While the gaming industry typically obsesses over record-breaking blockbusters, a fascinating new data set shifts the spotlight to the complete opposite: the games that sold exactly one unit in 2025. This unusual insight comes courtesy of Mat Piscatella, Executive Director at Circana, who began highlighting these statistical outliers on Bluesky. Following a deeper inquiry, Piscatella provided a comprehensive breakdown of over 175 titles across various legacy platforms that managed to move a single retail copy this year.
The primary takeaway is the surprising longevity of classic hardware. The Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2—two of the most successful consoles in history—dominated the list with 44 and 40 games, respectively. More recent legacy systems like the Nintendo 3DS also showed significant variety, with solitary sales for titles ranging from Square Enix’s Dragon Quest 7 remake to The Sims 3. Even the niche PlayStation Vita continues to see occasional retail activity for games like Borderlands 2 and Rayman Origins, while the Game Boy Color represented the oldest hardware on the list with a single entry.
Identifying specific consumer trends within this data is difficult, as the purchases seem largely idiosyncratic. For every niche pick like I Heart Geeks on the DS or Need for Speed: Carbon on the PS2, there is a high-profile outlier like a mainline Pokémon game or a God of War collection. The only minor pattern appeared on the 3DS, where a sudden interest in the Etrian Odyssey series resulted in several single-unit sales.
It is important to note that Circana exclusively tracks new retail sales. Therefore, this list does not account for the massive secondhand market on platforms like eBay or local transactions at garage sales.
Nintendo 3DS
- 7th Dragon III Code: VFD
- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
- Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack
- Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
- Bust-a-Move Universe
- Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion
- Disney Magical World 2
- Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
- Dragon Quest 7: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
- Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight
- Etrian Odyssey 4: Legend of the Titan
- Etrian Odyssey 5: Beyond the Myth
- Ever Oasis
- Fantasy Life
- Fossil Fighters: Frontier
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
- Kirby: Battle Royale
- Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn
- Lego Jurassic World
- Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
- Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Lego The Hobbit
- Lego The Lord of the Rings
- Mario Sports Superstars
- Metroid: Samus Returns Special Edition
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
- Pokemon: Ultra Moon Starter Pack
- Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
- Resident Evil: Revelations
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
- Super Street Fighter 4 3D Edition
- The Legend of Legacy
- The Sims 3
- Tmnt: Master Splinter’s Training Pack
- Ultimate NES Remix
- Young Justice: Legacy
Game Boy Advance
- Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
- Pokémon Firered (with wireless adapter)
- Pokémon Ruby
Game Boy Color
- TNN Fishing Champ
Nintendo GameCube
- Geist
- Harvest Moon: Another Life
- Kirby Air Ride
- Mario Power Tennis
- Mario Superstar Baseball
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted
- Resident Evil
- Simpsons: Hit & Run
- Sonic Riders
- Spider-Man: The Movie
- Tony Hawk Underground
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Falsebound Kingdom
Nintendo DS
- Animal Crossing: Wild World
- Baby Pals
- Big Hero 6: Battle in the Bay/Frozen: Olaf’s Quest 2 Pack
- Cake Mania
- Charm Girls Club: My Fashion Show
- Cooking Mama
- Diego’s Build and Rescue
- Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell
- Ener G: Dance Squad
- Exit
- I Heart Geeks
- Lego Batman 2: Dc Super Heroes
- Lego Battles
- Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Lego Legends of Chima: Laval’s Journey
- Littlest Pet Shop 3 Biggest Stars: Blue Team
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
- Mario Hoops 3-on-3
- Megamind: The Blue Defender
- Monster High Ghoul Spirit
- Monster House
- Monster Jam: Path of Destruction
- My Amusement Park
- My Healthy Cooking Coach
- My Sims Kingdom
- Mysims Skyheroes
- Operation: Vietnam
- Pokemon Conquest
- Polarium
- Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
- Scrabble
- Scribblenauts Collection
- Smart Girls: Magical Book Club
- Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from Krusty Krab
- Spongebob Squarepants: Plankton’s Robotic Revenge
- Sudoku Mania
- That’s So Raven: Psychic on the Scene
- The Croods: Prehistoric Party!
- The Smurfs 2
- Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue
- Touchmaster 2
- Tron: Evolution
- Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Ed
- World Championship Games: A Track & Field Event
PlayStation 2
- Bombastic
- Crash Nitro Kart
- Crash: Twinsanity
- Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2
- Dynasty Warriors 6
- Fifa Soccer 12
- Gladius
- Grandia 3
- Gretzky Nhl 2005
- Guitar Hero 5
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- High School Musical: Sing It
- Kingdom Hearts II
- Lord of Rings: The Two Towers
- Lord Rings: Third Age
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
- Midnight Club 3: Dub Ed Remix
- Midway Arcade Treasures 2
- MVP Baseball 2005
- Namco Museum 50th Anniv
- NBA Live 07
- NBA Street
- Need for Speed: Carbon
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- Need Speed: Underground
- NFL Street 2
- NFL Street 3
- Odin Sphere
- Radiata Stories
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
- Sly 2: Band of Thieves
- Spider-Man: The Movie 2
- SSX Tricky
- Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith
- Stuntman: Ignition
- Tony Hawk Underground
- WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2006
- WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007
- Yakuza 2
PlayStation Portable
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip
- Midnight Club 3: Dub
- Monster Hunter: Freedom Dual Pack
- Rock Band Unplugged
- UFC 2010: Undisputed
PlayStation Vita
- Borderlands 2
- Code:Realize – Wintertide Miracles Limited Ed
- Dynasty Warriors Next
- God of War Collection
- Lego the Hobbit
- Little Deviants
- Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
- Punch Line
- Rayman Origins
- The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series Season Two
Xbox
- Aeon Flux
- Batman Begins
- Blinx: Time Sweeper
- Def Jam: Fight for New York
- Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee
- Fable
- Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix
- Midnight Club 2
- MTV Music Generator 3
- MVP 06 NCAA Baseball
- MX Vs ATV Unleashed
- Need Speed: Underground 2
- NFL Street 2
- Panzer Dragoon Orta
- Prince Persia: Sands of Time
- Second Sight
- Shattered Union
- Spider-man: The Movie
- SSX Tricky
- The Godfather: The Game
- Tony Hawk’s Project 8
- Winning Eleven 8 International
- X-men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse
Source: Polygon
