Famitsu ranks Japan’s top selling games (that they like)

Massive Japanese videogame magazine Famitsu has put out a list of the best selling videogames released in Japan between 1996 and 2010, that also managed to to achieve a Gold Star ranking via their review system… EVER! Why all the stipulations? Why not include games that were released before 1996, and/or didn’t get a good grade from Famitsu? I’ll be darned if I know, but I’ll hazard a guess; Famitsu must think that their readers don’t care about games that are over 15 years old and/or didn’t get a top score from their review team.

Looks to me like just another way for the gaming press to classify some games are “important” and others as “casual” or “retro” or some other word for “not a real game”. As the late, great Jar Jar Binks would say “That smells stinkerith”.

Yeah, Jar Jar died. I just got the call this morning. Too bad I don’t work for one of the other gaming blogs who cover celebrity deaths like they’re relevant to world of videogame journalism. If I did, I’d get to write a post like “Jar Jar Binks appeared in a few videogames and now he’s dead”. That would be so super awesome.

Oh, and check out the full list from Famitsu after the jump, with sales and Famitsu scores included. You might (not) be surprised by what you see.

Famitsu Top 30 Selling Titles (Gold Cross Review Score or higher) 1996 ~ 2010.02.14– [GoNintendo]

01 [GB] Pokemon Gold/Silver – 6,089,503 (33)
02 [DS] Pokemon Diamond/Pearl – 5,763,120 (35)
03 [DS] New Super Mario Bros. – 5,734,634 (36)
04 [GBA] Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire – 5,337,045 (34)
05 [DS] Animal Crossing: Wild World – 5,129,679 (37)
06 [DS] Dragon Quest 9 – 4,148,104 (40)
07 [PS] Dragon Quest 7 – 3,893,293 (38)
08 [DS] Mario Kart DS – 3,598,139 (37)
09 [DS] Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver – 3,587,970 (37)
10 [PS2] Dragon Quest 8 – 3,555,469 (39)
11 [PS] Final Fantasy 8 – 3,501,588 (37)
12 [WII] New Super Mario Bros. Wii – 3,329,241 (40)
13 [PS] Final Fantasy 7 – 3,277,776 (38)
14 [GBA] Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen – 3,032,154 (33)
15 [PS] Final Fantasy 9 – 2,707,301 (38)
16 [WII] Mario Kart Wii – 2,563,419 (37)
17 [DS] Pokemon Platinum – 2,530,596 (36)
18 [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G – 2,453,132 (36)
19 [PS2] Final Fantasy 10 – 2,325,215 (39)
20 [PS2] Final Fantasy 12 – 2,322,541 (40)
21 [PS] Gran Turismo – 2,185,375 (35)
22 [PS] Resident Evil 2 – 2,154,975 (37)
23 [GBA] Pokemon Emerald – 2,148,039 (34)
24 [PS2] Final Fantasy 10-2 – 1,960,937 (34)
25 [DS] Nintendogs – 1,940,590 (40)
26 [DS] Mario Party DS – 1,936,670 (33)
27 [WII] Super Smash Bros. Brawl – 1,912,001 (40)
28 [GB] Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland – 1,911,107 (35)
29 [PS3] Final Fantasy XIII – 1,874,708 (39)
30 [GB] Pokemon Crystal – 1,871,307 (34)