Madden hoists 2006 sales trophy

EA's PS2 football simulation dominates sales in 2006 with 2.8 million sold, Mario comes in second; Gears of War takes December crown, third overall in 2006.

Another year, another dominant performance by Madden NFL.

The final game sales numbers for 2006 have been released by industry-trackers NPD Group, and a familiar face has risen to the top. Electronic Arts' most valuable player, the PlayStation 2 version of the Madden NFL franchise, was declared the top-selling game of the year in the US.

Madden NFL 07 for Sony's current-generation system, which debuted in August, sold 2.8 million copies (the figure includes the game's deluxe Hall of Fame edition). Last year's version of the series, Madden NFL 06, beat that number slightly, tallying 2.9 million units sold.

From overgrown linemen to stubby plumbers, second place for US game sales in 2006 went to Nintendo's mustachioed mascot. New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS mustered 2 million units sold. The DS, which has sold 9.2 million units in the US to date, was also represented on the charts by Mario's chart mate, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. The brainteaser sold 1.1 million units in 2006.

New Super Mario Bros. sold well all year.

Just over one year old, the Xbox 360 had three of its games in the top 10. Madden NFL 07 took eighth with 1.1 million sold, and Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter was just behind it in ninth, with 1 million rung up. But the most impressive Xbox 360 game was Epic Games' Gears of War, which sold 1.8 million copies despite only being released in November.

Even with all the hoopla surrounding the next-gen wars, Sony's iron horse, the PS2, was still the story for software. The system held five of the top 10 spots in 2006, thanks to Kingdom Hearts II, Guitar Hero 2, Final Fantasy XII, and NCAA Football 07.

The list of top 10 selling games for 2006 (with figures) is listed below.

Gears of War pwned December.

Sales figures for the last month of 2006 were also released today, and Gears of War came out on top...barely. The Xbox 360 shooter sold 815,700 units, just edging out the PS2 version of Guitar Hero 2, which racked up 805,200 sales. While both of those games were holiday releases, third place went to Madden NFL 07 for the PS2 (737,100 units sold in December), despite being a summer release.

While much attention was focused on Wii owners scooping up that system's version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in droves, it was actually outperformed in December by its GameCube counterpart. Twilight Princess for the GameCube landed in fourth (532,900 sold), just ahead of the Wii version, which took fifth (519,200 sold).

The list of top 10 selling games for December 2006 (with figures) is listed below.

Across all platforms, Madden once again took the December crown, scrambling ahead to 1.9 million games sold. Behind it were Call of Duty 3 (1.1 million), Cars (874,000), Need for Speed Carbon (871,600), the Xbox 360-exclusive Gears of War, and the PS2-exclusive Guitar Hero 2.

As far as sales of accessories in December go, the top slot went to the Xbox 360 wireless controller, with 823,800 units sold. Nintendo had a one-two punch in second and third, with the Wii Remote (646,700) and Wii Nunchuk (497,100), respectively.

Top-selling games for 2006

PS2--Madden NFL 07, Electronic Arts--2.8 M
NDS--New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo--2.0 M
360--Gears of War, Microsoft--1.8 M
PS2--Kingdom Hearts II, Square Enix--1.7 M
PS2--Guitar Hero II, Activision--1.3 M
PS2--Final Fantasy XII, Square Enix--1.3 M
NDS--Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, Nintendo--1.1 M
360--Madden NFL 07, Electronic Arts--1.1 M
360--Tom Clancy's GRAW, Ubisoft--1.0 M
PS2--NCAA Football 07, Electronic Arts--1.0 M

Top-selling games for December 2006

360--Gears of War, Microsoft--815.7 K
PS2--Guitar Hero II, Activision--805.2 K
PS2--Madden NFL 07, Electronic Arts--737.1 K
GC--Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendo--532.9 K
Wii--Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendo--519.2 K
PS2--WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007, THQ--484.5 K
NDS--New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo--427.5 K
360--Call of Duty 3, Activision--410.8 K
NDS--Yoshi's Island 2, Nintendo--407.2 K
PS2--Call of Duty 3, Activision--365.3 K

[UPDATE 2] This morning, NPD sent out a revised list of top-selling games in December 2006 across all platforms. The group corrected a mistake that neglected to include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in the list. The figures from NPD listed total sales of the game for the month to be 1.5 million, a number that does not equal the sum of previous figures reported by NPD (see list above--total of previously reported numbers would equal just over 1 million units sold).

