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List of best-selling Game Boy video games

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Game Boy (original) and Game Boy Color

This is a list of video games for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color video game consoles that have sold or shipped at least one million copies, including games whose sales figures were published, and games which received the Player's Choice label for selling a million units. The best-selling game on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color is Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow, which released in 1996 and sold over 46 million units worldwide.[1][2] The second best-selling title is Tetris; first released in Japan on June 14, 1989, Tetris was often bundled with the original Game Boy and went on to sell in excess of 35 million units worldwide.[3] It is followed by the best-selling Game Boy Color game, Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal, which sold over 29 million units in total.[2] The top five is rounded out by the platform's first Super Mario game, Super Mario Land, which sold over 18 million units worldwide,[4] and Dr. Mario with over 5.34 million units sold.[5]

There are a total of 67 Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on the list which are confirmed to have sold or shipped at least one million units. Of these, 20 were developed by internal Nintendo development divisions. Other developers with the most million-selling games include Capcom with seven games, as well as Game Freak, Rare, and Tose with five games each in the list of 66. Of the 66 games on this list, 48 were published in one or more regions by Nintendo. Other publishers with multiple million-selling games include Konami with three games and Bandai and Enix with two games each. The most popular franchises on Game Boy and Game Boy Color include Pokémon (84.54 million combined units), Tetris (38.12 million combined units), Super Mario (34.39 million combined units), Donkey Kong (12.55 million combined units), and Kirby (10.91 million combined units).

