Bandai Namco is a media conglomerate with business in television, film, toys and video games. The company was founded in 2006 following the merger of Bandai and Namco . Prior to their merger, Namco were best known for arcade and console games, while Bandai produced a variety of media including video game products such as anime and manga games, popular digital pets and niche consoles .
Bandai Namco are among the best-selling game publishers, especially in Japan as well as internationally. Beyond video games, they are also the world's largest toy manufacturer as of 2017,[1] while also being a successful anime production studio .
Best-selling game franchises [ ]
Rank
Franchise
Debut year
Debut platform(s)
Sales
Ref
1
Tamagotchi
1996
Handheld
98,615,286
[2] [3] [4]
2
Pac-Man
1980
Arcade
75,563,680
[5]
3
Dragon Ball
1986
Famicom / NES
70,846,249
[6]
4
Tekken
1994
Arcade
57,000,000
[7]
5
Dark Souls
2011
PS3 / Xbox 360
35,180,000
[2]
6
Naruto
2003
GameCube
32,520,000
[2]
7
Gundam
1983
Computers
30,904,400
[n 1]
8
Elden Ring
2022
Multi-platform
30,000,000
[12]
9
Tales
1995
Super Famicom
29,290,000
[2]
10
Digimon / Digital Monsters
1997
Handheld
24,000,000
[13]
11
Super Robot Taisen / Super Robot Wars
1991
Game Boy
20,600,000
[2]
12
Ace Combat / Air Combat
1993
Arcade
18,000,000
[14]
13
Family Stadium (Famista ) / R.B.I. Baseball
1986
Famicom / NES
17,000,000
[15] [16]
14
Soul Calibur / SoulCalibur
1995
Arcade
17,000,000
[17]
15
One Piece
2000
WonderSwan
14,876,103
[18]
16
Namco Museum
1995
PlayStation
14,087,000
[n 2]
17
Galaxian / Galaga
1979
Arcade
12,255,770
[n 3]
18
Little Nightmares
2017
Multi-platform
12,000,000
[29]
19
Taiko no Tatsujin
2001
Arcade
10,400,000
[30]
20
Ridge Racer
1993
Arcade
5,000,000
[31]
21
Anpanman PC
1999
Computer
2,510,000
[2]
22
My Hero One's Justice
2020
Multi-platform
2,500,000
[32]
23
Project CARS
2015
PS4 / XB1 / PC
2,000,000
[33]
24
Xenosaga
2002
PlayStation 2
1,686,930
[34]
25
Sword Art Online
2013
PSP
1,405,272
[4]
26
The Idolm@ster
2005
Arcade
1,247,535
[4]
27
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
1993
Super Famicom
1,135,868
[35]
28
The Dark Pictures Anthology
2019
PS4 / XB1 / PC
1,000,000
[36]
Best-selling games [ ]
Rank
Title
Year
Platform(s)
Sales
Ref
1
Pac-Man
1980
Multi-platform
64,586,002
[5]
2
Tamagotchi / Tamagotchi Generation One
1996
Handheld
40,000,000
[2]
3
Elden Ring
2022
Multi-platform
25,000,000
[37]
4
Tamagotchi Plus / Tamagotchi Connection
2004
Handheld
20,000,000
[38]
5
Tekken 3
1996
Arcade / PS1 / PS2
14,535,000
[7]
6
Digital Monster / Digimon
1997
Handheld
14,000,000
[39]
7
Dark Souls III
2016
PS4 / XB1 / PC
12,042,546
[12]
8
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
2016
Multi-platform
11,880,000
[40]
9
Tekken 7
2017
PS4 / XB1 / PC
11,800,000
[41]
10
Tekken 2
1995
Arcade / PS1 / PS2
11,740,000
[7]
11
Dark Souls
2011
PS3 / X360 / PC
10,835,546
[12]
12
Dark Souls II
2014
Multi-platform
10,556,029
[12]
13
Dragon Ball FighterZ
2018
Multi-platform
10,000,000
[42]
14
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
2016
Multi-platform
10,000,000
[43]
15
Tekken 5
2004
PS2 / PSP
10,000,000
[44]
16
Tekken
1995
Arcade / PS1 / PS2
7,786,556
[7]
17
Namco Museum 64 / Namco Museum
1999
N64 /GBA /PS2 /DC /GC /XB
6,033,550
[19] [45]
18
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
2020
Multi-platform
6,000,000
[46]
19
