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Nintendo logs 26 million-plus sellers

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Jan 30, 2009 10:59 am PT

Wii Sports "sells" in excess of 40 million; 11 of the publisher's internally developed games exceed the 10-million milestone mark.

It's the best of times and the worst of times at Nintendo. Yesterday, the Kyoto, Japan-based gaming company announced record profits of ¥212.5 billion ($2.36 billion) on equally soaring revenues of ¥1.536 trillion ($17.12 billion) for the nine months ended December 31. Unfortunately, with the yen trading particularly strong against the dollar and euro, Nintendo was forced to revise its earnings down 9 percent, with profits off 33 percent from what the publisher previously expected.

However, the company remains well-positioned to capitalize on the future, thanks in large part to a strong back catalog of best-selling games, as well as a number potential hits on the horizon. In a supplementary filing today, Nintendo revealed just how strong its back catalog is, calling out 26 internally developed games for the Wii and DS that have broached the million-unit mark.

Not unexpectedly, Wii Sports and Wii Play led Nintendo's best-seller list. Wii Sports, which is bundled with Nintendo's best-selling console in North America, has now "sold" 40.5 million units worldwide through December 31. Wii Play, which capitalized on its Wii Remote pack-in status to top the US best-seller charts in 2008 with 5.28 million units sold, has now shifted 20.9 million copies globally. Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii have also both surpassed the 10-million unit mark, with the former shifting 14 million units and the latter running close behind with 13.7 million copies.

The DS has an even larger number of 10-million-unit-plus sellers, numbering seven in total. Nintendogs leads the pack with 21.7 million lifetime units. The best-selling casual game is followed by New Super Mario Bros. (17.6 million), Brain Age (16.8 million), Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (16.5 million), Mario Kart DS (13.8 million), Brain Age 2 (13.2 million), and Animal Crossing: Wild World (10.5 million).

124 Comments

  • mariokart64fan

    Posted Feb 28, 2009 12:19 am PT

    ya wii has lasted, in fact,in history only one nintendo console or handheld as it was market as , failed commercailly and any other way possible that would be the virtual boy, that window seat by the way, was what that guy deserved, face the facts already wii has got the attention , so much its getting dead space it got dead rising, and 20-25 exclsuve/? ea titles developed from the ground up for the wii , its already got squares atention , 3 seperate ff games came or by the time their done there will be ,, and a dragon quest title, then lets take a look at some of 09s titles
    besides dead rising
    theres house of the dead overkill-8.0 madworld -8.1
    the condult klonoa
    punchout
    bloom blox 2
    disaste day of crisis
    red steel 2
    dead space-wii motion plus support
    wii sports resort-wii motion plus included/support
    need for speed nitro -the arcade style that made the ps1 and hp2 entries popular
    face it graphics is not needed for industry growth, what is , is games that will apeal to every one , of all ages life styles, etc etc what sonys done and nintendo even has done, and continued at least in the handhelds industry they are doing it again , and at a time like this where the wolrd markets arent do ing so good , this was the best time for nintendo to come clean , break out and start somthing or finish somthing they could have done along time ago , it is so good when the company you knew as a child is still going strong, and getting stronger every day-the no hardcore stuff is gonna end one way or another

    especally when 09 is said and done hahhaa

  • girst

    Posted Feb 9, 2009 7:39 am PT

    It seems obvious the reason for Nintendo's success is that the Wii can be enjoyed by almost any age and any type of person.
    Many people who would have never touched a game console in their life, are swinging Wii motes around their living rooms with their children/grand children.
    Nintendo may have taken a risk, in trying something never attempted before, with the Wii's format, but it seems to have payed off big time.

    Some people have time to sit in front of the tv all day with their ps3/360.. others don't have time, because of work and other reasons. They may be more likely to play a Wii because it's so much less time consuming. These people possibly have more money, because they do other things with their lives and can afford more games than the sit at home all day gamer...
    Maybe this contributes to nintendo's sales even more.

  • gameking5000

    Posted Feb 6, 2009 2:39 am PT

    I would be laughing if the age group that buys the most Wi games will buy a Xbox or PS3 with their mums permission and play FPS. Hahahahaha.

  • tonicmole

    Posted Feb 5, 2009 6:43 pm PT

    beardrewz@ Dude, the Wii has already lasted. I hate the thing ,but that does not change the fact that it will out sell everything in existence, and won't slow down anytime soon. Us gamers may not find Wii fit or Wii play as being a good time, but the millions of normal people do. Gamers=0, Normal People=1

    P.S.- A console is a toy. I have never drove a console to work or baked a cake in one, but I have.......PLAYED ONE.

  • beardrewz

    Posted Feb 5, 2009 5:28 pm PT

    The Wii wont last...in the end its just a toy not a console.

  • TehUndeadHorror

    Posted Feb 5, 2009 2:54 am PT

    Good work Nintendo! Keep going strong!

  • Dark_knight109

    Posted Feb 3, 2009 9:32 pm PT

    And I own every single one of those games mentioned...

