Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
Mario is arguably the most influential franchise in all of gaming. The original game not only revolutionized platformers, but the entire medium. The series has held that cultural significance for over three decades, with different entries defining eras of gaming.
These are the best-selling games in the Mario franchise as of 2023.
| Title | Release date | Platform | Copies sold |
| Super Mario Bros. | October 18, 1985 | NES | 58 million |
| New Super Mario Bros. | May 15, 2006 | DS | 30.8 million |
| New Super Mario Bros. Wii | November 15, 2009 | Wii | 30.2 million |
| Super Mario Odyssey | October 27, 2017 | Switch | 25.1 million |
| New Super Mario Bros. U | November 18, 2012 | WiiU/Switch | 23.6 million |
| Super Mario World | August 23, 1991 | SNES/Game Boy Advance | 20 million |
| Super Mario Land | July 31, 1989 | Game Boy | 18 million |
| Super Mario Bros 3. | July 15, 1989 | NES Game Boy Advance | 17 million |
| Super Mario 3D World | November 22, 2013 | WiiU/Switch | 16.7 million |
| New Super Mario Bros. 2 | August 19, 2012 | 3DS | 13.4 million |
Super Mario Bros., the first game in the series, remains the best-selling game in the franchise with a staggering 58 million copies sold. It's also one of the best-selling video games of all time, coming in at number seven on that list. It's a stark contrast to Nintendo's other flagship franchise, The Legend of Zelda; the best-selling game in that franchise is the newest one, Breath of the Wild. That said, the last mainline Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey, is quite high up on this list.
It's important to note that this list only includes Mario platformers. The franchise is rich with spin-offs, but sub-franchises like Mario Kart deserve to be treated as their own series at this point.
Those are the best-selling games in the Mario franchise. At the time of this writing, no new game in the Mario series has been announced. We'll be updating this list in the future if the sales rankings change.