Success+Quest+(Demosthenes)

Overview
The video game industry is one of the most lucrative in the world. The bulk of the success of the industry is due to game sales (rather than console sales). But what makes the games themselves successful? Currently, the ten top-selling game franchises of all time include: Mario, Pokemon, Tetris, The Sims, FIFA, Need for Speed, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy and Madden NFL. These games represent a wide range of interests and activities, including sports, action/violence, and adventure (or some combination of these elements). Most of these franchises have been around since before 2000, with some of them (like Mario, Tetri and Final Fantasy) having first been produced in the 1980s. Their ability to reinvent themselves over time by maintaining some of the basic continuity of story and/or characters (will Mario and Peach EVER live happily ever after?) has given each of these franchises longevity that so far, their peers cannot compete with. Many of these games are also available on multiple consoles, whereas each game originally only inhabited one platform. For example, the Sims, a PC classic for adventure-seeking children, has its latest incarnation available for both X-Box 360 and Playstation 3, in addition to its traditional PC format.

It is also important to note that behind every successful game is a developer. Rockstar (Grand Theft Auto), Nintendo, Blizzard (World of Warcraft, Starcraft) and EA are currently the most successful game developers internationally. Many of the most successful developers design a number of games, but with similar characteristics, animation style or for the same platform. For example, Rockstar games is known for the extreme violence in its games, and most of their games are released with heavy warnings and M ratings. Despite this, games franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and Midnight Club have all experienced huge success, with large amounts of profit garnered from presales and opening day releases.

**History**
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**Opinion**
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**Future Trends?**
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