Wii Sports becomes bestselling game of all time
Wii Sports has unofficially become the bestselling video game of all time, overtaking the original Super Mario Bros. into second place in the process. Man, I wish this day would never come.
Wii Sports is a game (I think), although Don Reisinger doesn’t seem to think so, that comes bundled with the bestselling Nintendo Wii. So no surprise then that the game has rapidly climbed the charts as one of the bestselling titles of all time. But to see it knock a classic slice of gaming heaven such as Super Mario Bros. off the top spot is kind of depressing.
This isn’t yet official, with the sometimes dubious figures of VGChartz being used to compile the list. But I’m pretty sure the figures are close to accurate on this occasion. Which means that a game which really only exists to show off the Wii and offer some lighthearted relief at parties is the most popular game of all time.
The Top 10 Bestselling Games Of All Time
1. Wii Sports (Wii) – 40.52m
2. Super Mario Bros (NES) – 40.24m
3. Pokemon Red/Green/Blue (Game Boy) – 31.38m
4. Tetris (Game Boy) – 30.26m
5. Duck Hunt (NES) – 28.31m
6. Pokemon Gold/Silver, (Game Boy) – 23.11m
7. Nintendogs (DS) – 21.37m
8. Super Mario World (SNES) – 20.61m
9. Wii Play (Wii) – 19.68m
10. Super Mario Land (Game Boy) – 18.14m
Wii Sports rise to the top has taken just 110 weeks, and in that time, Nintendo has shipped in excess of 40 million copies of the game. Impressive but not difficult when the game is bundled with the Wii in every country except Japan and South Korea.
But just take a look at that top 10. Can you spot something undeniably brilliant? Yes, that’s right, every single game is a Nintendo property. They cover platforms including the NES, SNES, Game Boy, DS, and Wii and all, without exception come from the Japanese gaming giant. The first non-Ninty game is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PS2 at number 12, and the first from this generation is Halo 3 on the Xbox 360 in 38th place!
This result shows a few things. Firstly, Nintendo is clearly doing something right and has been for quite some time. Also, it pays to bundle a game with a console, because Wii Sports now has its place in history assured. That’s on top of also being declared the best game ever by a national British newspaper.
I might not appreciate the Wii very much but there are a hell of a lot of people out there who do, and their purchasing decision has not only catapulted the Wii to the top of the tree but taken Wii Sports up there with it. Like it or not, the little Wii is changing the industry from the inside out.
Related Posts:
18 Responses to “Wii Sports becomes bestselling game of all time”
Leave a Reply:
You must be logged in to post a comment. Don't have an account? Register today!
January 5th, 2009
What’s amazing of course is that Nintendo hardly ever boast about what is an undeniably amazing feat.
They make both Microsoft and (to a lesser extent) Sony look childish with their pot-shots at each other.
But on the other hand, “Duck Hunt” sold more copies than games like San Andreas and Halo…?
I know it’s a different era, but come on…
January 5th, 2009
This is a dark day in history. I think its fair to say we’re on a par with the assasination of JFK/Martin luther king, 9/11 and the death of Princess Diana. Lets say a slient prayer for hardcore gaming, R.I.P, Good night sweet prince =[
January 5th, 2009
Notice also that list of titles are almost all playable on Wii for those that do not have all those consoles and handhelds. I think at one point some of those titles were bundled with their respective consoles as well.
January 5th, 2009
I dunno,
I’m happy for Nintendo, but should bundled games like that really be included? Sony should turn around and say the memory card manager for ps2 was really a game!
Best selling game of all time – Memory card manager for ps2…
Dumb comparison. But oh well.
January 5th, 2009
lock_down,
remember, duckhunt was packaged with the original Nintendo. That would account for most of its sales I would guess. Imagine if a game had been packaged with every single PS2. Some crappy game. Then we would see a really crappy game on the top of that list, and it would probly be there forever.
January 5th, 2009
Ah, true.
January 5th, 2009
lock_down,
It is a different era, and I believe duck hunt was package with a console at one point.
Bourne,
That’s funny, I think I heard something like that when console games were taking over computer games, when Sony took the fore with PSX, when Sega challenged Nintendo with the Genesis, when Nintendo came in with NES, after the Atari 2600 fallout…
Anyway, Sports is packaged with the console that appeals to the most gamers (gamers here = fans of the classics from several past consoles and Nintendo franchises) and non-gamers combined (not to mention all those old/young/fitness/family/education oriented people), which is why it is doing so well; it has happened in the past, “and it will all happen again” so to speak.
January 5th, 2009
what the fuck Dave… THAT WAS MY STORY!!!
now I deserve compensation… or I swear to gawd Im gonna hire kev and sue your ass… yeah… that will teach you…
Ill settle for a Killzone 2 beta code… muahahahahaha
January 5th, 2009
Lol DWH, how many times… Killzone beta ended last year.
January 5th, 2009
NO NO!!!! THATS NOT TRUE!!!
January 6th, 2009
“This is a dark day in history”
You aren’t kidding. The top selling PS3 games is GTAIV at 88 and it sold 800k less than Pokemon Pinball for the Game Boy.
January 6th, 2009
I think that may have to do with the fact that the PS3 is so popular and has been on the market for so long. The Game Boy might have been a little less expensive than a PS3 as well.
January 6th, 2009
*reads the article, sheds a tear, and dies a little inside*
January 6th, 2009
I’m in utter shock. This cannot be true. The Best selling games are on Nintendo. I’ll give Mario some respect but Wii Sports just does not deserve this position. I guess the kids Rule over Hardcore gamers.
January 6th, 2009
Claim Memory card manager is a game…I like it
Sony should also claim that XMB is game.
A game of trial and error trying to find the right menu…
January 6th, 2009
*Throws furniture around the room* that’s bullshit man!
January 6th, 2009
Hardly surprising it’s the best selling game…..??
It’s sold with the wii. Wii sells in the crap loads, so does the game.
LOL at Harry.
January 10th, 2009
“the kids Rule over Hardcore gamers”
spot on CAD.