Dragon Ball: Xenoverse
2015
Multi-platform
5,000,000
[47]
20
Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium / R.B.I. Baseball
1986
Famicom / NES
4,050,000
[48] [16]
21
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
2019
PS4 / XB1 / PC
4,000,000
[49]
22
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
2002
PS2 / GameCube
3,500,000
[6]
23
Tekken 6
2009
PS3 / X360 / PSP
3,500,000
[50]
24
Ms. Pac-Man
1982
Multi-platform
3,495,108
[5]
25
Pokkén Tournament
2015
Multi-platform
3,417,775
[7]
26
Game de Hakken! Tamagotchi
1997
Game Boy
3,000,000
[3]
27
Code Vein
2019
PS4 / XB1 / PC
3,000,000
[51]
28
Little Nightmares
2017
Multi-platform
3,000,000
[52]
29
Tales of Vesperia
2008
Multi-platform
2,800,000
[53]
30
My Hero One's Justice 2
2020
Multi-platform
2,500,000
[32]
31
Tales of Symphonia
2003
Multi-platform
2,400,000
[54]
32
Namco Museum Vol. 3
1996
PlayStation
2,388,758
[4] [19]
33
Tekken Tag Tournament
1999
Arcade / PS2
2,386,340
[7]
34
Soul Calibur IV
1999
PS3 / X360
2,320,000
[55]
35
Street Fighter X Tekken
2012
Multi-platform
2,103,525
[7]
36
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
2003
PS2 / GameCube
2,010,000
[6]
37
Tekken 4
2002
PlayStation 2
2,005,092
[7]
38
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker
2018
Multi-platform
2,000,000
[56]
39
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
2020
Multi-platform
2,000,000
[57]
40
Soul Calibur VI
2018
PS4 / XB1 / PC
2,000,000
[58]
41
Tales of Berseria
2016
PS3 / PS4 / PC
2,000,000
[59]
42
Tales of Arise
2021
Multi-platform
2,000,000
[60]
43
Project CARS
2015
PS4 / XB1 / PC
2,000,000
[33]
44
Little Nightmares II
2021
Multi-platform
2,000,000
[61]
45
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
2006
PlayStation 2 / Wii
1,996,000
[6]
46
Dig Dug
1982
Multi-platform
1,943,040
[n 4]
47
Namco Museum Vol. 1
1995
PlayStation
1,817,786
[4] [19]
48
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3
2004
PlayStation 2
1,820,000
[6]
49
Tales of Destiny
1997
PlayStation / PS2
1,720,000
[65]
50
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
2005
PlayStation 2
1,552,000
[6]
51
Xevious
1984
Arcade / NES
1,505,295
[62] [66]
52
Pac-Man World
1999
PlayStation
1,500,000
[67]
53
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
2012
PS3 / X360 / Wii U
1,500,000
[68]
54
Tales of Phantasia
1995
Multi-platform
1,474,738
[53]
55
Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden
1993
Super Famicom
1,450,000
[6]
56
Game de Hakken!! Tamagotchi 2
1997
Game Boy
1,450,000
[69]
57
Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku
2002
Game Boy Advance
1,400,000
[19]
58
Dragon Ball: Shenlong no Nazo
1986
Famicom
1,250,000
[6]
59
Pac-Man World 2
2002
PlayStation 2
1,210,000
[5]
60
Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2
1993
Super Famicom
1,200,000
[6]
61
Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisetchi
2005
Nintendo DS
1,120,000
[69]
62
Pac-Man Collection
2001
Game Boy Advance
1,060,000
[19]
63
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
2015
Multi-platform
1,055,826
[70] [18]
64
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
2007
PlayStation 2 / Wii
1,040,000
[6]
65
Xenosaga Episode I
2002
PlayStation 2 / DS
1,038,500
[34]
66
One Piece: Unlimited World Red
2013
Multi-platform
1,024,541
[18]
67
Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!
