Wii Play is USA's best ever seller

By Robert Purchese Published 20 January, 2010

Nintendo out does Call of Duty.

Data tracker NPD has declared that Wii Play is the best selling game in North America - ever.

Nintendo's mini-game compilation, which bundles a Wiimote don't forget, beat the likes of Guitar Hero III (2) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (3) to the throne.

Wii Fit (5) and Mario Kart Wii (6) also put in a strong performance for Nintendo in the list.

For now, Modern Warfare 2 has to make do with fourth, although this particular list ignores PC sales. And had they been counted then we could probably expect World of Warcraft to show its face, too.

Nevertheless, Activision's Call of Duty series is well represented, with Modern Warfare (7) and World at War (9) also making the grade.

Curiously it's Madden '07 and not a newer version that carries the torch for EA's Goliath US sports series. Perhaps this is because '07 spanned nine different platforms as the generations collided.

The last game is Namco Museum, an arcade rehash of Namco's finest, that appeared on no fewer that 13 consoles - N64 and Dreamcast included.

No Halo, then. But what else is missing?

  1. Wii Play (Wii)
  2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
  3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, Xbox)
  4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
  5. Wii Fit (Wii)
  6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
  7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3, Xbox 360, DS)
  8. Madden NFL 07 (PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PSP, DS, GC, GBA, Wii)
  9. Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360, DS, Wii)
  10. Namco Museum (DC, GBA, PS2, GC, Xbox, PSP, N64, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PS, Xbox 360)
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.

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

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Comments (37) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • gav_and_the_gavster #1 2 years ago

    If I squint really badly and strain my eyes until I get a headache I reckon I can make Ico appear on that list.

  • Tonka #2 2 years ago

    How long untill NSMB Wii is on there? weeks?

  • FogHeart #3 2 years ago

    I'm a Wii owner and even I don't think Wii Play should count. It's more like a peripheral bundled with a game than vice versa. Should games bundled with graphics cards count in sales for example?

  • Retroid #4 2 years ago

    Yeah.

    It's an accessory with a demo disk.

  • speedjack #5 2 years ago

    Fogheart hit the nail on the head.

    Wii Play is a game in the same sense that the instructional DVD that came with my daughter's pram is a movie.

  • kangarootoo #6 2 years ago

    Surprised at GH3. I know it sold very well, but I didn't realise it was the second higest of all time. I bet Slash made a fortune :)

  • systems #7 2 years ago

    I bought Wii Play only because I couldn't find a separate Wiimote. I imagine many people were the same. It shouldn't count - we had no choice quite often.

  • BobsUncle #8 2 years ago

    It's hardly a game, it's more like an instructional tutorial on how to use the Wiimote.

  • Ryze #9 2 years ago

    It still appears to be the cheapest way of getting a second Wiimote.

    Very clever, Nintendo. I've still not invested, however.

  • Monkey_Puncher #10 2 years ago

    Namco museum is exactly the same game on everything from N64 to xbox 360?

    I'd question that, just because it's got the same name doesn't make it the same package.

  • FooAtari #11 2 years ago

    So what, PC games are not real games or something.

    How can you create a best selling list but not include all formats...

  • trevd72 #12 2 years ago

    So, did the game come with the wiimote, or the wiimote with the game.

  • Buenos_Estente #13 2 years ago

    Wii play is actually my mums favourite Wii game... make of that what you will

  • malexous #14 2 years ago

    It amazes me the amount of people that don't think Wii Play is worth even 2 quid. (The price it can be considered if you are planning on buying a WiiMote)

    My mum has played very few games and she loves the cow riding in it.

    I feel it is well worth £2 just for the shooting game and Tanks. When I bought it though, it was for €10 more than a WiiMote. Still just about worth it imo.
    Edited by 3 at 20/01/10 @ 10:48

  • macmurphy #15 2 years ago

    To be honest I can't imagine what PC games would make it in. One of the Sims maybe, but I don't think that series had any one game that sold in the numbers you would expect from these titles. PC games just don't sell as much as consoles, do they?