[UPDATE 3] The NPD has revised its list of the top-selling games of 2006 across all platforms once again. This morning's update, which had Twilight Princess in second place with 1.5 million copies sold, used the full year sales for the game. When only the game's December tally is used, it drops to third place on the list, slightly behind Call of Duty 3.

Top-selling games for December 2006 across all platforms

Madden NFL 07, Electronic Arts--1.9 M
Call of Duty 3, Activision--1.1 M
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendo--1.1 M
Cars, THQ--874.0 K
Need for Speed Carbon, Electronic Arts--871.6 K
Gears of War, Microsoft--815.7 K
Guitar Hero 2, Activision--805.2 K
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, LucasArts--792.3 K
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007, THQ--731.6 K
Tony Hawk's Project 8, Activision--713.9 K
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Activision--642.9 K

Top-selling accessories in December 2006

360 Wireless Controller--823.8 K
Wii Remote Controller--646.7 K
Wii Nunchuk Controller--497.1 K
PS2 8MB Memory Card--474.8 K
PS3 Sixaxis Wireless Controller--336.0 K

154 Comments

  • ricsuave

    Posted Jan 21, 2007 6:11 pm PT

    "gnarlychar
    Just shows how bad american tastes are when Madden 07 is number 1 in sales"

    Gee, sorry that Fifa couldn't make it. You know those Americans, always needing games that are exciting where people actually score. Oh well....

  • paranoiasurviva

    Posted Jan 20, 2007 11:46 am PT

    No it doesn't.

  • sugreev2005-06

    Posted Jan 19, 2007 3:31 pm PT

    Where is Canis Canem Edit aka Bully,that game truly deserves to be in that list.

  • Shimetsu

    Posted Jan 19, 2007 12:07 pm PT

    Well there was no surprises here, but even though I play my 360 day in and day out.... 2007 is the year of the PS3. The game line-up for the PS3 this year is eons and eons ahead of any game line-up for any console available. At the end 3rd quarter is when the war actually begins between Sony and Microsoft. In many ways, the wii has already had victory for themselves and will make a comeback possible for Nintendo.

  • christopherneal

    Posted Jan 17, 2007 1:20 pm PT

    Madden is a great game. Haters need NOT purchase.

  • trdrstv

    Posted Jan 16, 2007 1:25 pm PT

    @ GANGSTA287 "Madden 07 was decent on the Xbox, not bad for the PS2, alright for the PSP, and GOD AWFUL for the 360!!!!!!!!"

    You forgot to mention 'Best on Wii'. :-) I've played Madded for years, and this is so much fun I can't believe it. Hopefully 08 will be online.

  • GANGSTA287

    Posted Jan 16, 2007 12:56 pm PT

    Madden 07 was decent on the Xbox, not bad for the PS2, alright for the PSP, and GOD AWFUL for the 360!!!!!!!!

  • bgres077

    Posted Jan 16, 2007 6:54 am PT

    Guitar Hero II right on Gears' trail.

  • YukoAsho

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 9:46 pm PT

    Hey, Madden pays for everything else the industry does, so no problem there.

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 7:29 pm PT

    Two years with exclusive access to the NFL and you still haven't made a game better than NFL 2K5, congratulations on that EA. Normally the maker of the best product wins out but you put an end to all that. 2K5 stomped you into the ground in sales and instead of making a better product you bought exclusive rights to the NFL. EA = cowards

  • ReD187

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 5:54 pm PT

    This guy is saying how bad american tastes are because Madden is number 1. I see you forget how popular football is in America, add in the fact that EA has an exclusive license to NFL games til 2010 and theres why Madden is number one. Not because we think its good, but because it is the only available football game out there.

  • gnarlychar

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 5:15 pm PT

    Just shows how bad american tastes are when Madden 07 is number 1 in sales.

  • OluDara

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 3:17 pm PT

    Madden was definitely the most fun game, then Gears of War after it.

  • ufopuller

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 11:06 am PT

    Madden needs to retire

  • casinater

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 10:54 am PT

    go madden!...i love football!!!

  • Knight-of-God

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 7:24 am PT

    No surprises here at all.

