Top 20 Best-Selling PlayStation Games of All Time

Next Tuesday, September 9, marks the 30th anniversary of the PlayStation’s North American launch, and to say that gaming has never been the same since is an understatement. The PlayStation was an unexpected entrant into the console wars against firmly entrenched companies like Sega and Nintendo, and thanks to the strength of its best-selling and most popular games, it would ultimately end up being the undisputed winner of the 5th generation, helping to establish the PlayStation brand in perpetuity. The CD-ROM format offered gamers experiences that simply weren’t possible in prior generations of console gaming, and they responded in kind by making many of the PlayStation’s best games ongoing franchises and million-sellers.

• Release Date — August 26, 2000
• Developer — Heartbeat
• Publisher — Enix
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.11 million units

It might not have had the same kind of pull in the West as Final Fantasy, but Dragon Quest‘s first entry on the PS1 was a major event in Japan. Notorious for being one of the longest and most content-rich JRPGs on the PS1, Dragon Quest VII is a game players could spend nearly 200 hours on just finishing the main quest, making it both one of the greatest games in the genre and one of the longest. But while Final Fantasy would get a trilogy of best-selling games on the PlayStation, Dragon Quest VII is the series’ first and only entry on the console.

• Release Date — November 15, 1999
• Developer — Core Design
• Publisher — Eidos Interactive
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.7 million units

The Tomb Raider franchise was once one of the most popular in gaming, as evidenced by all four of the original PlayStation games ending up as some of the console’s best-selling titles. The fourth and final game in the series’ PS1 era, The Last Revelation, is actually a much better game than Tomb Raider III despite only reaching a fraction of its total sales. Still, if the fourth entry in a franchise could sell nearly 5 million units back in 1999, it’s a sign that Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series had become cultural phenomena.

• Release Date — September 9, 1998
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 4.83 million units

Long before the studio would deliver the likes of Ratchet and Clank or Marvel’s Spider-Man, Insomniac Games got its start making the iconic Spyro the Dragon titles, the first of which would end up becoming one of the PlayStation’s best-selling games. While the series never did quite reach the heights of popularity of games like Crash Bandicoot, it still managed to become one of the PlayStation’s flagship franchises and a worthy full-3D platformer to compete with the likes of Super Mario 64.

• Release Date — March 22, 1996
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 5.08 million units

The PlayStation ended up being the springboard for a slew of now-iconic franchises, with Resident Evil being at the top of the pack. Not only is Resident Evil Capcom’s most successful IP, it also happens to be the game that coined the term “Survival Horror”, helping to inspire a legion of competitors and establishing an entire popular genre of gaming despite not being the first title to fall within its parameters. At the time of Resident Evil‘s release, there was nothing else like it for console gamers, which helped make it an instant success on the PS1.

• Release Date — November 5, 1997
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 5.17 million units

All three of the Crash Bandicoot games for PS1 would eventually become some of the system’s best-selling titles, helped in large part by Crash’s place as the system’s de facto mascot. The second game in the series, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, is one of the best platformers of the era and more of what players loved about the first game, though it does suffer a little bit from “more of the same” syndrome. Still, a non-Mario platformer selling more than 5 million units during this era is incredibly impressive.

• Release Date — July 7, 2000
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 5.5 million units

Despite being the lowest-selling Final Fantasy game during the franchise’s PS1 era, many players consider Final Fantasy IX to be the peak of the console’s series trilogy. After two entries in the series that pushed the envelope in terms of their settings, story, characters, and mechanics, Final Fantasy IX was a return to form for the franchise and a love letter to fans, with original series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi returning to produce. Even with the PS2 already coming down the pike, Final Fantasy IX managed to sell nearly 6 million units and cement its place as one of the last great JRPGs of the 5th generation.

• Release Date — March 29, 1996
• Developer — Namco
• Publisher — Namco
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 5.7 million units

The Tekken series is synonymous with the original PlayStation, with the first game in the series becoming one of the console’s killer apps at launch and the second and third games reigning as the PS1’s best-selling fighting games. Tekken 2 actually arrived just a few months after the PlayStation’s North American launch and the release of its predecessor, and it was such a massive leap in quality that millions of players flocked to go pick it up as a showpiece for their new console.

• Release Date — January 21, 1998
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 5.77 million units

Several false starts for Resident Evil 2 resulted in the game taking a little bit longer to arrive than most fans would’ve hoped, resulting in hype for the game being at a fever pitch ahead of its launch. When it finally did release in late January 1998, Resident Evil 2 became an instant success, bigger and better than its predecessor in every way and helping to establish the Resident Evil IP as one of gaming’s most important new franchises. And for many of us who were there on the hype train at the time of its launch, Resident Evil 2 remains the peak of the series’ original trilogy.

• Release Date — November 20, 1998
• Developer — Core Design
• Publisher — Eidos Interactive
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 5.9 million units

The third game in the Tomb Raider series is arguably the weakest of the IP’s original games on PlayStation, but it still managed to sell nearly 6 million units thanks to the pull of its protagonist, intrepid treasure hunter Lara Croft. While it’s not nearly as enjoyable an experience as its two predecessors or follow-up, Tomb Raider III does make some substantial strides in the series’ presentation, delivering higher quality visuals and a greater emphasis on puzzles.

• Release Date — October 31, 1997
• Developer — Core Design
• Publisher — Eidos Interactive
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 6.8 million units

In terms of the original 4 Tomb Raider games on PlayStation, Tomb Raider II is a special outlier in that it’s much more focused on shooting and action than exploration and puzzle solving. Players were ultimately happy with these changes, with Tomb Raider II managing to sell nearly 7 million units and avoiding the “sophomore slump” that games were prone to at the time. And like Resident Evil 2, Tomb Raider II proved that Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise were here to stay.

