Nintendo on NPDs: We beat everyone!

By Robert Purchese Published 14 January, 2011

And have for "five years running".

In the US last month Sony did worst, Microsoft did well, Nintendo did the best - the DS and Wii were once again rampant.

As such, Nintendo's response to the results is full of cartoon rainbows and sunshine.

We're told that mere months before 3DS arrives, old and existing handheld the DS still managed to command a market-leading performance of 2.5 million sales.

And despite launches of both Move and Kinect, Nintendo's Wii - the motion-sensing console that started it all - showed those young-guns who's boss with 2.3 million sales (Xbox 360 sold a personal best of 1.9 million units, PS3 sales were unspecified).

In the US, in total, DS has sold 47 million units and the Wii 34 million.

"Nintendo has sold more game systems than anyone else for five years running," said Cammie Dunaway replacement Charlie Scibetta. "Of the quarter billion hardware systems sold in the United States during the past 10 years, Nintendo sold more than half.

"We look forward to bringing fun new experiences to consumers when Nintendo 3DS launches in March."

Three of the top 10 best-selling games during December were for Wii: Just Dance 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns and, surprisingly, Epic Mickey. In the UK, Disney Epic Mickey appears to have flopped.

Impressively, over half of the top 25 best-selling games for the whole of 2010 were on Wii and DS. That number includes two of the top five; five of the top 10; and nine of the top 15.

The indomitable Just Dance 2.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Dizzy #1 1 year ago

    Gz Nintendo. Impressive.

  • RexRunti #2 1 year ago

    Or to summarise Nintento: "ner ner ner-ner, ner"

  • Trillion #3 1 year ago

    What's an NPD then?

  • Dizzy #4 1 year ago

    "What's an NPD then? "

    Nintendo Party Delivery.

  • mcmonkeyplc #5 1 year ago

    Got to hand it to the big N. No one gave them a shout in this gen.

    The Wii was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin for their home consoles.

    How the tables have turned.

  • Lexx87 #6 1 year ago

    I like how when the Wii was first coming about Nintendo were all about oh we're not even in the same market as those guys. It's a different race.

    Oh but now yeah we're kicking their arse woo! :p

  • d00dl #7 1 year ago

    Gotta love Nintendo. Hat's off to the maestro :) Its been great that we've been able to see that innovative fun > graphics highlight this gen. Just look at how successful XBLA (and Indie) + PSN have been as another case in point. Its also amazing that we have even more gamers in the community now too.

  • CallousB #8 1 year ago

    It shows that with the right titles,effort and marketing ...3rd party Wii games can do just as well as Nintendo's...despite what some 3rd parties may claim.

    3rd parties left so much money on the table this gen.

  • customfirmware #9 1 year ago

    Seeing as their the only ones out of the big 3 that depends solely on gaming to make money, i have to say well done they deserve it.

  • AcidSnake #10 1 year ago

    @customfirmware:
    Don't forget Pokemon (isn't that still running over there?)...

    But yeah, good on them...

  • Sabreman64 #11 1 year ago

    Sad to see that so many sheeple are still buying Wiis. I wish I'd never bought mine four years ago, to be quite honest. Most disappointing Nintendo console of the last decade. The format is drowning under a flood of casual shovelware, and core games are few and far between. Such a shame.

  • chris_ace #12 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 11:55:13 13-12-2011

  • seabassuk #13 1 year ago

    Now Nintendo has only one more foe to defeat - Apple!

    Win or Die! The fight is on!

  • MORZTAN #14 1 year ago

    @Lexx87

    "I like how when the Wii was first coming about Nintendo were all about oh we're not even in the same market as those guys. It's a different race. "

    It has, however, become the same race as MS and Sony now has entered the motion-fray.

  • TonyHarrison #15 1 year ago

    Epic Mickey succeeding in the States should not be a surprise... It's a Disney game, and Disney have a slightly more than moderate presence in America.

