"Sonic 2" went on to sell units within , and grossed in 1992 ( adjusted for inflation), more than any film or other entertainment product that year. It had also become the best-selling 16-bit video game ever at the time, . The game sold copies in North America alone by 1996, 750,000 copies in the United Kingdom in its first week alone, 400,000 units in Japan by March 1993, and 750,000 pre-orders in France, Germany, Spain, and Austria, for a worldwide total of more than cartridges sold during the console's lifespan. This makes it the second best-selling Sega Genesis/Mega Drive game, behind only the original "Sonic the Hedgehog" which was bundled with the system.