2018
Switch
1,000,000
[71]
68
One Piece: World Seeker
2019
Multi-platform
1,000,000
[72]
69
Scarlet Nexus
2021
Multi-platform
1,000,000
[73]
70
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
2019
PS4 / XB1 / PC
1,000,000
[36]
Best-selling arcade games [ ]
Note: The list includes arcade games from Namco up until 2006, as well as titles from their former subsidiary Atari Games when it was owned by Namco between February 1985 and June 1990.[74]
Rank
Title
Year
Arcade unit sales
Market
Ref
1
Pac-Man
1980
700,000
Worldwide
[75]
2
Ms. Pac-Man
1982
125,000
Worldwide
[76]
3
Galaxian
1979
50,000
USA
[77]
4
Tekken 2
1995
40,000
Worldwide
[78]
5
Tekken 3
1996
35,000
Worldwide
[79]
6
Dig Dug
1982
22,228
USA
[62]
7
Pole Position
1982
21,000
USA
[80]
8
Tekken Tag Tournament
1999
19,000
Worldwide
[81]
9
Gauntlet
1985
7,848
NA / EU
[62]
10
Klax
1990
6,759
Worldwide
11
RoadBlasters
1987
5,610
NA / EU
12
Tetris
1989
5,600
USA
13
Xevious
1982
5,295
14
R.B.I. Baseball (Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium )
1986
3,945
15
Cyberball
1988
3,800
NA / EU
16
Championship Sprint
1986
3,595
17
Paperboy
1985
3,442
18
Hard Drivin'
1989
3,318
19
Mr. Driller
1999
3,000
Japan
[82]
20
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
1985
2,825
NA / EU
[62]
21
Rolling Thunder
1986
2,406
USA
22
Pole Position II
1983
2,400
23
Badlands
1989
2,393
NA / EU
24
720°
1986
2,265
25
Super Sprint
1986
2,232
26
APB
1987
2,000
27
Blasteroids
1988
2,000
28
S.T.U.N. Runner
1989
1,821
29
Xybots
1987
1,752
30
Vindicators
1988
1,719
31
Toobin'
1988
1,500
32
Pac-Mania
1987
1,412
USA
33
Final Lap
1987
1,150
34
Assault
1988
1,079
Best-selling game consoles [ ]
Notes [ ]
↑ Gundam series:
Sales through to March 2004: 20 million[8] [9]
Sales from March 2004 to March 2012: 10,904,400[10] [11]
↑ Namco Museum series:
Namco Museum Vol. 1 US sales: 1.65 million units[19]
Namco Museum Vol. 3 US sales: 2.24 million units[19]
Namco Museum 1-5 Japan sales: 1 million (1998)[20]
Namco Museum Encore sales: 51,303 units[21]
Namco Museum 64 sales: 1.04 million units[19]
Namco Museum (GBA) sales: 2.96 million units[19]
Namco Museum (PS2) sales: 1.8 million units[19]
Namco Museum 50th Anniversary sales: 241,000 units[22]
Namco Museum Battle Collection Japan sales: 79,527 units[23]
Namco Museum Vol. 2 (PSP) sales: 24,934 units[24]
Namco Museum DS Japan sales: 33,393 units[25]
Namco Museum Remix Japan sales (first week): 1,700 units[21]
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade Japan sales (first week): 5,912 units[26]
Namco Arcade downloads: 2 million[27]
↑ Galaxian series:
Galaxian3 sales: 66,770 units (JP)[28]
SD Gundam: Over Galaxian sales: 27,905 (JP)[28]
Namco Museum Vol. 1 sales: 1.65 million units (US),[19] 167,786 units (JP)[28]
Namco Museum Vol. 3 sales: 2.24 million units (US),[19] 148,758 units (JP)[28]
Namco Museum 64 sales: 1.04 million units[19]
Namco Museum (GBA) sales: 2.96 million units[19]
Namco Museum (PS2) sales: 1.8 million units[19]
Namco Museum Battle Collection sales: 79,527 units (JP)[28]
Namco Museum Vol. 2 (PSP) sales: 24,934 units (JP)[28]
Namco Museum DS sales: 33,393 units (JP)[28]
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade sales: 5,912 units (JP)[28]
Namco Arcade downloads: 2 million[27]
Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions sales: 10,785 units (JP)[28]
↑ Dig Dug :
Arcade - 22,228 (USA)[62]
Atari 2600 - 1,640,000[63]
Game Boy Advance - 58,572[4]
Xbox Live Arcade - 222,240[64]
References [ ]
↑ Revenue of major toy companies worldwide 2017 . Statista . Archived from the original on April 2, 2019.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Fact Book 2023 . Bandai Namco. 2023. p. 3. https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/ir/integrated/pdf/2023EN_fact1.pdf .
↑ 3.0 3.1 Allison, Anne (2006-06-30). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination . University of California Press . pp. 292. ISBN 978-0-520-24565-5 . https://books.google.com/books?id=mbkwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 .
↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Game Search . Game Data Library . Famitsu .
↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Pac-Man
↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Dragon Ball
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Tekken
↑ Bandai's History . Bandai (November 2004). Archived from the original on March 26, 2009.
↑ Fact Book 2021 . Bandai Namco Group. 2021. p. 25. https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/cgi-bin/releases/index.cgi/file/view/10492?entry_id=7280 .
↑ Gundam sales from 2004 to 2012 . Famitsu sales data for Japan . Garaph. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
↑ Top-selling Gundam titles from 2004 to 2009:
2004 Top 100 Best Selling Japanese Console Games . The Magic Box (January 2, 2005). Archived from the original on October 2, 2018.: 924,004
2005 Top 100 Best Selling Japanese Console Games . The Magic Box (December 25, 2005). Archived from the original on October 2, 2018.: 1,215,564
Famitsu 2008 Top 100 Console Games (Japan) . The Magic Box (2008). Archived from the original on December 19, 2017.: 1,267,602
Famitsu 2009 Top 100 Console Games (Japan) . The Magic Box (2009). Archived from the original on November 16, 2018.: 1,062,149
↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Dark Souls
↑ "Bandai Unveils New Digimon Virtual Pets" . Anime News Service . November 11, 2005. Archived from the original on 2017-05-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20170513065731/www.animenewsservice.com/archives-nov30/ .
↑ https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS/status/1593065144673673216
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJN78CVuUzw
↑ 16.0 16.1 "Computer Law Reporter, Volume 10" . Computer Law Reporter 10 : 571. 1989. https://books.google.com/books?id=GUM7AQAAIAAJ . "RBI Baseball (...) Over 2 million sold"
↑ Soul Calibur
↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 One Piece
↑ 19.00 19.01 19.02 19.03 19.04 19.05 19.06 19.07 19.08 19.09 19.10 19.11 19.12 19.13 19.14 US Platinum Videogame Chart (Games sold over Million Copies since 1995) . The Magic Box (December 27, 2007). Archived from the original on 2008-12-19.
↑ ナムコ、ファンの要望に応え、「ナムコミュージアム」 シリーズ最新作1980~1990年の名作ビデオゲームを完全移植した PS用ゲームソフト「ナムコミュージアムアンコール」を10月30日発売 (ja) . Bandai Namco Entertainment (October 28, 1997). Archived from the original on April 21, 2021.
↑ 21.0 21.1 Game Search (based on Famitsu data) . Game Data Library (March 1, 2020). Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved on March 16, 2020.
↑ 株式会社バンダイナムコホールディングス 2006 年 3 月期 中間決算説明要旨 (ja) . Bandai Namco Holdings (November 24, 2005). Archived from the original on May 15, 2019.
↑ Namco Museum . Garaph .
↑ Namco Museum Vol.2 . Garaph .
↑ Namco Museum DS . Garaph .
↑ Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade . Garaph .
↑ 27.0 27.1 Namco Arcade . TouchArcade .
↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 28.6 28.7 28.8 Game Search (based on Famitsu data) . Game Data Library (1 March 2020).
↑ https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/little-nightmares/news/little-nightmares-franchise-tops-12-million-units-sold
↑ https://gematsu.com/2019/05/taiko-no-tatsujin-console-game-sales-top-10-million-drum-n-fun-adds-new-versus-mode
↑ https://www.otaquest.com/the-gaming-racing-world-of-ridge-racer/
↑ 32.0 32.1 https://twitter.com/heroaca_oj/status/1601139599497216000
↑ 33.0 33.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20191128194515/www.slightlymadstudios.com/project-cars-powers-to-2-million-units-sold/
↑ 34.0 34.1 Xenoblade Chronicles
↑ List of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure video games (Wikipedia)
↑ 36.0 36.1 https://twitter.com/TheDarkPictures/status/1291373587312644097
↑ https://x.com/ELDENRING/status/1800890964925366476
↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/tamagotchi-lays-golden-eggs-for-bandai/1100-6147574/
↑ New Digimon for 2005 . Anime News Network (25 May 2004).
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9DYbWOH1Fs&t=258s
↑ https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/tekken/news/tekken-8-sells-over-2-million-copies-worldwide-the-first-month-after-launch
↑ https://twitter.com/dragonballgames/status/1656207541863366656
↑ https://twitter.com/dragonballgames/status/1656207541863366656
↑ World famous character could have joined TEKKEN? Harada QA Ⅱ
↑ January 2003 . The Onion Ring (NPD ) . Toy Retail Survey Tracking (TRST). Archived from the original on 2003-04-18.
