Nintendo logs 26 million-plus sellers

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Good work Nintendo! Keep going strong!

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

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: 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.

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.

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.

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

@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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Good job Nintendo.

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

Nintendo = Casual Gamer's Paradise

cool.

Improving the Wii's graphics SHOULD BE on the bottom of that developing list. The graphics are fine. I'm wondering what the Gamespot staff are feeling about Nintendo's high sales.

Well, now that my second xbox 360 (halo edition) got the red ring, I've been playing the Wii again. It's pretty fun and all, but just way too casual. They need better graphics power to keep up with all of us used to the PS3/360 generation.

Long live the PS2!

hell with the amount of money that Nintendo is making.... they better be making good games.

Nintendo just doesn't seem to understand that, just because billions of people buy their system, doesn't mean that they're playing it as obsessively as they make it out to be.

An interesting statistic would be how many of those consoles have actually been used in the past 6 months. I've turned mine on once since the summer. Just saying lol.

@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.

wow... wii fit sold more than anything chuck norris has ever endorsed for excersize

Wow. When they said that "IT PRINTS MONEY!!!," they weren't kidding.

LOL, I love these stories, gets all the little Fanboys angry, Sony and M$ would love to have the big N's sales and I'm pretty sure they would rather have 3 - 88 year olds playing their games rather than 14 - 40 year old playing them. They all only care about sales and it does not matter who makes the games, Sony makes hardly any of the games on the PS3 and M$ only a few more, yet the Big N gets knocked for making good games for its own system. For me, that just sounds like good business.

nintendo stat rankers are a joke. lets say "halo vs Sport" sales comparison to eye ball what sold better. truely should disqualify "Sport" because its included as the CONSOLE PRICE. Really none of the Sport sold on its independent SKU. Most people looking for an extra controller got "Play" bundled. Cheap marketing points. Yes, Nintendo sold well, but proganda like this is bull.

Nintendo is god, enuff said.

wow. with all the money they r making their next console may be on the xbox and ps3 league... although that would be to bad. my parents dont let my little brother play ps3 or xbox games... (not the bestones) to gory. thats the cool thing about nintendo.. everyone can play their games and have fun

with all the money nintendo is raking in with the wii and its games..... there next system better be KICK A$$

Would it be ok to ask nintendo for a bail out. they seem to have more money than our own government.

I love my Wii you can be casual or hardcore. Games will soon come for it, but it still has A list games like Zelda Twighlight Princess, Mario Galaxy, and Super Smash Bros Brawl! Its also cheaper friendly to the economy even though I have all 3 systems. Anyhow who's getting Killzone 2!

good for you nintendo

OMG ... most of the best selling games are made by Nintendo himself ....

Nintendo definitely played their cards right this time. Through both the DS and the Wii they appeal to virtually all age brackets and demographics. It's easy to see why they're so successful when there are plenty of Nintendogs games to attract the younger crowd and a couple of Brain Age games to pull in the adults. Moreover, I can't ever recall seeing people separated by 2 generations or more playing a X360 or PS3 together, but I did enjoy watching my 4-year old defeat his 74-year old great grandpa by 70 pins in Wii bowling.

im not surprised it does shows that nintendo is the original gaming company ever go nintendo.

Wow, it turns out that Nintendos strategy is reaping rewards.Wii FTW

I'm not surprised at all this news. Nintendo really knows its stuff this generation. Glad they've rebounded like this. Now if only I had enough extra money to buy a Wii...

Wii is the only next gen console to buy. Game companies like Capcom should start creating their top games like Street Fighter IV for it as they did with the Super NES. This most likely will increase their profits due to the Wii's user base and popularity of the Street Fighter II being on nintendo console first.

I've actually been thinking lately about how fun Wii sports golf was. I think I'll have to dust off the Wii Sports disc.

wii sports is pretty fun

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Wii is the only next-gen console i could conidering buying, 1st it's very casual and socia, 2nd almost everybody likes it and you can have fun with more, 3rd it's cheap 5th, who doesn't like Nintendo with mario and all the fun sh!t that follows.

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i play my wii everyday (wii fit at least) however they havent really had a solid game release for a long time, having completely skipped the holiday season. however they can do this, because they are still the number one selling console by far, and mario kart, released last spring, was the top seller of the past holidays. again this spring looks to have a lot of promising titles for the wii. tenchu and madworld are looking good so far, among others, while apart from res evil 5, the next gen consoles dont seem to have any really solid games in the near future, having thrown out so many titles during the pre-holiday, and holiday season, great games like far cry 2 became overshadowed. basically nintendo is showing that they dont have to follow the standard release cycles, and can march to the beat of their own drum. which would be a lot cooler if wii music didnt suck.