Game software sales were $2.6 billion in 1996, and by 2006 they had reached $7.4 billion. In 2007, the industry sold 267.8 million games. That’s 540 games sold every minute.

67% of US households play video games. 40% of gamers are female.

An average gamer spends 8 hours per week playing.

You are smarter now. Below are some of the video games that made the greatest impact within and outside the gaming industry.

10. The Sims

The Sims was first released on February 4, 2000. By March 22, 2002, The Sims had sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling PC game in history, the game has shipped 16 million copies worldwide as of February 7, 2005.

9. Halo

Strong sales of the games led to the franchise’s expansion to other mediums; there are multiple bestselling novels, graphic novels, and other licensed products. Beyond the original trilogy, other “Halo” games have branched off into other video game genres, including Halo Wars, a real-time strategy game produced as developer Ensemble Studios’ last project. Bungie also contributed the expansion Halo 3: ODST and a prequel Halo: Reach, their last project for the franchise. Much of the series’ award-winning music was composed by Martin O’Donnell and his partner Michael Salvatori; soundtracks have been released for all games in the series. The cultural impact of the Halo series has been compared by writer Brian Bendis to that of Star Wars.

Halo has been described as a series that “has reinvented a genre that didn’t know it needed to be reinvented”, with aspects of the main trilogy being duplicated in other FPS games multiple times.

8. Resident Evil

Developed by Capcom and created by Shinji Mikami, the series has sold almost 40 million games as of May 2009.

It is often hailed as the scariest game to date.

7. World of Warcraft

With more than 12 million subscribers as of October 2010, World of Warcraft is currently the world’s most-subscribed MMORPG, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. In April 2008, World of Warcraft was estimated to hold 62 percent of the MMORPG subscription market.

There is nothing new or revolutionary about World of Warcraft. It is a copy of Everquest only finer. Blizzard took the best ideas and refined every detail in a million minor ways. With its army of minor improvements and thoughtful touches, World of Warcraft has changed the way the entire industry looked at gaming. It is not about killing and violence anymore. It is about creating a world, really… it is about that.

6. Fifa

Year Released:

The series has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises. Also FIFA 11 holds the record for the “fastest selling sports game ever” with over 2.6 million games sold and over $150 million generated at retail in less than a week of the game being released.

It is hailed as the first video game that accurately feels like the real sports setting the expectations of succeeding sports video game.

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