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New Super Mario Bros. Wii sales near 10.5 million

Modern-day redux of classic platformer sells over 3 million units in Japan, nearly 3 million in EU, and more than 4.5 million in North America.

There was no question that New Super Mario Bros. Wii was going to be popular. Its fan base was prebuilt, with millions having played its forbearer, Super Mario Bros., in the 1980s. Besides helping launch the NES platform, the original title also spawned a series of sequels. The most recent spin-off, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, has remained so popular since its 2006 launch that it made NPD's monthly US top 10 bestseller list several times in 2009.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is Nintendo's latest money-minter.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is Nintendo's latest money-minter.

Now, Japanese news service Nikkei (subscription required) is reporting figures from industry-research group Enterbrain, which show exactly how popular New Super Mario Bros. Wii is. The four-person-multiplayer, 3D-side-scroller has sold nearly 10.5 million units in just over two months. In North America, over 4.5 million units have been picked up since it launched November 15. In Europe, where the game debuted November 20, sales are nearing 3 million. In Japan, over 3 million units have been purchased since the platformer's arrival in stores December 3.

Besides reporting sales figures, Nikkei made the claim that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is "the fastest title in history to attain [the 10 million unit] mark." However, the claim seems inaccurate when compared to sales figures of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The console editions of Activision's multiplatform military shooter, which went on sale November 10 worldwide, sold 8.82 million units in the US alone in just over a month and a half. It has since gone on to gross over $1 billion.

169 Comments

  • paperpower3

    Posted Feb 8, 2010 7:09 pm GMT

    You know, I've noticed GS seems to like PS3 and Xbox games more than Wii. Why's that?
    Anyways, NINTENDO RULES!!!!!!

  • ricardo-sene

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 10:31 am GMT

    Given the extended popularity Nintendo games can keep for months - and even years - this game will still sell a lot...

  • notserbamma

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 9:32 am GMT

    for those of you who keep saying kids today care about Mario.....man every board I've been on about this game has kids thinking this game is a LITTLE BIG PLANET clone...come on now. Generation gap, for real.

  • wahyudil

    Posted Jan 29, 2010 2:03 am GMT

    I never played the original one .... this is indeed worth buy ...

  • Tamat2009

    Posted Jan 27, 2010 11:20 am GMT

    @ Dualmask

    But then GS would have to admit that popular games on the Wii are selling better than PS3 games solely because the games are MORE POPULAR with the masses than the PS3 titles... and we all know GS would rather die than do that.

    -T-

  • Dualmask

    Posted Jan 27, 2010 6:59 am GMT

    "Modern-day redux of classic platformer"...can't GS just call it Nintendo's latest Mario game? It's not a quick cash-in, it's not a port, it's not a simplistic creation meant to appeal to nostalgia... New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a.k.a. Super Mario Bros. 5, is a full, proper Wii game release and deserves to be acknowledged as such by the gaming media.

    At least gamers acknowledge that with their wallets, and that's more than enough.

  • cejay0813

    Posted Jan 27, 2010 5:23 am GMT

    Hell I believe it. I bought one and a wii this past holiday season. It was worth it.

  • maxgil2

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 9:36 pm GMT

    hehehe ..this game is fun as in multiplayer - as long as you don't take it seriously (you can do that in single player) ...played 3 players it was very hectic & crazy as..

  • LordRaymond

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 9:01 pm GMT

    Hm oh well gj Nintendo even though with your remakes. I guess anything that is on Wii will sell at least 1million copies.

  • pip_boy_3000

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 5:45 pm GMT

    I love this game :] (still not as good as Super Mario World, but the 4-player is a nice little gimmick)

  • hatieshorrer

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 4:59 pm GMT

    @Paladin_King

    You do realize that Muramasa was rereleased in Japan as part of an Everyone’s Recommendation Selection series of games on the Wii.

    Maybe you can also explain the sales of NSM on the DS.

  • slyfox_28

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 2:56 pm GMT

    @ darth-sithious

    Yeah I know what you mean, and there seem to be quite a lot of them on this site. And these are the guys who call themselves "hardcore".

