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Best-selling games of the 1980s

Super Mario Bros. tops this ranking with 40.24 million copies, ahead of Super Mario Bros. 3 (18 million copies) and The Legend of Zelda (over 6.5 million copies). Copies sold, according to publishers' latest official figures. 7 games ranked.

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Which one sold more copies?

#GameNumberDateSource
1Super Mario Bros.Lifetime worldwide sales, NES/Famicom, inflated by the console bundle40.24 million copiesSeptember 2010The Guardian
2Super Mario Bros. 3Cumulative sales, NES (excluding re-releases)18 million copiesMarch 2011CNBC
3The Legend of ZeldaLifetime sales (NES / Famicom Disk System), "more than 6.5 million"over 6.5 million copiesAugust 2021The Strong National Museum of Play
4Mega Man 2Cumulative sales, NES (Capcom Platinum Titles list)1.51 million copiesJune 2026Capcom
5E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialAtari 2600 cartridges sold (out of a much larger production run)over 1.5 million copiesDecember 1983TIME
6Pac-ManArcade cabinets sold by Namco from 1980 to 1987 (Guinness record)293,822 copiesJune 2005GameSpot
7Donkey KongArcade cabinets sold132,000 copiesDecember 1982USgamer

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