  • okassar

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 6:14 am PT

    Well everyone of all ages and all fanboys like football.But a footbal game I would say like 20%.A football game is a rip cause you could just play it with your friends.(What's the point,uuuuuuuugh im training my football player with weights,this is like crack...........no).Nothing better than a good ol' RPG or FPS like Oblivion and GoW

  • strategyking92

    Posted Jan 14, 2007 9:24 pm PT

    sad to see no psp games on that list...

  • ricsuave

    Posted Jan 14, 2007 3:51 pm PT

    " Eagles5

    MAdden 08 should be king as weell. Cant be madden or the EAGLES!!!!!!!! Philly to da end!!!!"


    OOPS!

    That end came sooner than expected huh?

  • ilbtits

    Posted Jan 14, 2007 1:18 pm PT

    Madden is the only football game out it was ok still no 2k.... lets see how good madden will be when 2k can make another football game

  • rulo_rezn0r

    Posted Jan 14, 2007 1:12 pm PT

    The best sellin console was PS2
    best sellin handheld DS
    best sellin next gen 360
    nuff said
    go gears!

  • Kcube

    Posted Jan 14, 2007 12:29 am PT

    I can't wait to see the Sales Numbers for Dragon Quest on the Wii and the DS.
    That game is king of ALL RPGs and it even has its own holiday ^_^

    Kudos Nintendo for making a comeback.

    Just a note to the Fanboys in here,the Super NES was beating PS1 as well at the start of the 32bit gen,SO you pick and complain while the rest of us play our games rather then blab 24/7 fighting on about them

  • riggosert

    Posted Jan 13, 2007 4:40 pm PT

    WorkTime Fun Cars is #3 for December the injustice!!!

  • Eagles5

    Posted Jan 13, 2007 2:58 pm PT

    MAdden 08 should be king as weell. Cant be madden or the EAGLES!!!!!!!! Philly to da end!!!!

  • okassar

    Posted Jan 13, 2007 9:28 am PT

    Good God,there should be like a moderator that kicks out fanboys that have no backup.Xbox 360 is amazingly successful for your info,selling 11 million in a year and winning out holiday sales(system,games,and accessories).Plus it got really good games like Oblivion,Gears of War,Raimbow Six Vegas,LOTR,F.E.A.R,COD3, and more to come like Halo 3,Blue Dragon,Assassin's Creed,and more.(some of the games above are multi-platform but due to all the benifits of the 360 including a good price,really good online[Xbox Live],and it's a powerful system,don't forget,your'e not paying $600 for this stuff unlike the PS3,but only $400.)So overall,the system's worth it.Same with the Wii,for $250 you get classics like Zelda and motion sensing too.But the PS3 is overpriced,that says everything if it only has slightly sharper graphics but horrible online.Sony doesn't have as many deals with game companies anyway.Microsoft is doing the opposite.As for Madden...POSH,I only like to play sports in real life lol.Don't forget though,Sony is still hitting success from foreigners who,if they wanted a new system,would have to pay more than U.S gamers and the easily modded PS2(theirs alot of foreign modders),gets them much cheaper games.It's sort of their tradition.Plus,Japan like boycotts American products.Let them run their tradition....

  • sherif2004

    Posted Jan 13, 2007 4:18 am PT

    the ps2 is here get out that xbox 360 from here

  • sherif2004

    Posted Jan 13, 2007 4:16 am PT

    even the ps2 is better than the xbox 360 then the ps3 is the best

  • Kfoss

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 9:39 pm PT

    that’s amazing that in one month Gears Of War came in 3rd overall for the year....guess that’s a testament for how much games sucked this year mostly..

  • ldksparda21

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 8:30 pm PT

    Ps2 is holding the fort for its big bro (PS3) till it gets on its way to the top. Good luck sony, and the final fantasy game is great

  • GeeverTidus

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 7:38 pm PT

    wow PS2 pwns the nxt gen war...if xbox360 cannot topple this old system what more next year if PS3 supplies are stable and supErb games will be coming out 4 the system...i guess SoNy will still rule the next gen war... and if worlwide sales would be tallied PS2 is till by far the leader last year... KH II and FFXII sold more than 5m copies worldwide unlike gears of war (w/c is a great game though) havent manage to top sales in europe and asia...so KudOs to SoNy and SquareEnix!!!