  • Zathic

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 2:31 pm GMT

    @dumfanboys15 - Yeah that's what I said except I just said Modern Warfare instead of Modern Warfare 1

  • darth-sithious

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 1:27 pm GMT

    Sorry about the spelling ....HAS should be HAVE ...oops , use spell check next time .

  • darth-sithious

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 1:24 pm GMT

    It seems to me that no matter what nintendo does , all the ANTI-nintendo fan boys HAS to trash it . even when nintendo does very well .

  • Madrak_Arakeen

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 12:54 pm GMT

    Yeah, I'm up to World 7, and tried 2-player gaming with my brother while he was visiting from up North. I tell you, it is fun. I'd like to see how crazy it gets with 4.

    Grats, Nintendo! Keep rocking the old school!

    Hmm...now all I need is Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and I'm set.

  • Dualmask

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 12:39 pm GMT

    It wasn't until I got this game for my Wii that I came to realize that I never really liked 3D Mario games. I never got through Mario 64, barely beat Sunshine with the minimum number of shines, and I abandoned Galaxy out of boredom too. I mean, they're well-made games, but I just never had a strong interest in them.

  • SicklySunStorm

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 12:02 pm GMT

    Very good game, but not a patch on Galaxy....

  • capitalthoughts

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 10:17 am GMT

    Love the 3-D mario games. I think Super Mario Galaxy was the best Mario game since Super Mario Bros 3. However, there is a special kind of magic that can only be found in the 2-D Mario games. You feel it when you play it, and you miss it when you stop playing it.

  • auron11022

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 9:52 am GMT

    Its a pretty good game... Not amazing though.

  • slyfox_28

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 9:45 am GMT

    @Luigi12901

    Absolutely! That contest was a sham for so many reason that i'm not going to even get into it. In my opinion, GS knew exactly what they were doing.

  • Luigi12901

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 9:37 am GMT

    Not surprising to me, given the immense popularity of Mario. Does this mean that the Greatest Videogame Hero contest got it waay wrong? =O

  • feryl06

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 9:09 am GMT

    awesome game. I'm stuck/frustrated at the last level with Bowser chasing ya, but still lovin it.

  • slyfox_28

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 8:54 am GMT

    @cheetahman91

    I have to respectfully disagree with you on the final boss. Compared to SMB3 final boss, this one was much better due to the fact that you truly get your SMB skills put to the test. If you remember in 3, you just have to basically make Bowser dig his own grave, while in NSMBWii one simple mistake and thats it, you're starting over. To my knowledge now other SMB game really made you test your skills like that. I kinda glad it wasn't just a "stomp on the head 3 to 6 times, you win" type of situation. But to each his own.

  • cheetahman91

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 8:23 am GMT

    Holy Cow! Anyways this is a fantastic game, but the final boss battle was rather disappointing. Multiplayer mode is only recommended for goofing around on, or else you'll hate it like me.

  • fredwv

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 8:06 am GMT

    it's a decent game. kids will like it.

  • grasshopper6

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 7:44 am GMT

    yes yes wii want more 2d mario games, give us more

  • TripSe7en

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 7:41 am GMT

    Kudos to Nintendo for making a game that could possibly surpass SMB3 as one of the best games made. Simple; yes. Revolutionary; no, Fun as hell; Absolutley!

  • isaacmj

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 7:07 am GMT

    I wish the same luck for Galaxy 2

  • AdamDelacroix

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 6:52 am GMT

    Gratz to mario. I am a sony fan all the way, and I hate the Wii but gratz anyways.

  • brian_13un

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 5:19 am GMT

    Great

  • efunk25

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 5:17 am GMT

    Playing this single player is fun but I just can't take the multi-player. You spend more time accidentally killing each other than you do helping to get through the levels.

  • Harerazer

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 4:08 am GMT

    The people who don't like this game, and Wii games in general, are always the people who DON'T EVEN HAVE A WII. It's amazing that you can complain about a product or service you're not going to buy. That would be like me complaining about tampons or douchebags (which really means the posters hating on this game).

  • daabulls23

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 4:04 am GMT

    Played this over at my friends house with 4 players...so much fun and craziness!

