Wii hits 30 million in the US
It's not unusual for Nintendo to talk up its sales figures, and now they're mentioning how the Wii hit 30 million in the US recently. That's all well and good, but if they didn't accompany the press release with a strong list of upcoming games--including Metroid Other M, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Donkey Kong Country Returns and GoldenEye 007--I'd be inclined to keep on not caring.
Nintendo also tacks on the ten best-selling first party and third party lists, and they're rather telling. Sure there are greats like Mario Galaxy and Mario Kart in there, but selling millions of Carnival Games, Game Party and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics is nothing to be proud of. Counting pack-ins like Wii Sports, Link's Crossbow Training and the dismal Wii Play is cheating--of course people bought the new controller that came with a disc of cheap tech demos, it was only ten bucks more than the standard controller.
I'm not hating on the Wii here--it has plenty of good games, great games even, if you're willing to ignore the casual hype and really look for the good stuff. The console has been a wild success in sales, and a moderately successful experiment in redefining gaming audiences and controls. That said, it's clear that Nintendo is changing gears; they can brag about the casual success all they want, but their recent actions speak louder.
Just look at their upcoming lineup--it's full of retro throwbacks, new takes on old franchises and downright resurrections of dead ones like Kid Icarus. The main push with the 3DS at E3 was how diverse of a lineup it's getting, and how much of that is skewed toward core gamers. Nintendo knows that the already bloated casual bubble will get even more messy and unstable once Kinect and Move's imitations show up, and Nintendo is wisely shifting their attention back to their fans, and maybe trying to recover a few of the ones they lost when they put so much focus on casual gamers.
Has 30 million sales' worth of Wiis been exciting? Sure, but it's mostly been stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of creativity, nostalgia, and downright insanity, and if you ask me it will be ending a lot sooner than many people think. The here and now is getting crowded, and if anything Nintendo is looking at the long term. Wii will be here as long as they can keep it alive, but the 3DS is a sign of things to come, and with the Wii's market getting saturated and its relevance quickly fading, Nintendo can't afford to postpone the future much longer.
Aug. 10, 2010
Nintendo’s Wii Video Game System Reaches 30 Million Sales Milestone
Nintendo’s internal sales figures show that the Wii™ video game system has now sold 30 million units in the United States alone. This significant milestone was reached in just 45 months. This further establishes Wii as the fastest-selling console in the history of the industry, reaching this milestone 15 months faster than the next best-selling console.
Wii launched in November 2006 and ushered in a new era of video games. The built-in motion controls of the iconic Wii Remote™ controller drew millions of new players to the world of video games. Kids started playing with their parents and grandparents, people got up off the couch and got active, and seniors and baby boomers formed virtual bowling leagues.
“More than any other video game system in history, Wii has expanded the world of video games to new audiences,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “This milestone is another reminder that people want fun games they can play with others – all at a value-minded price.”
To continue building on this foundation, Wii has a strong slate of games on the way for the fall. These include Metroid™: Other M on Aug. 31, Samurai Warriors™ 3 on Sept. 27, Kirby’s Epic Yarn™ and Wii Party™ this fall, and Donkey Kong Country™ Returns, FlingSmash™ and PokéPark™ Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure for the holidays. That’s in addition to New Carnival Games from 2K Play in September, NBA JAM from EA Sports in October, GoldenEye 007 from Activision and Just Dance 2 from Ubisoft this fall, and Disney Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive Studios and Sonic Colors from SEGA during the holidays.
The Wii video game system is now available in either black or white at a suggested retail price of $199.99. That price offers a great value to consumers, as it includes two engaging games, Wii Sports™ and Wii Sports Resort™, as well as the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers and a Wii MotionPlus™ accessory, which brings additional precision to specially designed games.
The 30 million milestone is a good time to look back at all the fun Wii games and experiences that are just not possible on any other system. One of the unique features of the Wii platform is that many games follow an evergreen sales trend that keep them selling over long periods of time.
According to the independent NPD Group, the top 10 best-selling Nintendo-published Wii games in the United States (through the end of June) are:
1.
Wii Play™
2.
Mario Kart™ Wii
3.
Wii Fit™ (with Wii Balance Board™ accessory)
4.
New Super Mario Bros.™ Wii
5.
Wii Sports Resort
6.
Super Smash Bros.™ Brawl
7.
Super Mario Galaxy™
8.
Wii Fit™ Plus (with Wii Balance Board™ accessory)
9.
Mario Party™ 8
10.
Link’s Crossbow Training
According to the independent NPD Group, the top 10 best-selling Wii games from third-party publishers in the United States (through the end of June) are:
1.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock from Activision
2.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games from SEGA
3.
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga from LucasArts
4.
Carnival Games from Take-Two Interactive
5.
Game Party from Midway
6.
EA Sports Active from Electronic Arts
7.
Just Dance from Ubisoft
8.
Rayman Raving Rabbids from Ubisoft
9.
Deca Sports from Hudson Entertainment
10.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games from SEGA
