LEGO is Nintendo’s best-selling third-party video game franchise

Here’s a fun fact for you: the LEGO video game series is Nintendo’s best-selling third-party video game franchise.

That’s according to Mat Piscatella, who works with market research firm the NPD Group. The industry analyst tweeted the stat to celebrate the 25th anniversary of LEGO video games.

Given the sheer number of LEGO video games released over the past decade – and their family-friendly nature – that’s perhaps not too surprising. And of course, it’s unlikely that the LEGO games will be dethroning first-party franchises like Mario or Zelda any time soon. But it’s still a pretty cool stat, and one we’re sure the LEGO Group is very happy with.

Piscatella also shared another couple of interesting insights into the success of TT Games’ ever-expanding portfolio. For one, LEGO is apparently the ninth-biggest video game franchise in history in terms of pure sales numbers. That’s probably again attributable to the very long list of games that have launched over the past two and a half decades, but that quantity wouldn’t have been possible without the quality to back it up.

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Meanwhile, the top three best-selling LEGO video games are – according to the NPD Group – LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, LEGO Batman: The Video Game and LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. That doesn’t quite tally with the LEGO Group’s own list, which omits the latter game in favour of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, LEGO Batman II: DC Super Heroes and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4.

To that end, it’s probably worth noting that the NPD Group’s research may only apply to the US market. Piscatella hasn’t clarified either way in his tweet, but it’s a US company, and it would explain the disparity in the best-selling list.

Whether these stats are US-centric or not, we’re sure they’ll be bolstered by the launch of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga next year. The saga-spanning sequel from a galaxy far, far away will arrive in spring. Click here for everything you need to know about securing your copy.

The LEGO Group is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first LEGO video game with a brand new podcast, Bits N’ Bricks. The 10-episode series will take a deep dive into the rich history of LEGO gaming, discussing classic titles, modern games and unreleased projects.

To support the work of Brick Fanatics, please buy your LEGO sets from LEGO.com using our affiliate links.

Author Profile

Chris Wharfe
I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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