The 11 most popular video games of all time

space invaders graffiti
Flickr/donielle g

The video game industry is serious business. Analysts estimate that the video game industry is going to pull in north of $100 billion in revenues in 2015.

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These are the highest-grossing games of all time, using the most recently available data from the Video Game Sales Wiki and Encylopedia Gamia, and adjusted for inflation in 2015.

 

 

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11. Westward Journey series (PC, 2001) — $3.9 billion

westward journey
NetEase

This series of online roleplaying games is unknown in the Western Hemisphere, but it's a huge hit in its native China, where developer NetEase says it has 310 million users across its three games.  

10. Dungeon Fighter Online (PC, 2005) — $4 billion

dungeon fighter online
Neople

This Korean online beat-em-up game never really caught on in America. But in South Korea, it's popular enough to still be played competitively. 

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9. Donkey Kong (Arcade/NES/Coleco, 1981) — $4.4 billion

donkey kong
Donkey Kong for the arcade. YouTube

Nintendo's Donkey Kong was Mario's first appearance (he was called Jumpman), and still one of his biggest hits.

8. Wii Fit (Wii, 2007) — $5 billion

wii fit
enfad via Flickr

This marquee game on Nintendo's Wii console had people exercising in their living rooms.

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7. Lineage series (PC, 1998) — $5.7 billion

lineage 2
The cast of Lineage 2. NCSoft

Another online RPG hailing from South Korea, this series developed by NCSoft is played by as many as 14 million users, making its money from optional in-game purchases.

6. Wii Sports (Wii, 2006) — $6 billion

wii sports
Screenshot

Wii Sports was packaged with the original Nintendo Wii console, making it synonymous with the system and its motion-tracking controllers.

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5. CrossFire (PC, 2007) — $6.8 billion

crossfire
SmileGate

This free-to-play tactical online shooter hails from Korean developer SmileGate, and it has more than 50 million players from around the world. 

4. World of Warcraft (PC, 2004) — $8.5 billion

world of warcraft screen
A screenshot from Blizzard's popular "World of Warcraft." Blizzard

This massively multiplayer online game lets you play out characters from Blizzard's Warcraft universe. It's the most lucrative online game ever and made Blizzard a household name and a billion-dollar company.

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3. Street Fighter II (Arcade/SNES/Genesis, 1991) — $10.6 billion

"Street Fighter 2"
Capcom

This Capcom fighting game would go on to spawn a massive franchise, with "Street Fighter V" one of the most anticipated releases of 2016. 

2. Pac-Man (Arcade/consoles/mobile/PC, 1980) — $12.8 billion

pacman portland retro gaming expo
Mental_Floss/Chris Higgins

Pac-Man still gets around: His new game, Pac-Man 256, was developed by the same team behind Crossy Road, and he made a guest appearance in last year's Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. 

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1. Space Invaders (Arcade/Atari 2600) — $13.9 billion

space invaders graffiti
Flickr/donielle g

Taito's Space Invaders wasn't the first video game, but it became a global phenomenon. Urban legend says that it caused a coin shortage in Japan when it first launched. To this day, these little aliens are pop culture icons.

Video Games
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