List

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Key
† Game was bundled with Game Boy or Game Boy Color consoles during its lifetime
Game Developer(s)[a] Publisher[a] Platform Release date[b] Sales Ref.
Pokémon Red / Green / Blue / Yellow Game Freak Nintendo GB February 27, 1996 46,020,000 [1][2]
Tetris † Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB June 14, 1989 35,000,000 [3]
Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal Game Freak Nintendo GBC November 21, 1999 29,490,000 [2]
Super Mario Land Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB April 21, 1989 18,140,000 [4]
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB October 21, 1992 11,180,000 [4]
Dr. Mario Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB July 27, 1990 5,340,000 [5]
Pokémon Pinball Jupiter Nintendo GBC April 14, 1999 5,310,000 [6]
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB January 21, 1994 5,190,000 [6]
Kirby's Dream Land HAL Laboratory Nintendo GB April 27, 1992 5,130,000 [6]
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe Nintendo EAD Nintendo GBC May 1, 1999 5,070,000 [6]
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages Flagship Nintendo GBC February 27, 2001 3,990,000 [6]
Donkey Kong Land Rare Nintendo GB June 26, 1995 3,910,000 [6]
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening † Nintendo EAD Nintendo GB June 6, 1993 3,830,000 [7]
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Nintendo GBC December 18, 1998 3,720,000 [6]
F1 Race Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB November 9, 1990 3,410,000 [6]
Yoshi Game Freak Nintendo GB December 14, 1991 3,120,000 [6]
Donkey Kong
Nintendo GB June 14, 1994 3,070,000 [6]
Tamagotchi (Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi) Bandai Bandai GB 1997 3,000,000 [8]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists Konami Konami GBC December 7, 2000 2,500,000 [9]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories Konami Konami GBC July 13, 2000 2,396,518 [c]
Kirby's Dream Land 2 HAL Laboratory Nintendo GB March 21, 1995 2,360,000 [6]
Donkey Kong Land 2 Rare Nintendo GB September 23, 1996 2,350,000 [6]
Dragon Warrior Monsters Tose Enix GBC September 25, 1998 2,350,000 [12]
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX Nintendo EAD Nintendo GBC December 12, 1998 2,220,000 [7]
Wario Land 3 Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GBC March 21, 2000 2,200,000 [6]
Kirby's Pinball Land HAL Laboratory Nintendo GB November 27, 1993 2,190,000 [6]
Donkey Kong Country Rare Nintendo GBC November 4, 2000 2,190,000 [6]
Golf Nintendo Nintendo GB November 28, 1989 2,120,000 [6]
Tennis Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB May 29, 1989 1,990,000 [6]
Alleyway
Nintendo GB April 21, 1989 1,940,000 [6]
Tetris DX Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GBC October 21, 1998 1,880,000 [6]
Metroid II: Return of Samus Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB November 1991 1,720,000 [6]
Baseball Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB April 21, 1989 1,610,000 [6]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Konami Konami GB December 16, 1998 1,610,000 [13]
Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 Tose Enix GBC March 9, 2001 1,570,000 [12]
Yoshi's Cookie Bullet-Proof Software Nintendo GB November 21, 1992 1,530,000 [6]
Wario Land II Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo GB March 1, 1998 1,480,000 [6]
Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi 2 Bandai Bandai GB 1997 1,450,000 [9]
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories Konami Konami GBC July 8, 1999 1,450,000 [9]
DuckTales Capcom Capcom GB September 21, 1990 1,430,000 [14]
The Final Fantasy Legend Square Square GB December 15, 1989 1,370,000 [12]
Yakuman Intelligent Systems Nintendo GB April 21, 1989 1,280,000 [6]
Tetris 2
Nintendo GB December 1993 1,240,000 [6]
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble Nintendo R&D2 Nintendo GBC August 23, 2000 1,230,000 [6]
Game & Watch Gallery 2 Tose Nintendo GBC September 27, 1997 1,220,000 [6]
Game & Watch Gallery 3 Tose Nintendo GBC April 8, 1999 1,220,000 [6]
Solar Striker Minakuchi Engineering Nintendo GB January 26, 1990 1,200,000 [6]
Mario Tennis Camelot Software Planning Nintendo GBC November 1, 2000 1,180,000 [6]
Qix Minakuchi Engineering Nintendo GB April 13, 1990 1,150,000 [6]
Super R.C. Pro-Am Rare Nintendo GB June 1991 1,140,000 [6]
Donkey Kong Land III Rare Nintendo GB October 27, 1997 1,030,000 [6]
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle Kemco Kemco GB September 5, 1989 1,000,000 [15]
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 Kemco Kemco GB April 26, 1991 1,000,000 [15]
Mickey's Dangerous Chase Now Production Capcom GB May 15, 1991 1,000,000 [15]
The Little Mermaid Capcom Capcom GB July 19, 1991 1,000,000 [15]
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge Minakuchi Engineering Capcom GB July 26, 1991 1,000,000 [15]
Mega Man II Japan System House Capcom GB December 20, 1991 1,000,000 [15]
Wave Race
Nintendo GB July 1, 1992 1,000,000 [15]
Star Wars NMS Software Capcom GB November 1992 1,000,000 [15]
DuckTales 2 Make Software Capcom GB April 23, 1993 1,000,000 [15]
Mortal Kombat Probe Software Acclaim GB September 13, 1993 1,000,000 [16]
Mickey Mouse: Magic Wands! Kemco Kemco GB December 22, 1993 1,000,000 [15]
Space Invaders Taito Nintendo GB 1994 1,000,000 [15]
The Smurfs Bit Managers Infogrames GB 1994 1,000,000 [15]
Street Fighter II Sun L Nintendo GB August 11, 1995 1,000,000 [15]
Game & Watch Gallery Tose Nintendo GB February 1, 1997 1,000,000 [6]
James Bond 007 Saffire Nintendo GB January 29, 1998 1,000,000 [15]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Only developers and publisher for the original release of each game are listed.
  2. ^ Only the initial release date on this platform is listed.
  3. ^ 726,518 copies sold in Japan.[10] 1.67 million units sold in the United States and Europe.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b DePietro, Andrew (March 19, 2017). "'Pokken Tournament' and Pokemon's $1.5 Billion Brand". The Huffington Post. AOL. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Terry, Paul (October 6, 2016). Top 10 of Everything 2017. London, England: Hachette UK. p. 115. ISBN 978-0600633747. Retrieved April 25, 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (June 5, 2009). "Computer Game Tetris Celebrates 25 Years". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c O'Malley, James (September 11, 2015). "30 Best-Selling Super Mario Games of All Time on the Plumber's 30th Birthday". Gizmodo. Univision Communications. Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Terry, Paul (October 6, 2016). Top 10 of Everything 2017. London, England: Hachette UK. p. 118. ISBN 978-0600633747. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2017 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah 2021CESAゲーム白書 (2021 CESA Games White Papers). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. 2021. ISBN 978-4-902346-43-5.
  7. ^ a b "March 25, 2004". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on November 26, 2005. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  8. ^ Allison, Anne (2006-06-30). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination. University of California Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-520-24565-5. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2021-12-25 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b c "Japan Platinum Game Chart". The Magic Box. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  10. ^ "【GBC20周年企画(2)】いちばん売れたゲームボーイカラー専用ソフトは『遊☆戯☆王DM4』！ では2位は？ GBC専用ソフト販売ランキングTOP10！". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. October 21, 2018. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  11. ^ "Million-Seller Genealogy". Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCEJ) (in Japanese). Konami. December 31, 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  12. ^ a b c "February 2, 2004 - February 4, 2004" (PDF). Square Enix. February 9, 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  13. ^ "Million-Seller Genealogy". Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCEJ). Konami. December 31, 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-03-15. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Platinum Titles". Capcom. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "31 Player's Choice Gb Games (jpeg) 14%". Internet Archive. January 22, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  16. ^ Kent, Steven L. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Three Rivers Press. p. 465. ISBN 0-7615-3643-4. Retrieved 2024-04-09. Acclaim also released Game Gear and Game Boy versions of Mortal Kombat. Amazingly, Acclaim sold 1 million copies of the Game Boy cartridge.
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