  • roz123 #16 2 years ago

    Is this list really top selling games ever or just the most recent generation. i thought games like the original marios were still some of the biggest sellers of all time

  • 00.00.01 #17 2 years ago

    Am getting a flashback feeling to Mondays article on the Wii outselling MW2 in the UK
    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/uk-charts-ju st-dance-defeats-mw2
    ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/articles/uk-cha...[/link]

  • Stompy #18 2 years ago

    The games in Wii Play aren't bad at all. The air hockey enthralled me for some time (might be linked to the fact that my favourite PSX game was Pong).

  • UKLL #19 2 years ago


    If you are going to look at it that way then surely the best sellling game of all time will be minesweeper or solitaire?

  • Malek86 #20 2 years ago

    @UKLL: probably Solitaire, since it was included from Windows 3.0, while Minesweeper arrived in 3.1. I guess the Nokia 3310's Snake would also be very popular. Didn't they sell some hundred millions units of that phone?

  • ignatiusjreilly #21 2 years ago

    @macmurphy

    According to Wikipedia:

    The Sims (16m), The Sims 2 (13m), Starcraft (11m), World of Warcrcaft (12m) - they might be in with a shot but I've no idea how many copies you need to sell to get on this list.

    edit: Scratch that, the list in the article is USA only.

    PC not being on there is understandable however, as without download sales data you are neve going to be able to be sure of the numbers.
    Edited by 1 at 20/01/10 @ 12:28

  • secombe #22 2 years ago

    Wii Play Tanks rocks !

    Couldn't agree more, considering how many hours I put into Tanks!, I'm thinking Wii Play is probably one of the best value 'games' I've ever owned.

  • Vroom #23 2 years ago

    Never saw Namco museum coming.

  • Daryoon #24 2 years ago

    SMB3 sold something like 18m.
    List!

    Even if that's worldwide and this list is American, I'd imagine a few more of those games ought to have made the list. Pokemon and NSMB especially.

  • ignatiusjreilly #25 2 years ago

    Wii Play has apparently sold 11.1m in the US.

  • smoison #26 2 years ago

    Tanks and Air hockey are worth much more than the asking price alone.

    Those who mock Wii play have probably never plyed those games with another person.

    Hell, there's a Tanks PSN game thats a total ripoff that sells for 7 bucks on its own!

    This is simply a case of Value being more important then overall greatness.
    I even prefered this game more than Spore, at least you can come back to Wii play.

  • BartonFink #27 2 years ago

    Shouldn't really count as it comes bundled with an accessory. The only way I could get a second Wiimote was to buy this.

    However some of the games are actually great fun. Specially Tanks.

  • Widge #28 2 years ago

    Can we discount half of Activisions games too?

  • FogHeart #29 2 years ago

    There may be good playable games on it, but I'm not making that point...I got Half Life 2 with a graphics card - you can hardly call that some tat put in as an afterthought! But do people buy Wii Play to gain possession of a game first and a controller second, or are they viewing the game as a bonus for buying the controller? Surely the top 10 list should be about people who have expressed a desire to own a game and not a peripheral?

  • robson_wii #30 2 years ago

    Depends if your primary concern is buying the remote as a hard-core gamer or casual. If you are a casual gamer then probably Wii Play was bought for the game and the additional controller was a bonus.

    Comparing HL2 to wii play is a bit silly. I think HL2 was one of the best FPS games around but I'd never play it with friends where-as Wii play used to get played a lot with mates. Comparing best against highest selling is never a good idea.

  • HoriZon #31 2 years ago

    Erm this is 3 years old though and crap.

  • malloc #32 2 years ago

    Namco Museum, errmm eh? What are Namco doing these days, not seen a game from them for ages 'av we?

  • MDL199 #33 2 years ago

    Everything Wii related is just shameful and embarasing.

  • Sid-Nice #34 2 years ago

    I'm looking forward to when "Just Dance" makes the list and deservedly so.

  • Quixz #35 2 years ago

    I hope Nintendo suck next gen!

  • Mayhem64 #36 2 years ago

    @Dayroon - SMB3 was bundled with the NES for a time in the US which probably accounts for some of its sales. Wii Play has not been bundled ever with the Wii, which makes this all the more remarkable and surprising. Not bad for essentially people buying another remote...

  • penhalion #37 2 years ago

    Looks at copy of Wii Play....yep came with my extra WiiMote. How the heck do NPD have the front to count that as a game sale. I paid nothing for it as it was included in the price of the peripheral! Or are they saying that I actually got a free WiiMote with the game?!?