Most Valuable Gaming Franchise EVER

[Collector_Gaming]

I am not asking most popular
or what your favorite franchise is
or why this ones better then this or whatever

I was watching a show sunday night (well the repeat cause it was on at the same time as Walking Dead). Called Curiosity on discovery channel. They ask celebs or people of power to ask a question and then basically answer it for the people at home.
Donald Trump hosted the last one and he asked.... What is america as a whole worth. Every tiny molecule that makes up america. What is it worth if we were to outright sell it to say china for whatever reason.

And it made me wonder about the financial situation of video games as a whole.

My question to you DP members....... What is the most valuable video gaming franchise to ever exist.
And when I say franchise I mean a game that ties to other games or shows or movies or merchandising ect ect ect.
games about movies or shows don't count (otherwise disney related games would own obviously).

No take in for instance Super Mario brothers.
There is dozens and dozens of video games and computer programs related to the series like Mario Teaches Typing.. Mario Kart. Super Smash Bros. ect ect ect
We have all these tshirts from the typical advert shirt to the typical shirt that displays a icon like "1up" or whatever.
Then you have the tv shows like the sunday super show.. and the classic cartoon series.
Then the ill fated Super Mario Bros movie.
Then franchise being used in stuff like soundtrack albums. and concert series (like video games live) ect ect ect
the countless toys and stuff like that

What is the most valuable gaming franchise ever.

I mean i know people are gonna spring instantly to Super Mario brothers... but what if maybe its a underdog.. maybe a newer franchise say like Call of Duty? or Halo? or Final Fantasy?

[jcalder8]

I mean i know people are gonna spring instantly to Super Mario brothers... but what if maybe its a underdog.. maybe a newer franchise say like Call of Duty? or Halo? or Final Fantasy?

No, it's Mario. It wouldn't even be close.

[Ro-J]

Mario by a landslide, then Madden.

[Collector_Gaming]

Mario by a landslide, then Madden.

i wonder why madden?
i mean mario has all its merch outside of sales of the game itself as well.
i don't remember much merch for madden outside the game itself

[Buyatari]

Mario

2nd is Earthworm Jim.

[Kitsune Sniper]

It could be Mario.

But honestly? It's the Call of Duty series. Those games have made billions of dollars in a few years, a lot more than the Mario games ever did.

They're not good games, but they sell a shitton of stuff.

[T2KFreeker]

It could be Mario.

But honestly? It's the Call of Duty series. Those games have made billions of dollars in a few years, a lot more than the Mario games ever did.

They're not good games, but they sell a shitton of stuff.

Problem is that with the way Activision floods the market with these, it will pass because people will get tired of the CoD games. Example? The Tony Hawk series could have been where you are saying seven years ago and just recently, so could Guitar Hero. In the end, Too much of a good thing is bad, even if we all don't agree what's good. I hate to say it, but it's the Mario games. I hate the damn thing, but it's either Mario or it's Tetris. Both of them can arguably be called the top money making game franchises of all time. It would be interesting to see the break down. Problem with Tetris is that there were so many bootlegs back in the day it would almost be impossible to know how much exactly Tetris has made over time.

[lakerstowin]

I totally agree, call of duty hands down. Modern warfare 3 sold 6.2 million copies, made 400 million dollars in 24 hours.

Not even close.

Craig

[Collector_Gaming]

the problem i see with tetris is the merch end of it.

Once again the tally isn't just about how many games a franchise sold..

But how many games
how many tshirts
how many comic books
how many wrist bands
how many watches
how many this
how many that
tv shows
movies.
EVERYTHING

Sonic had all its games.
It had 2 different cartoon series
crazy amount of merchandise that still spawns all over to this day.

Pacman had all its mech in the form of
t shirts, hats, cups, frisbees, shoes, wasn't there even a pacman cereal?
there was also a pacman cartoon show that we all remember and the christmas special and all that.

[Griking]

Warcraft would have to be included on a short list. 11 million people purchased the game itself and three expansions at $39.99 each and then paid $15 a month for 6+ years and counting. Then there's the card games and the old strategy games. Blizzon, the WoW magazine and other merchandise and so on.

Also, Pac-Man.

[understatement]

Resident Evil could be up there 18+ games, 4+ live action films and some CG films, 7 novels, comics, and a good bit of merchandise.

[TurboGenesis]

I totally agree, call of duty hands down. Modern warfare 3 sold 6.2 million copies, made 400 million dollars in 24 hours.

Not even close.

Craig

I HATE and DESPISE crap of duty, but I could agree with it having value…

what other game has a vehicle (Jeep Wrangler JK) tied in?
we had to have suppliers modify the crush tubes and compatibility crossbar just for these stupid cod JKs!

[buzz_n64]

Mario.

[Colorado Rockies]

Fifa is probably up there.

[NerdXCrewWill]

The obvious competitor to Mario is Pokemon. I'd say it might even top Mario as a franchise.

[k8track]

I'm going with ALF.

[jonebone]

Good point on Madden. Part of the Madden franchise is the NFLPA license they bought up, which is probably a couple of hundred of million dollars per year alone. Not to mention about 20 years of sales too. If they renew that license, it's only going to cost them even more in the future.

I also agree with Mario and Resident Evil being somewhere up there, probably both in the top 10 for sure. Mario was Nintendo only, but Resident Evil has touched so many platforms, in addition to their movies and other items.

[Collector_Gaming]

I HATE and DESPISE crap of duty, but I could agree with it having value…

what other game has a vehicle (Jeep Wrangler JK) tied in?
we had to have suppliers modify the crush tubes and compatibility crossbar just for these stupid cod JKs!

Technically
Tomb Raider

Remember when its 2 movies came out.

When they started production on these bad boys

and their promotion was to get you to own the vehicle that laura croft used

[mikeshinobi]

The obvious competitor to Mario is Pokemon. I'd say it might even top Mario as a franchise.

So I'm not the only one who thought of Pokémon. However I'm not sure you'd technically count Pokémon as a gaming franchise, since it started as an anime and was eventually made into a video game (I think?).

But man, all that money wasted on Pokémon cards...

[Cornelius]

So I'm not the only one who thought of Pokémon. However I'm not sure you'd technically count Pokémon as a gaming franchise, since it started as an anime and was eventually made into a video game (I think?).

But man, all that money wasted on Pokémon cards...

I believe Pokemon was conceived as a TV show, video game, and merchandising vehicle all right from the beginning. I could be wrong, but that's how I remember it. I'd also put it on a short list for this topic.

Mario would be the winner, though.