Analyzing Video game sales since 1980
This blog post is part of the Udacity Data Scientists Nanodegree Program. Detailed analysis with all required code is posted in my GitHub repository.
Introduction
I vividly remember when I played Mario for the first time. I was blown away by the very idea of being able to play on a screen. It opened the door to something integral to my life, i.e., video games. I am sure my parents don’t share the same enthusiasm on the subject and would instead refer to it was as a pandora’s box, given the hours I “invested” in it.
Regardless, millions of folks of all ages, gender, nationalities spend hundreds of hours a year playing video games. The data suggests that the average gamer spends ~6.33 hrs/week, i.e., ~330 hours a year gaming. I am sure some gamers are smirking and calling such people “noobs,” but well, we are talking about the average gamer here. My point is, video games are integral to many modern-day adults.
While the question around which video game/console/genre is the best is purely subjective, I wanted to see what the data suggests if we have sales as a metric for success. So I used Kaggle’s video games sales data that looks at data points for more than 16,500 video games across various platforms, genres, publishers, and decades! Here are the initial set of questions I tried to answer:
1. What is the most successful game across all platforms in terms of sales since 1980?
2. Who are the top publishers for the three highest selling genre?
3. How have different platforms fared across the years in terms of total sales?
Part 1: What is the most successful game across all platforms in terms of sales since 1980?
As I said before, the metric for success could be subjective, but we are looking at total sales. The data suggests, Wii Sports has been the most successful video game, selling more than 80 million copies globally. That’s more than 20 million copies to its nearest competitor, i.e., GTA V, that stands at ~58 million.
It almost flat lines from position four onwards in regards to Total sales.
Part 2: Who are the top publishers for the three highest selling genres?
Given the wide variety of games out there, it’s only fair to expect some genres to sell more than others. As a first step, we look at the highest-grossing genres: Action, Sports, and Shooter.
Next, we look at the top 3 publishers in each of these categories.
The results are not surprising if you consider the inventory for these publishers.
- In Action, Take-Two, who own the GTA franchise, are the leaders.
- In Sport, EA, who owns the Fifa and Madden franchise, are the leaders.
- For Shooter, Activision, who own the Call of Duty franchise, are the leaders.
Passionate gamers might get offended at this list, but none will be surprised.
Part 3: How have different platforms fared across the years in terms of total sales?
Video games, like any other technology, go through an evolution. No single platform can claim to be at the top forever. New technologies bring faster and more efficient processors and push the boundaries of innovation. It is only fair that new platforms thus supplant older ones and, in turn, get replaced when their time comes.
Fans of different platforms will argue which was the best platform ever. In terms of the numbers, it’s difficult to pinpoint a single platform that was “the best.”
- Are you looking for longevity? Well, PC seems to have been there since the start and continues to this day!
- Are you looking for Sales alone? PS2 seems to have captured the market big time. No other platform appears to have outperformed PS2 in that regard, not even PS3, PS4.
- As a company, though, SONY and Nintendo seem to be the top players. Sony owns PS, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP. Whereas Nintendo owns DS, GBA, Wii.
Conclusion:
- Wii Sports seems to be the most successful game in total sales, having sold over 80 million copies globally.
- Action is the highest-selling genre. Take-Two, owners of the GTA franchise, are the leaders. This is followed by sports, with EA being the apparent leader, thanks to its successful FIFA franchise.
- There isn’t a single platform fit to be deemed as “the best.” PS2 saw record-breaking sales while PC has been there since the beginning. So when someone asks what the best platform is, you should ask in regards to what?
Given that these findings are just observation from this dataset, the real question remains:
What is YOUR take on video games?
Here is the link to the GitHub repo.
