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Japan's six top-selling Wii games are ...

by David Hinkle { May 20th 2008 at 2:00PM }

Oh, Japan, how we love you. And you love us back simply by existing. Mecca for gamers, the country has more video games than Halle Berry has bad post-Oscar career choices. Every gaming nerd on the planet would love to live there.

So, what Wii games do the Japanese public enjoy most? Well, it's not that surprising this list of the six top-selling Wii titles in Japan. But, we know how much you all love this kind of data, so without further delay, let's get to the numbers!

The Wii's six top-selling games in Japan are:

Wii Sports - 2,979,275 units sold total
Wii Play - 2,368,967 units sold total
Wii Fit - 2,038,730 units sold total
Smash Bros. Brawl - 1,620,119 units sold total
Mario Party 8 - 1,254,542 units sold total
Mario Kart Wii - 1,227,169 units sold total

All first-party titles. Big shocker there!

Do you enjoy obsessing over sales data? Well, we've got you covered. Our monthly reports on the U.S. figures appear courtesy of NPD, and we also cover the weekly sales figures from Japan and several countries in Europe. Odds are, we're covering the beat where you live, so check out what folks are buying!

Wii serves over 5 million in Japan

by David Hinkle { Jan 23rd 2008 at 12:00PM }

In little over 60 weeks, the Wii console has managed to sell over 5 million units in its home territory of Japan. As impressive as this is, it falls short of the DS, which achieved sales figures of this nature in 56 weeks. But, the Wii did manage to beat the PS2, which cracked the 5 million mark after 66 weeks on the market.

A system is only so good as its games though, right? Well, in Japan the games pushing the Wii are Wii Sports (2.6 million copies sold as of now), Wii Play (2.1 million copies sold as of now), Mario Party 8 ( 1.1 million copies sold as of now) and Wii Fit (1.1 million copies sold as of now). Super Mario Galaxy comes in fifth place in the country, only selling a total of 843,961 copies.

simExhange: Wii Play will be top selling 'software' during Wii's lifetime

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 9th 2008 at 7:00PM }

Analyst Jesse Divnich of prediction market simExchange projects Wii Play will become the top selling piece of Nintendo Wii "software" over the console's lifetime. Divnich believes Wii Play will finish with approximately 20 million units sold, while Super Smash Bros Brawl grabs the number two spot with an expected 13.95 million units sold. Wii Play's classification as software has been the source of mental chafing considering its main selling point is the bundled Wiimote in the $50 "game" (making the the actual game $10 after the Wiimote's normal $40 price is deducted).

Although the NPD numbers for December still aren't public, Divnich believes the Nintendo Wii sold 1.8 million units and the Nintendo DS broke a sales record with 2.9 million units sold -- currently the PS2 holds a December record of 2.6 million units sold during 2002. Divnich's piece of advice is that American publishers need to work outside the industry's status quo to get a hold of the "astonishing success" Nintendo is currently experiencing.

September NPD: It finally happened

by David Hinkle { Oct 19th 2007 at 11:15AM }

Turns out, one man's prediction was correct, as the Wii was finally knocked off its throne in September, thanks to Halo 3. We know, if you need to take a moment, we understand. We are shocked and saddened here at Wii Fanboy Estates, as we lay in the fetal position in a puddle of our own tears, only breaking away to make the occasional blog post.

Without further ado, let's look at the hardware figures:

Microsoft Xbox 360: 527.8K (6.8 million total)
Nintendo Wii: 501K (4.5 million total)
Nintendo DS: 495.8K (13.2 million total)
Sony PlayStation 2: 215K (39.3 million total)
Sony PSP: 284.5K (8.6 million total)
Sony PlayStation 3: 119.4K (1.87 million total)

Be sure to hit the break for the list of top-selling software titles.

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Famitsu publisher says 67% of Wii owners aren't playing

by Kevin Kelly { Oct 16th 2007 at 12:27PM }

Are you reading this on your Wii right now? Have you fired it up and played anything lately? According to Famitsu, almost seven out of ten Wii owners aren't using the system at all, which seems like a fairly high number. This came out in a report from Enterbrain President (and Famitsu publisher) Hirokazu Hamamura which was praising Nintendo and citing big things ahead, especially for the DS platform, which he predicts will have 30 million units in Japan in 2009.