• Release Date — September 9, 1996
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Total Sales — 6.82 million units

Back when the PlayStation first debuted, it was practically a rule that consoles needed to have a mascot if they were going to break through to a Western audience. Nintendo had Mario, Sega had Sonic, and the new PlayStation needed a lovable, iconic character that players could associate with the brand. Enter Naughty Dog, who delivered Sony their mascot on a silver platter with Crash Bandicoot. The first Crash Bandicoot is significant for being one of the few 3D platformers of the era that could hope to compete with Super Mario 64, and it would end up becoming one of the PlayStation’s great early successes, moving nearly 7 million units and helping to legitimize the PS1.

• Release Date — September 3, 1998
• Developer — Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
• Publisher — Konami
• Genre — Action, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 7 million units

In terms of “important” games during the 5th generation, it’s hard to think of one more significant than Metal Gear Solid, and players stood up and took notice. Prior to Metal Gear Solid‘s release, other games on the PS1 had flirted with cinematic-style storytelling and narrative construction, but Hideo Kojima and his team took those ideas to the next level, ultimately changing the direction of gaming in the process. Metal Gear Solid is one of the PS1’s best games, and it’s also one of its most successful, selling just over 7 million units and becoming a title synonymous with the console.

• Release Date — October 25, 1996
• Developer — Core Design
• Publisher — Eidos Interactive
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 7.1 million units

When the original Tomb Raider was first released, it gave off the impression of being a more adventure-oriented Resident Evil. But in actuality, Tomb Raider was something different entirely, blending elements of shooting and puzzle-solving, sure, but also having fully 3D environments and a stronger emphasis on exploration. And at a time when most video game protagonists were archetypal male heroes, Tomb Raider dared to be different by introducing the world to Lara Croft, helping the game move millions of units based on her appeal alone.

• Release Date — October 31, 1998
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 7.13 million units

The third and final Crash Bandicoot game on the PS1 is both the series’ best entry and its best-selling, earning near universal positive reception from players and critics and moving more than 7 million units. Everything that players loved about the original Crash Bandicoot and its sequel returns in Warped, but it’s also added to with new kinds of stages, a return to a more traditional level structure, and enough attitude and humor to make even Sonic take notice. As far as iconic PS1 platformers go, it doesn’t get better than Crash Bandicoot: Warped.

• Release Date — November 15, 2001
• Developer — Argonaut Games
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 64% (Mixed or Average)
• Total Sales — 8 million units

Long before Hogwarts Legacy would become one of the best-selling games of all time, the Harry Potter franchise got one of its first console games with the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which would ultimately become one of the PS1’s best-selling action-adventure games. Licensed games were still a ways off from being the level of quality they are today, but the popularity of both the Harry Potter books and films helped propel Sorcerer’s Stone to sell 8 million units, along with giving us one of the best video game memes courtesy of PS1 Hagrid.

• Release Date — March 26, 1998
• Developer — Namco
• Publisher — Namco
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 8.3 million units

At the time of its release, Tekken 3 was one of the most impressive and near-perfect arcade conversions ever released for a 3D fighter, and it still holds up as one of the best games in the entire Tekken series. Accordingly, it’s become the face of fighting games on the console and is regularly cited as one of the console’s best games. Tekken 3‘s commercial success more than matched its critical acclaim, selling more than 8 million units and closing out the series’ tenure on the PS1 with a bang.

• Release Date — December 11, 1999
• Developer — Polyphony Digital
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 9.37 million units

That you can go back and play the first two Gran Turismo games on PS1 and still walk away impressed is testament to how groundbreaking they were at the time of their release, and Gran Turismo 2 took everything players loved about the original and dialed it up to 11. Splitting the game into two discs — arcade and simulation — was a great idea that allowed casual racing fans to see what the series was all about, working their way up to the realistic physics and more complex mechanics of simulation mode while still having fun in the visually stunning arcade mode.

• Release Date — February 11, 1999
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 9.6 million units

It may be a bit of a polarizing entry in the series today, but Final Fantasy VIII quickly became one of the PS1’s best-selling games not long after launch thanks to the success of Final Fantasy VII. It’s an interesting anomaly, too, because Final Fantasy VIII features some of the more complex and daring mechanics and systems in the series after the relatively newcomer-friendly Final Fantasy VII introduced the mainstream to the JRPG.

• Release Date — January 31, 1997
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 10.23 million units

Square’s decision to leave a successful, years-long partnership with Nintendo to team up with Sony and release Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation was a move that shocked the industry, and it also happened to seal the PS1’s fate as the reigning champ of the 5th console generation. In addition to blowing longtime Final Fantasy fans’ minds with the series’ transition to 3D, Final Fantasy VII helped the franchise and the JRPG genre break through to the mainstream, selling more than 10 million units and being partially responsible for getting PlayStation consoles into living rooms across the world.

• Release Date — December 23, 1997
• Developer — Polyphony Digital
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Total Sales — 10.85 million units

Although Gran Turismo 2 is arguably the better game, the jaw-dropping visuals and realistic driving physics of the original Gran Turismo were so revolutionary at the time of its release that it quickly became the PlayStation’s best-selling game, moving nearly 11 million units and establishing the Gran Turismo franchise as one of Sony’s most important first-party IPs. And like a lot of other games on this list, Gran Turismo is one of the first titles most players think of when they think of the PS1, inextricably tied to the original PlayStation and the seismic shift it brought about in the gaming industry.