  • Apaar #16 1 year ago

    DS is probably the best console I have ever owned so itss staggering, ever steaming success always warms my heart. It's puzzling though how small a presence the most succesful and popular of the gaming consoles seems to have in the general gaming public/media. Anyway, I'm expecting equally great things from its follower. :)
    Edited by Apaar at 14/01/11 @ 12:37

  • RodHull #17 1 year ago

    I'd be very interested to see the game attach rate for the Wii. Most folks I know have a Wii an Wii Sports, Wii Fit and maybe a Mario game (usually Kart). I've had a Wii or nearly four years and I own all the Marios and Zelda. This pales in comparison to the number of games I've bought for the 360 and even the PS3.

  • Kami #18 1 year ago

    "I'd be very interested to see the game attach rate for the Wii. Most folks I know have a Wii an Wii Sports, Wii Fit and maybe a Mario game (usually Kart). I've had a Wii or nearly four years and I own all the Marios and Zelda. This pales in comparison to the number of games I've bought for the 360 and even the PS3."

    Attach rates are a murky and dark means of trying to say "Oh, but we sell more honest!". It's awkward because you can argue Wii games aren't selling well, or you could argue quite soundly that a lot of these X-Box 360/PS3 games are the usual crap FPS. It's hard to actually argue a case when you have so many sides to the argument - sure, you can try. But eventually you'll ask everyone to STFU... by force...

    Besides, isn't that the usual thing for Nintendo? I mean, sure, we get a handful of not-Nintendo games which do perk interest but the vast majority for Nintendo has kind of always been in-house. I personally wanted another Eternal Darkness but meh, I'm of the opinion now that will never happen...

    Still, Nintendo do have a lot to celebrate. That they can still outsell the new motion control stuff, and continue to make mass wads of cash, is seriously impressive and they should be applauded for it. Sure, there's an awful lot of crap on the Wii but then, a lot of it isn't aimed at us the gamers - and maybe, just maybe, we're going to have to accept in the future this is a hobby we'll have to share, because I doubt any of this stuff is going away in a hurry...

  • StooMonster #19 1 year ago

    TruthGiver; Epic micky was a good game, just not advertised in the uk.... at all.....

    Saw loads of television advertising for it, but that's prolly the kids tv channels, also saw print adverts in broadsheet weekend mags.

  • chuck_bone #20 1 year ago

    FYI: Epic Mickey was advertised on london underground video billboards in the tunnels.

    I saw it loop about 18 times waiting for tube trains during christmas.

    I also saw TV adverts - I think from Game.
    So yes, they did advertise, just not very prominently.

  • chuck_bone #21 1 year ago

    The thing about Nintendo is that only a slect few games do really well - the usual suspects, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Party, Wii wii, etc, etc. A handful of 3rd party titles do gangbusters - but most people buying the Wii are getting it to play the headline titiles, and the odMario game.

    It keeps Nintendo's pockets lined, for sure, but 3rd parties are the ones losing out. THat's why the PS3, 360 are getting such good 3rd party support despite the Wii's success.

    As long as we have a choice, i really don't give a hoot how many billions of consoles Ninty has sold. It doesn't really tickle my pickle.

  • tiny_Eggy #22 1 year ago

    USlol

  • madjim #23 1 year ago

    I think a good way for Nintendo to show appreciation to the millions of customers would be a PAL version of Fatal Frame. I still can't forgive them the non-release.

  • geeza2020 #24 1 year ago

    Congrats Ninty, you did well selling all those consoles. Can I have a few more core-focused games for my Wii now? (DS has LOADS of good games though, so i have to doff my hat to them on that one!)

  • RodHull #25 1 year ago

    @Kimi

    What I should have said was that I haven't bought as many games for the Wii as I had for the GameCube and a fraction of what I bought for the N64. It really isn't the sales figures that interest/bother me, it's more the fact that aside from the wonderful Mario Galaxies I wish that the releases for the Wii had the same high standard as those for the N64. Granted we're still far from the end of the Wii's lifetime but aside from a new Zelda there's not a lot on the horizon to get me excited. Bit like the 360 in that respect!

  • the_merchant #26 1 year ago

    One day I'll buy a Wii, just so that I can play Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda.

  • Markusdragon #27 1 year ago

    I disagree, In the current state of the games industry, the real winners are the consumers.

  • sol1du5snak3 #28 1 year ago

    Well done nintendo, but we can safely say all three will still be around for the next gen, which can only be good news for all of us.

    Still I do like the look of sony's exclusives mind :)