Tech Blog

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I was just a wee lad when I first got my hands on the tile-matching sensation Tetris.  Created in 1984 by the now-famous Russian programmer, Alexey Pajitnov, the game is one of the most successful in history having sold over 70 million copies and a further 100 million-plus mobile downloads (as of Jan 2010).  Adding to Tetris' already impressive list of accolades is a new one, as of the end of last year: it was the most downloaded game on Sony's PlayStation Network. 

Providing the timeless appeal of Tetrimino line-forming, Tetris managed to outsell a pair of popular game revivals, Resident Evil 4 and the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection.  The tile-layering game also had more downloads than a couple of critically-acclaimed indie games, Castle Crashers and Limbo, that were ported over to the PSN after initially debuting on Xbox Live. 

What's most surprising about the top ten PSN sales for last year is that the majority of games made their debut, on the PSN or other platforms, in years prior.  In fact the only games on the list the were first released in 2011 are Infamous: Festival of Blood, Dungeon Hunter: Alliance, and Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012.  Interestingly enough, Infamous: FoB is a standalone game from an existing franchise, and the other two are sequels, meaning that no new original IP games released in 2011 on the PSN made it on the list.

Judging by the top ten, it looks like the bread and butter of the PSN is nostalgic game revivals, game compilations, and sequels for existing franchises.  Here's the top ten best sellers of 2011:

Best-selling PSN titles (games only, excludes DLC & Minis):

1.  Tetris

2.  Resident Evil 4

3.  Infamous: Festival of Blood

4.  Back to the Future: The Game - Full Series

5.  Dungeon Hunter: Alliance

6.  Castle Crashers

7.  Limbo

8.  Battlefield 1943

9.  Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection

10. Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012

For interest sake, since the above list exludes game DLC and PlayStation minis, here is the overall top ten best sellers taking into account all game content on the PSN:

Overall PSN downloads (all items purchased from the PlayStation Store):

1.  Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike

2.  Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation: Content Pack 2
3.  Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation: Content Pack 3
4.  MLB 11 The Show Road to the Show Training Points
5.  FIFA Soccer 12 Premium Gold Pack
6.  Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection: Content Pack 4
7.  Angry Birds
8.  FUT - Premium Gold Pack
9.  MLB 10 The Show Road to the Show Training Points
10. FIFA Soccer 12 Premium Gold Jumbo

The PlayStation Network had a total of 77 million registered user accounts as of May, 2011.  Canada has more than 3.5 million PSN users accounts, which is more than 10% of the nation's population.