  • superkoolstud

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 9:41 pm PT

    With Wii its funny cuz it outsells the competition by double and people still bash it.

    People say its a gimmick. Well Ps3 could be a gimmick too. I mean I use my PS3 90% of the time for Blu Ray.

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 2:49 pm PT

    @puppiemaster:
    Why do you even care whether its good business for Nintendo or not? Are you profiting from their good sales? Im guessing like the rest of us you're not. If anything your suffering liek the rest of us core gamers. In fact, it just encourages Nintendo to just release GC games now with wii controls tacked on. Wii Mario power tennis anyone? So stop talking as if Nintendo's sucess is a good thing. Its not.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    You are thinking in the short term, Nintendo can release GC games with Wii controls, as many people that own a Wii never had a GC.

    So they buy the games, games = profit, profit = investment in new games = more games.

    Everyone is a winner, people that are new to consoles get to play great games from the past.

    You are just thinking about yourself and not the larger majority.

    There are many good games on the Wii, hell I'd have bought one just for the VC.

  • Custard_Machine

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 1:27 pm PT

    Just sent my Xbox 360 off for repair again so brushed off my Wii. All I can say it - poor graphics, most games have no real depth (aside from Zelda and Mario), inconsistent quality of online play, limited number of good games for the more serious gamer, application of the motion control is in most games is limited to a wiggle here or there ....I could go on...I regret buying a Wii - it can be fun but only fleetingly the only saving grace is Shaun White with the balance board. Most 'casual' gamers that I know who have a Wii rarely play it. People are buying the Wii because they are intrigued by the new experience it offers (as was I) but once that goes away the Wii doesn't have much else to offer.

  • conformist

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 10:53 am PT

    By the way, referencing my earlier comment, millions of video game 'twinkies' aren't bad; they're fun, and sweet, and you can enjoy them as a snack throughout the day. However, the video game 'steak/potatoes' are meals, and are profound and take some time to devour. It's fine to have both, but Nintendo needs to have more balance.

  • necronaux

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 10:24 am PT

    When ya take the shotgun approach, releasing anything and everything, something has to sell.

  • nintendokid

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 9:45 am PT

    @dzimm

    Niche market just means a distinct market. Niche has nothing to do with size. If anything, Nintendo Wii is the niche market because it is distinct with the majority of the community preferring to buy mini-game shovelware archetypes or buying no software at all. If you implying that the hardcore market is shrinking or being overpowered by casual gaming, you are so wrong.

    In 1997, Halo 3 netted $147,000,000 on the first day, besting Hollywood tops such as Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean weekend openers.

    In 1998, GTAIV sold more than 3.6 million units on the first day and broke $500,000,000 in the first week. In November, Gears 2 sold over 2 million units during the weekend opener. Not to mention the 20,000 retailer nation-wide midnight launch event.

    Halo and Gears are both part of the national Major League Gaming (MLG) sponsored by USA Network, ESPN, XBOX360, Bungie, Dr. Pepper, Panasonic, GameStop, Seagate, and Stride (bubblegum). In 2008, each live competition event had over 500,000 viewers via internet stream. The prize money was $100,000 to top Halo 3 team and $20,000 to Gears.

  • kevsspeedo

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 8:31 am PT

    Well said, dzimm. Kinda silly how a lot of so-called "hardcore" gamers feel that they have something to prove by ragging on games and systems that don't appeal to them. I consider myself a plain old gamer, period. If it's a great game, I'll play it, whether it's "casual, "hardcore," or in the middle.

  • Old_Captaini

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 8:02 am PT

    Given the news that the first family has a Wii, I suspect Nintendo will sell even more.......I have a 360 myself because its game library is more to my taste BUT the Wii IS fun and I can see why it appeals to those who have kids.....and grandkids but aren't necessarily gamers themselves. Nintendo definitely hit a market sweet spot.

  • dzimm

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 7:45 am PT

    Bring on the "hardcore gamer" kiddies who are baffled that the Wii is the best selling current-gen console despite the fact that *they* don't like it. Hate to break it to you guys, but the "hardcore gamer" (by which I mean "arrogant bastard") market is a niche market. Nintendo went where the money is, and I guarantee you that Microsoft and especially Sony are kicking themselves for not thinking of it first.

    And speaking as a 25+ year gaming veteran, I'm not too "hardcore" to admit that the Wii is a terrific system with a great line-up of interesting and innovative games.

  • MonkeyWrench127

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 7:41 am PT

    It's hard how to take this news, does it show that Nintendo is insanely popular? Or does it prove that all the millions of people who bought Wiis and DSs couldn't find any decent games except those made by Nintendo?

  • King_Jeremy_77

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 7:08 am PT

    Good job Nintendo.

  • bobbysbits

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 5:44 am PT

    this is pretty disgusting. that's a lot of millions of idiots out there...

  • dukerav

    Posted Feb 2, 2009 5:10 am PT

    Nintendo = Casual Gamer's Paradise

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