  • GeeverTidus

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 7:37 pm PT

    wow PS2 pwns the nxt gen war...if xbox360 cannot topple this old system what more next year if PS3 supplies are stable and supErb games will be coming out 4 the system...i guess SoNy will still rule the next gen war... and if worlwide sales would be tallied PS2 is till by far the leader last year... KH II and FFXII sold more than 5m copies worldwide unlike gears of war (w/c is a great game though) havent manage to top sales in europe and asia...so KudOs to SoNy and SquareEnix!!!

  • GeeverTidus

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 7:36 pm PT

    wow PS2 pwns the nxt gen war...if xbox360 cannot topple this old system what more next year if PS3 supplies are stable and supErb games will be coming out 4 the system...i guess SoNy will still rule the next gen war... and if worlwide sales would be tallied PS2 is till by far the leader last year... KH II and FFXII sold more than 5m copies worldwide unlike gears of war (w/c is a great game though) havent manage to top sales in europe and asia...so KudOs to SoNy and SquareEnix!!!

  • dkslade

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 5:56 pm PT

    yeah MADDEN sold 2.8,but then they were traded(sold). just look at the game store shelves.

  • strategyking92

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 4:49 pm PT

    if gears only had 4 more months to sell...

  • Baroncx

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 4:24 pm PT

    madden 07'? rofl.

  • jacko_goku69

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 3:50 pm PT

    People that by sport games dont know what they r doing. only fight night is a good sport game and footballs only good in real life. and this data is incorrect since pokemon diamond and pearl together sold 5 million copies

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 2:41 pm PT

    well it seems cars did awsome which is good news

  • AvIdGaMeR444

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 2:21 pm PT

    Madden outsells everything...teh casualz run the video game industry...

  • okassar

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 1:20 pm PT

    God,when will people learn that football is only fun in real-life!I can't believe this lol,Madden '07 had 2.8 million units sold....I would say Gears of War is the best game on that list.

  • Eagles5

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 12:35 pm PT

    Too bad madden sucks now adays. I hope madden fixes 2008 because this game has been going downhil ever since tehy got the rights to the NFL.

  • Vash67

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 12:09 pm PT

    You've got to feel embarressed for the companies that released great games early in the year. Like Edios with Tomb Raider Legend....

  • rene55

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 11:51 am PT

    dude 2K football on PS3 and 360? i seriously cant even imagine how amazing it could be or... will be? if its true that their cooking something up behind closed doors. it will most likely make madden squeal like the pigs they are... wait sry.. that was mean. anyways.. might as well give them the trophy for 2007 2008 2009 2010 and hell till ppl finally realize.. "hey! its the same game!?" cause no matter what comes out.. unless mario absolutley blows everyones flesh off madden will always sell faster than crack at an AA meeting...

  • StanleyL GameSpot staff member

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 11:22 am PT

    @Autokiller: These are numbers for US sales only. The number of 2 million was said to include worldwide sales.

  • crithon

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 11:19 am PT

    Jeff Gertsman said it best "if we collectively decided to give Madden poor reviews it would still be the best selling game."

  • mblsd8

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 11:16 am PT

    everybody who said the XBOX and PS2 were better are absolutely right. 360 sucked. I bought the game and maybe played a total of 5 hours. 360 sports don't have enough on them like the other consoles. Look at FIFA as well. maybe the problem with the disc size being used mainly for graphics is true since the games for other systems have more beef to them.

  • lewti27

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 10:49 am PT

    Madden is the same game every year. At what point are people going to get sick of the same game. What good is next-gen if they dont utilize the power, they should've had a better game. The 8mb buyers must of been the ones who never got screwed by getting the hdd for the ps2 wut a waste of $100.

  • Autokiller

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 10:25 am PT

    i thought just some while ago that GS told us that GoW sold 2 millions O.o

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 10:16 am PT

    i'll give madden a trophy......

  • 0dazubeN

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 10:01 am PT

    *Yawn* Yeah...I can picture all the over abusive glazed eyed fathers running to the local gamestop just to pretend to kick butt as the browns. Then him and his cow son go and buy the game for their other platforms....I prefer a more FUN game...like Blitz The League.

  • majestikk

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 9:51 am PT

    What do you expect? So many football fans with only one game to go to! Of course it will sell like that. To me the game feels decent, not great. Would it hurt to actually make some better steps toward improving game play, I mean you guys been at it for more than a few years, yet gameplay still feels rehashed.

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