Summary
Most of us remember where we were the day certain video games got released in stores. Some of us may have even lined up for hours before to get their hands on a copy of the latest system or game, knowing that once they were on sale, it would be hard to find one.
I know I certainly remember where I was when these popular games got released. So, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at some of the most popular games ever sold, and how many copies they sold in the first 24 hours of their being released.
Halo 2
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Halo 2 follows on from the classic Xbox first-person shooter, and sees Master Chief once again take on Covenant forces. It was remade as part of the Master Chief Collection in 2014.
Even though Halo had been around for a few years, its ubiquity and worldwide success can now, in many ways, be attributed to Halo 2, which really broke fresh ground for the series. What’s most interesting about this game is how many pre-orders it sold before it even actually hit shelves.
In total, the game sold approximately 2.4 million copies within its first 24 hours, mainly thanks to about 1.5 million copies in pre-orders. 2004 was a simpler time, and the release of Halo 2 made it all the sweeter.
Spider-Man 2, the sequel to the PS4’s Spider-Man game, which was one of the biggest exclusives to come to the PS5 system, sold approximately 2.5 million copies within the first 24 hours of release, according to an internal report released by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Obviously, after the critical and commercial success of the first Spider-Man, this is no surprise.
I personally remember feeling likethe release of Spider-Man 2marked a real turning point. If you didn’t have a PS5, you were now officially behind and excluded from one of the most anticipated games of the past few years. Something really shifted in the air that day.
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There’s not an exact number I can offer youon Red Dead Redemption 2, but it’s safe to say that, obviously, the game was a huge critical and commercial success, particularly given how much of a leap forward it was from the first Red Dead Redemption. Both highly anticipated and singular, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a standout within its console generation.
The game sold approximately 3 million copies in its first 24 hours, based on revenue margins shared for the first three days of game sales. No game deserves more. Red Dead Redemption 2 is truly an artistic game that shows just how amazing video games can be as a method of storytelling.
The first of two Grand Theft Auto games to grace this list and one of three Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto 4 is one of those classic games that is unsurprising to find on a list like this. The game made roughly 500 million dollars in its first week of sales and sold approximately 3.5 million copies in its first 24 hours alone.
The PlayStation 3 isn’t really one of the more memorable consoles in Sony’s lifespan, and yet it has one of the most memorable games in the Grand Theft Auto series. However, believe it or not, GTA 4 isn’t even the most popular GTA game of all time in terms of sales. But more on that in a bit.
Diablo is a truly iconic series, and one of the most memorable Blizzard franchises out there. However, its third installment is perhaps most well-known for being one of the best-selling PC games of all time.
Within the first 24 hours, Diablo 3 sold approximately 3.5 million copies. At the time, this was a record for PC games. For being a more niche franchise than some of the other games on this list, this number is truly staggering and highly impressive. That’s not to suggest that Diablo doesn’t deserve its success, but it is surprising given the fact that PC gaming is a bit less popular than home console gaming.
It was inevitable. You know, there couldn’t be a list of the fastest-selling video games without an entry from Pokemon. What’s perhaps most interesting about Pokemon X/Y making it onto this list is that it’s a handheld game, exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS, released in 2013.
Within the first 24 hours, Pokémon X/Y sold about 4 million copies from Saturday to Sunday, October 12 to 13, 2013. While this could constitute more of a two-day figure, as there’s not an exact 24-hour number available, this range of time and units moved figure is still highly impressive. At the bare minimum, the game likely sold 2 million copies if not more within the first 12 to 16 hours.
Black Ops 2 is perhaps best known for having thousands of different midnight events all across the globe. I sadly didn’t have the right console for this game at the time, but I had many friends who attended and said they were total madhouses. I can imagine it felt like Black Friday multiplied.
Again, there’s not an exact number on offer for the first 24 hours. But, according to Microsoft, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 earned approximately 500 million dollars in its first day. This would break down to roughly 7 and 8 million copies sold within 24 hours, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at!
This is the grand finale of video game sales. The second Grand Theft Auto game to appear on this list,Grand Theft Auto 5is officially recognized by even the Guinness Book of World Records as being the fastest-selling video game of all time. The game generated approximately 800 million dollars in sales within the first day, which averages out to about 11 million units in the first 24 hours.
This is no surprise, and frankly, I can only imagine one other game eventually taking this title from Grand Theft Auto 5, and that’s Grand Theft Auto 6. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens on launch day!