↑ https://twitter.com/DbsHype/status/1635883396584083457
↑ https://twitter.com/bk2128/status/925695824213848066
↑ Tokyo Business Today . Toyo Keizai . 1990. p. 35. https://books.google.com/books?id=YfOzAAAAIAAJ . "Since the new contract went into effect, Namco, whose hit "Family Stadium" has sold 2.05 million copies in Japan, has been limited in the number of new programs it can produce, and has suffered declining revenues."
↑ https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS/status/1593065144673673216
↑ https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/68644608795615233
↑ https://www.rpgsite.net/news/13935-code-vein-has-surpassed-3-million-units-shipped-worldwide
↑ https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/news/get-ready-discover-the-world-of-little-nightmares-ii-releasing-week
↑ 53.0 53.1 Tales
↑ https://www.nintendo.destructoid.com/top-10-best-selling-tales-of-games-of-all-regions-revealed-for-the-first-time-ever/
↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110723162849/http://www.bandainamco.co.jp/en/ir/financial/pdf_bnh/en_20090520_1.pdf
↑ https://twitter.com/Narutogame_Info/status/1441311986550116358
↑ https://twitter.com/opgame_official/status/1554708764506275840
↑ https://twitter.com/soulcalibur/status/1417655554126663680
↑ https://twitter.com/tales_ch/status/1438374900817797120
↑ https://www.vg247.com/tales-of-arise-has-reached-2-million-copies-sold
↑ https://twitter.com/LittleNights/status/1430908439555764227
↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 62.3 62.4 Production Numbers . Atari Games (August 31, 1999). Archived from the original on 10 May 2013.
↑ https://gamerant.com/atari-2600-best-selling-games-ranked-sales/
↑ Langley, Ryan (January 20, 2012). "Xbox Live Arcade by the numbers - the 2011 year in review" . Gamasutra (UBM Technology Group ). https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/39713/Xbox_Live_Arcde_by_the_numbers__the_2011_year_in_review.php .
↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2021/03/tales-of-series-best-selling-games-announced-worldwide-japan-asia-north-america-and-europe
↑ Sheff, David (1994) [1993]. "Inside the Mother Brain" . Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World . Vintage Books . p. 72. ISBN 978-0-307-80074-9 . Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. https://file1.largepdf.com/file/2020/04/08/Game_Over_-_David_Sheff.pdf#page=72 . "Namco sold 1.5 million copies of a game called "Xevious". A new Namco building was nicknamed the Xevious Building because the game had paid for its construction costs."
↑ https://www.gematsu.com/2022/08/pac-man-world-re-pac-opening-movie
↑ https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/ir/financialstatements/pdf/en_20130509_Report.pdf
↑ 69.0 69.1 Japan Platinum Game Chart . The Magic Box . Archived from the original on 2008-01-01.
↑ https://www.bandainamcoent.co.jp/corporate/press/release/61/pdf/20160203.pdf
↑ https://twitter.com/taiko_team/status/1278896892282195969
↑ https://www.ganbarion.co.jp/ganbarilog/archives/40
↑ https://twitter.com/SNX_RS/status/1514441033014460422
↑ "Namco, Atari Games Dissolve Capital Ties" . Game Machine (Amusement Press) (383): 34. July 1, 1990. https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19900701p.pdf#page=18 .
↑ Pac-Man
↑ "Bally Will Quit Making Pinball, Video Machines" . Toledo Blade : p. 22. July 11, 1988. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4FtQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kw4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6893,2823984 . Retrieved 9 March 2012 .
↑ https://archive.org/details/book_video_invaders/page/n44
↑ https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19970201p.pdf#page=14
↑ https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19980201p.pdf#page=12
↑ Fujihara, Mary (1983-11-02). Inter Office Memo . Atari. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved on 18 March 2012.
↑ Akagi, Masumi, ed. (15 January 2001). ""Tekken TT", "Samba DE Amiga" Top Videos" . Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc. ) (626): 18. https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/20010115p.pdf#page=10 .
↑ INTERVIEW: Hideo Yoshizawa and Keiji Yamagishi . Gaming.moe (March 27, 2018). Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved on August 18, 2019.
↑ Brunskill, Kerry (2010). "Swan Song: A WonderSwan Retrospective" . Retro Gamer (126): 45–47. https://archive.org/details/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_126/page/44/mode/2up .
↑ Koto Laboratory: Products . Koto Laboratories. Archived from the original on February 16, 2014.
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