However, it makes it hard to understand how the Wii will continue to be a success if the majority of people who bought one aren't playing it. He goes on to say that part of the problem is that the Wii hasn't had a second hit that was as big as Wii Sports. In other words, he's calling the Wii a novelty. A fad that is starting to wear thin. Remember how big Tamagotchis were? If not, then we've just dated ourselves, but if so, then you'll probably also remember how quickly they vanished after they rolled in.

While he cites the attention that Wii Fit is getting, and the coming (sometime) Monster Hunter 3, we'd like to know what sort of a polling system they're using to get these numbers. It seems like these figures are pure speculation at best. We'll start our own very unofficial Joystiq poll:

Average U.S. Wii owner has 2.2 Wiimotes

by David Hinkle { Sep 19th 2007 at 2:15PM }

Analyzing NPD numbers, it's come to light that those who've purchased a Wii own an average of 2.2 Wiimotes. Personally, we were content with just two Wiimotes when we got our own system. What's weird, though, is that only around 21% of the Wiimotes sold come with Wii Play, while around 34% were purchased just as the base accessory.

How many Wiimotes do you own?

[Via Infendo]

August NPD: The view from on high

by Alisha Karabinus { Sep 14th 2007 at 1:35PM }

Even in a month when hardware sales are down, Nintendo's Straight Up Success bus just keeps on rolling. Let's hope this keeps on challenging Iwata and company to avoid "doing the easy." Even the re-priced Xbox 360 couldn't compete with the Nintendo juggernaut.

Nintendo Wii: 403K
Nintendo DS: 383K
Microsoft Xbox 360: 277K
Sony PS2: 202K
Sony PSP: 151K
Sony PS3: 131K

In software, however, the story was different. After Metroid Prime 3's moment in the spotlight, Bioshock's longer release window won out between those two. Nintendo games barely even struggled into the top five, with Wii Play and its extra controller snapping up that spot. Madden, which is its own juggernaut, dominated sales last month. To see the top ten titles, slip past the break.

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Is Wii fever wearing off?

by Alisha Karabinus { Jul 25th 2007 at 4:50PM }

Here in the armchair analyst era, every slight change in sales trends seems to have become reason for panic, or at least in-depth discussion. Thus, when Gamasutra released the above chart as part of their NPD analysis, the rumblings began. Are Wii sales dropping off? Is there some truth in Dave Perry's recent doom-saying about the future of the Wii? Here's our question: can we really discern anything other than current sales numbers from this chart? For a variety of reasons, we'll say no.

This sales chart takes only that very thing into account: sales. While it's a great analytical tool for tracking said sales, we would caution anyone from drawing too many conclusions about market trends from hardware sales only. From this, of course, certain things can be extrapolated; US sales of anything and everything tend to drop in the pre-tax day period, but consoles are still riding a holiday wave of demand in January and February. In months when a particular console surges, there was probably a hotly-desired game driving those sales. But all of that is guesswork if we're only working with pure sales numbers -- in order to truly analyze what's going on, we have to look at a variety of factors.

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June NPD: Nintendo continues to power the industry

by Alisha Karabinus { Jul 24th 2007 at 2:15PM }

Another month means another win for Nintendo. Really, we're not sure what else to say. At this point, we think the only way we could turn this around from a more-of-the-same announcement is if we could convince Reggie to tap dance on a platform made from the fragments of defeated consoles.

So, without further ado, let us reveal the specifics of Nintendo's victory. Hint: they sold more than the other guys. Again.

Nintendo DS: 561.9k
Nintendo Wii: 381.8k
Sony PSP: 290.1k
Sony PS2: 270.7k
Microsoft Xbox 360: 198.4k
Sony PS3: 98.5k

The other guys do seem to be holding their own in sales, however. Everyone may still be scrabbling for Wii remotes with Wii Play, and we continue to be a Pokémon nation, but a few other titles continue to dominate the middle spots. We're okay with that. We like variety, even if the sales charts don't reflect that. They do seem an awful lot like last month's, eh?

Mario Party 8 (Wii)
Wii Play w/remote (Wii)
Pokémon Diamond (DS)
Pokémon Pearl (DS)
Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
Guitar Hero II w/guitar (PS2)
Guitar Hero II w/guitar (Xbox 360)
Pokémon Battle Revolution (Wii)
Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
The Darkness (Xbox 360)

[Thanks, TrojanDan!]

Rockstar Table Tennis backhands over to Wii

by Jared Rea { Jul 18th 2007 at 8:35AM }

The nightmare of living in a Wii Play world of ping pong is almost to an end as Rockstar has announced that their Xbox 360 darling, Table Tennis, will be making its way over to Nintendo's world of waggle.

