Sign on Options
Theme: [Light Selected] To Dark»

Super Mario 3D Land sells 5 million, Skyward Sword 3.4 million

Nintendo's April-December sales recap reveals Mario Kart 7 sold 4.54 million, 3DS logs 3 million-unit sellers; Mario Kart Wii tops 30 million lifetime-to-date.

Nintendo may have failed to hit its sales expectations for the 3DS, but the device isn't without its success stories. As part of Nintendo's postearnings information dump, the publisher revealed three first-party games that easily topped the million-unit sales milestone.

Super Mario 3D Land topped the 3DS's sales charts through December, selling 5.03 million units worldwide. The portly plumber's latest outing arrived to a solid critical reception in November. December's Mario Kart 7 posted a close second with 4.54 million units sold, while June's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D sold 2.49 million units.

On the Wii, Nintendo saw a strong performance from Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Launched in late November, Link's latest action adventure sold 3.42 million units through December. That figure was good enough for a third-place finish on the Wii chart, behind Mario Kart Wii (4.91 million) and New Super Mario Bros. Wii (3.53 million).

Turning to the DS, Pokemon White/Black continued to put in solid numbers, topping the handheld's chart with a combined 2.91 million units sold. New Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart DS followed, with 1.87 million units and 1.26 million units sold, respectively.

A full list of Nintendo's million-unit sellers for the April-December period, as well as those games' lifetime-to-date tallies, can be found below.

3DS
Title / 2011 sales/ LTD sales
Super Mario 3D Land / 5.03 million / 5.03 million
Mario Kart 7 / 4.54 million / 4.54 million
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D / 2.49 million / 2.49 million

Wii
Title / 2011 sales/ LTD sales
Mario Kart Wii / 4.91 million / 31.91 million
New Super Mario Bros. Wii / 3.53 million / 25.47 million
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword / 3.42 million / 3.42 million
Wii Sports / 2.4 million / 79.16 million
Wii Sports Resort / 2.19 million / 29.87 million
Wii Party / 1.91 million / 7.68 million
Wii Fit Plus / 1.75 million / 20.24 million
Kirby's Return to Dream Land / 1.21 million / 1.21 million
Wii Play: Motion / 1.12 million / 1.12 million
Super Mario Galaxy / 1.09 million / 10.4 million

DS family
Title / 2011 sales/ LTD sales
Pokemon Black & White / 2.91 million / 14.42 million
New Super Mario Bros. / 1.87 million / 28.74 million
Mario Kart DS / 1.26 million / 22.30 million
*Professor Layton and the Last Specter / 1.19 million / 1.19 million
Kirby Mass Attack / 1.01 million / 1.01 million

*Sales figures do not include Japan.

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.

Post comment as twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest
inso-maniac 5 pts

i didnt like how short the levels were or how easy 90% of the game was. DOESNT MATTER THO! hopefully nintendo makes a mario game with an in depth level editor would be aweosme with online sharing that would be BAOS!

Wormkid_64 32 pts

@yoyou225 They need to make a gold dollar with Mario on one side,and Luigi,Yoshi,or Peach on the other.

yoyou225 5 pts

Well, looks like Mario still prints money. As he should.

da_chub 16 pts

So much hate towards such a great game. Zelda story hasnt changed for years because all that matters is its good vs evil. SS was a major step in how we play a video game, not to mention it was a great zelda game. i wish i could get SS controls on every other 3d zelda game.

xxxchris 5 pts

I enjoyed Skyward Sword. Alot actually; much more linear, but no less fun and intriguing story wise. Although I can easily see your faults with the game.

Jesushazluv 7 pts

@gc88: Indeed, it is Skyward Snore.

Wolflink001 6 pts

I know I'm somewhere in that 3.4 million! lol!

nintendoboy16 51 pts

And keep in mind, I was happy about the sales, I just remember a lot of people saying they weren't going to buy Nintendo's stuff anymore after when NoA said they have no plans of localizing those games.

Superzone 191 pts

I'm proud to say I contributed to the Mario Kart 7 and Mario 3D Land sales, but I am absolutely embarrassed to say that I have not yet purchased Skyward Sword. I need to get that very soon.

theKSMM 34 pts

Good grief! Those Mario titles are like having a money printing press! I understand what they mean by "evergreen" now.

ar6ra6sh9 14 pts

WOW!!!! nintendo really rocked the show!!!

godzillavskong 69 pts

Quick, everyone donate $1 to my Paypal acct. so I can get this game!!! lol I wish. Christmas broke me but I do want to get Skyward Swords bad! Maybe in the next few weeks.

Halloll 31 pts

Skyward sword, my personal game of the year.

WolfGrey 121 pts

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

renji4eva 5 pts

What mario sells well?! What a shocker![saracasm]

franzito 48 pts

Zelda and Mario ALWAYS sell good when it comes to tradition. I mean, as long as Mario keeps up with side scrolling and Link saves Zelda, there's nothing to go wrong with.

beny_pimpster 6 pts

hoho now thats what im talkin about

hatieshorrer 8 pts

@MachShot Thats funny because screwattack took a survey for best games released in 2011 and (Skyrim) was second wanna bet which one was first.

nintendoboy16 51 pts

Hmm. Skyward Sword sold better than I thought. I thought it was going to fail after the boycott that was called once Nintendo stated they had no plans of localizing Xenoblade (which IS coming out in April), Last Story, and Pandora's Tower to the US.