  • finaleve

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 1:52 am GMT

    @ buffdaddy69
    Have you actually played this game? Seriously, get even 2 of your friends in on the game and its a blast. We played for less than an hour and beat the game, but the amount of fun running through each level trying to mess each other up is insane.
    Where is it Nintendo's fault that the 3rd party developers aren't supporting them? Nintendo is pumping out games that show how well the console is, and the developers aren't seeing the support from the fanbase and ignore it. Maybe if the fanbase themselves ignore the fact that graphics are everything and see that the point of gaming is to PLAY THE GAME and HAVE FUN (there can competitive games but not every game has to be, as I do play competitive from time to time, even in competitions). I've picked up most of nintendo's games (Mario, Zelda, Metroid...the core games that I've known to love) and still will continue that. They still make those games...in case you forgot.

    Glad to see this game take off the way it did. Co-op was amazing and I hope they keep it up. Only complaint is that they should have used other characters instead of 2 toads...or at least make use of Daisy.

  • zyxomma100

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 1:50 am GMT

    Of course he should care if people are buying a game he doesn't like. It's persuading developers (well, Nintendo) to make even more games he doesn't like.

  • Tamat2009

    Posted Jan 26, 2010 12:34 am GMT

    @buffdaddy69

    Well, I guess we can also ask the morons who buy COD4 and GTA4 the same question. Sure those series haven't been around as long as Mario, but give them another 10 years. Perhaps in GTA15 we can be the manager of the local retirement home. Won't that be exciting? Prune smoothies for everyone!

    And again, why should you care? Does it matter that lots of people like a game you don't like? No one's forcing you to buy this game if you don't want to, and it's not like Mario is running for president of the free world though game sales. So really, why does it bother you so much that other people find joy out of a game you don't like?

    -T-

  • severe_009

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 11:50 pm GMT

    Wow, I didn't expect this. Way to go Mario.

  • devildothack

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 11:14 pm GMT

    Well..you can't really compete NSMB WII against COD2 when it comes to sales. One is rated E and the other is rated T..on top of that two completely different games targeted to very different audiences. If that ain't enough, also NSMB is only for ONE console while COD2 totals are from both 360/ps3..in my opinion both games are great to play and owned, and deserved all the rewards from their respective target audience...

  • JUSTBLAZE_928

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 11:02 pm GMT

    This game actually has me contemplating on whether i should get a Wii based on Nostalgia.

  • -Fromage-

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 10:56 pm GMT

    Mario can still deliver.

  • RockySquirrel

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 10:44 pm GMT

    Well this means that millions and millions of people are better at Super Mario than me! Dang those nasty turtle-bosses! Here we go again!

  • chappy_man

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 10:40 pm GMT

    hmmmm, might be a bit off but i know this game did well

  • Cwagmire21

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 10:35 pm GMT

    One of my favorite Mario games in a long time. Keep it up Nintendo.

  • Kyanzaki

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 10:16 pm GMT

    When you think of it...NSMBWii is one of the greatest games for the Wii so far. I also understand why so many people believe that a game like this...SUCKS! We live in a world where we want eye candy (phenomenal graphics) and online trash talk rule with an iron fist, where this "hardcore gamer" generation rather stay in their rooms, play MMOFPS (Massive Multiplayer Online First Person Shooters) and the thrill of hurting people's feelngs is cool. Coming from an old generation (NES/SNES/Genesis) it seems that when a company brings shovelware on the Wii, these hardcore fanboys whine about it, same thing goes with a perfectly good Wii game. They just hate it that a p!$$ poor system is doing better than their kick a$$ system. Grow the f@

  • mayankahuja

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 10:10 pm GMT

    thats cool

  • Paladin_King posted Jan 25, 2010 9:43 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Paladin_King

    Posted Jan 25, 2010 9:43 pm GMT (hide)

    I kind of wonder if one of the reasons NSMB sold so ridiculously well was simply due to a lack of competition.

    There were really no big games for the WII other than NSMB in the entire second half of 2010, and aside from Muramasa, no quality games either.

    I mean, Wii owners had to get SOMETHING for Christmas, right?

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