As light on information as it gets, Rockstar's release is but a simple announcement and assurance that this will take -- say it along with us now -- full advantage of the Wii remote and its unique features. Okay, Rockstar founder Sam Houser really said, "a new audience can now experience a game that is beautifully designed and impossible to put down," but we know what he meant.

With a release planned for this Fall, we can only hope that we have enough time to make our way over to Japan and learn those secret paddle positions we've heard so much about.

May NPD: Nintendo still on top, industry sales up 49%

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jun 14th 2007 at 7:52PM }

The latest US video game sales data, as compiled by the NPD group, indicates that the popularity of Nintendo's delightful money-printing machines shows no sign of, well, change. The DS and its host of pocket monsters dominated hardware and software sales in May, a month marked by a 49% increase in overall industry sales to $815.5 million. GameDaily BIZ reports that the considerable rise was due in part to console hardware sales climbing 79% to $221.4 million.

The NPD has not yet provided a complete breakdown of hardware sales per platform, but the initial sales ranking gives more than enough food for thought. Sony's PSP grabs the number three spot behind the DS and Wii, trumping the PS2, the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Perhaps that early April price drop is paying off.

We'll add the exact sales numbers into the ranking below as soon as they become available. As always, you'll find the software's top ten after the break.

Nintendo DS: 423K
Nintendo Wii: 338K
Sony PSP: 221K
Sony PlayStation 2: 187K
Microsoft Xbox 360: 155K
Sony PlayStation 3: 81K

[Update: additional numbers added from a Bloomberg report.]

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Wii Play parody includes seal clubbing, drive by shooting

by John Bardinelli { May 28th 2007 at 2:30PM }

Bored with the Wii versions of table tennis, golf, and baseball? The folks at Loading.Ready.Run were, so they decided to create mock-ups for several "rejected" Wii Play games. Write your name in the snow in Wii-Pii, grab a harpoon and hunt whales, then perform a perfect Cii-Section! After you finish clubbing seals and blasting haters in WiiDriveby, keep your Wii remote wrist warm for Female Pleasure (hint: it's not what you think). Click the 'read' link below to give it a gander. [Note: The video is probably NSFW due to sexual innuendo, animated urination, and a short scene of vacuuming.]

[Via Engadget]

Happy funtime Memorial Day video: Rejected Wii Play minigames

by Jason Wishnov { May 28th 2007 at 12:00PM }

A caution to our readers: anyone with a conscience or refined sense of humor may want to stay far away from the above video, which features a host of "rejected" Wii Play minigames to hilarious effect. It even includes Ribbon Dancing Revolution, which we called back in August of '06. The excellent reproduction of the Mii's simplistic style is alone worth the price of admission, so go ahead, click on the play button.

We're not watching.

[via GoNintendo]

NPD: March belongs to DS, PS2

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Apr 19th 2007 at 9:45PM }

The sheer anticipation that builds up around the NPD Group's monthly video game sales data is like an immense fanboy volcano just waiting to erupt. Predictions are made, forum wars are waged and in the end, some worshippers are left in agony as the facts (here represented by hot molten lava) eat away at their pale flesh. But on to cooler topics -- total industry sales are up by 33%!

The detailed GameDaily BIZ report reveals that total hardware sales rose by 69% in March to $370 million. Of that, console hardware raked in $257 million, making for an increase of 93%. NPD analyst Anita Frazier calls it an "outstanding month," though some console manufacturers might not share that particular sentiment. The North American console sales for March are as follows:

Nintendo DS: 508K
Sony PlayStation 2: 280K
Nintendo Wii: 259K (2.1 million total)
Microsoft Xbox 360: 199K (5.3 million total)
Sony PSP: 180k
Nintendo Game Boy Advance: 148K
Sony PlayStation 3: 130K (1.2 million total)
Nintendo Gamecube: 22K
Microsoft Xbox: N/A

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Wii Play turns into Wii Bday

by David Hinkle { Apr 13th 2007 at 4:15PM }

As far as friends go, Paul Pape has to be one of the best we've seen in recent history. As a birthday present to his friend, he was asked by that friend's family to create a video incorporating video games and the song "Hello, I Love You" by The Doors for his 30th. Paul went above and beyond, creating a fake Wii Channel and a rather lengthy music video, incorporating Miis of his friend's family.

You can see the video past the post break.

[Via The Last Boss]

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