Pete5506 20 pts

Skyward Sword was great fun, keep the greatness coming Nintendo

dxBIGBOSSxb 21 pts

I'm not a Zelda fan, but hey. Good job guys. I may prefer Skyrim, but my best friend Drew loves Zelda games with a passion and good sales is good news for him. I'd rather see him happy than debate which is a better game.

dxdevilex0 18 pts

I wonder why SMG sold more than SMG2...though maybe it's because it's cheaper.And good to know that I'm one of the millions who bought all SM3DL,MK7,Skyward Sword,MKWii and Pokemon B&W. :)

Nzilla 18 pts

Loved to dust off my Wii and play Skyward sword. Too bad awesome hardcore games like this are few and far between these days. Expecting this to be the last Wii title I buy (before Wii U comes out)

moviequest14 141 pts

@MachShot : Thank you kindly..I was wondering when the Skyrim trolling comment would come up!

moviequest14 141 pts

I suppose now would be a good time to boast about how Mario and Zelda are dead?

Flint247 66 pts

Go Nintendo. :D Take note, other companies!

Master_Turismo 43 pts

Glad to be a part of that 3.4 million.

Sniper-Gamer 5 pts

I expected Skyward Sword to do better than that. I think the problem with Skyward Sword is because it is on the Wii. Not many core gamers play the Wii if they own one at all. I do and I'm loving Skyward Sword but it's sad to see the core gamers leave Nintendo. Will love to see the Wii U bring gamers back. And of course Mario does great again. Accessible and fun, the series has and always will be amazing.

BloodMist 28 pts

@Dumachum Thankfully not everyone in the world is as massively narrow minded as others.Not saying who.But honestly, Mario Kart isn't a real game?Shows your general ignorance.

barren167 5 pts

After (I think) four years of hype, Skyward Sword really had to have some fairly big numbers. Good to see that it did.

Dumachum 46 pts

Who the hell is buying this stuff? It's easy to put a face on the Call of Duty crowd. Obnoxious idiotic frat boys and 15 year olds. I know a ton of people with PS3's, 360's and the games. But who the hell is buying Mario Kart, Wii sports / fit, or any of this non gamer stuff much less the 30, 25, and 70 million copies? I don't know or have met a single person with any of these games much less someone with a Wii. Where do Nintendo keep getting these numbers?

Soothsayer42 8 pts

A lil bit shame most on the list is already out in the past years.

MachShot 5 pts

...but still can't beat Skyrim for unanimous Game of the Year across the internet communities. Pathetic, Nintendo.

SaltyMeatballs 12 pts

Impressive numbers. Bring out the quality games and they will sell themselves. 3DS doing well, doesn't even have a Pokemon game yet (a proper Pokemon game :P)

BloodMist 28 pts

Gotta love developers like Nintendo, their consistency of excellence is becoming ever a more rare thing all the time.

sman3579 6 pts

Congrats to Nintendo, especially to Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda.

WolfGrey 121 pts

@Supabal Cept as well known at this point, a lot of gamers are quite skeptical of the WiiU. Though it might sell because of the plague that is casual gaming.Just like the Wii.We all know if it wasn't for the casual gamer(soccer moms,families, and so on) the Wii would of done as well as the gamecube. Its motion deal,weight loss,and party games are what saved it. Not something i would ever brag about as a success to the system.

ArabrockermanX 14 pts

@Supabul Dont count on it. The Wii U will perform well but I dont see it topping the Wii's performance.

Supabul 21 pts

@mjc0961, thats why Nintendo only release one Mario Kart for each new system they just keep selling Wii U is going to be the biggest selling console of all time

mjc0961 108 pts

Mario Kart DS sold 1.26 million this year?! Holy crap.

motang 5 pts

Those are some hefty numbers! Skyward Sword isn't as good at Twilight Princess, though it is a good game, it could have been better.

ekalbtwin 8 pts

But, but, but the internetz told me Skyward Sword was a sales flop lol.

ShadowofSonic 42 pts

Skyward Sword was a small letdown... But Mario 3D land is great!

Conversation powered by Livefyre

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

  • New Star Wars game coming to E3

    New Star Wars game coming to E3 Thumbnail

    LucasArts to offer first look at new project May 31 on Spike, with gameplay debut slated for June 4 during annual Los Angeles tradeshow. Full Story

    • Posted May 25, 2012 1:14 pm PT
  • Reckoning dev lays off entire staff - Report

    Reckoning dev lays off entire staff - Report Thumbnail

    [UPDATE]: Source says beleaguered 38 Studios and Big Huge Games sent out pink slips to all employees, believed to number close to 400. Rhode Island governor calls Kingdoms of Amalur a "failure." Full Story

    • Posted May 24, 2012 1:59 pm PT
  • Skyrim adds mounted combat

    Skyrim adds mounted combat Thumbnail

    Update now live for PC version of latest Elder Scrolls title that allows players to do melee and ranged damage while on a horse; console release TBA. Full Story

    • Posted May 25, 2012 7:04 am PT
  • Diablo III servers not hacked - Blizzard

    Diablo III servers not hacked - Blizzard Thumbnail

    Dev says number of reported potential account compromises "extremely small," real money auction house delayed again; working "around the clock" to address issues. Full Story

    • Posted May 24, 2012 1:30 pm PT
  • Xbox 360 should be banned in US, says judge

    Xbox 360 should be banned in US, says judge Thumbnail

    [UPDATE] ITC judge recommends US import ban on 4GB and 250GB Xbox 360 slim consoles amid ongoing patent dispute with Motorola; Microsoft confident board will rule in its favor. Full Story

    • Posted May 23, 2012 7:17 am PT

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!