2008's Top-Selling Games So Far: Wii

Author: by Staff

Each month, the NPD Group releases a limited set of video game sales data for the U.S. industry, including a closely watched list of the top 10-selling software titles. But with dozens of games released each month across no fewer than six console and handheld platforms, there aren't enough data points to see how games are selling on each platform for the entire year. However, in coordination with the NPD Group, Gamasutra presents exclusive data on the top 5 titles for each of the current-generation consoles. The Wii's top 5 software are as follows:

Our author Matt Matthews' analysis of the Wii's NPD sales results is as follows: "We can pin down the actual sales figures a bit more easily on this list than on the others. We know that Super Smash Bros. Brawl has sold more than 3.2 million copies since its launch in March. Second is Mario Kart, which we know has sold 2.7 million units since its launch in April. Wii Play, a nigh permanent member of the top 10 list, comes in at #3 for the year on the Wii. Nearly 2.5 million of the controller and minigame package have been sold this year, and given its 45% attach rate with Wii system hardware, it is quite likely that it will sell another million before the end of the year. Despite shortages and its $90 price tag, Wii Fit has sold over 1.8 million units since its launch in May, earning it the #4 spot in the Wii's year-to-date software rankings. As noted in the monthly NPD sales figure analysis, Wii Fit sales have been accelerating in the past couple of months, which could mean that it will sell exceptionally well throughout the holiday season. Finally, the only third-party title in the Wii top five is Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, packaged with the wireless Wii guitar. Although hard figures are not available, the Wii version had sold 1 million copies as of the end of May and has probably sold at least another 300,000 copies since then." You can now read the full feature, which also includes an analysis of the top 5 selling games for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from other websites).