBA 2K11 - 1.1 million

2011

2011 was largely a down year before the new generation. The fifth generation of Pokemon performed admirably, but there was otherwise little of note. Batman: Arkham City was a worthy competitor of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and many would come to see the two series as competitors. Beyond that, Skyward Sword performed decently, NBA 2K12 continued its predecessor's success, Uncharted 3 continued the series's growth, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 successfully brought back a dormant franchise. In general though, 2011 was something of an "off" year.

Pokemon Black

1. Pokemon Black/White - 4.8 million
2. Batman: Arkham City - 2.6 million
3. Assassin's Creed: Revelations - 2.3 million
4. New Super Mario Bros Revolution - 2.0 million
5. Mario Kart X - 1.9 million
6. Madden NFL 12 - 1.8 million
7. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - 1.5 million
8. Uncharted 3 - 1.4 million
9. NBA 2K12 - 1.1 million
10. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - 1.0 million

2012

2012 saw the release of three new major platforms: the Game Boy 3DS, the Stream, and the Eclipse. Of these three, only the 3DS left a major mark on the sales charts, thanks to its being released early in the year with major support.

Assassin's Creed 3 was the only true hit game of the year, selling more than the second and third best-selling games combined. However, the Game Boy 3DS managed to secure two exclusive spots, both taken by Mario sequels. The latest Pokemon actually performed fairly poorly by series standards, and Resident Evil 6 sold below Capcom's expectations. The surprise hits of 2012 included a reboot of Mortal Kombat and Skylanders Giants.

Assassin's Creed 3

1. Assassin's Creed 3 - 4.0 million
2. Madden NFL 13 - 1.8 million
3. Pokemon Black/White 2 - 1.7 million
4. Mario Kart 3D - 1.6 million
5. Mortal Kombat - 1.5 million
6. NBA 2K13 - 1.5 million
7. Resident Evil 6 - 1.4 million
8. Skylanders Giants - 1.4 million
9. New Super Mario Bros 2 - 1.3 million
10. Hitman: Absolution - 0.8 million