simExhange: Wii Play will be top selling 'software' during Wii's lifetime
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jan 9th 2008 at 7:00PM }
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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Khan @ Jan 9th 2008 7:05PM
Even i think Brawl won't be that successful, you're talking doubling sales from Melee. 9, 10 million tops
Granted, Wii will probably have more than 2x GC's lifetime install base, but still
Banners @ Jan 9th 2008 7:15PM
...or two install bases duct-taped together.
M@
Ghen @ Jan 10th 2008 8:24AM
wakka wakka
Ghen @ Jan 10th 2008 8:25AM
wakka wakka
LilCo187 (NDF - Hit a ho with a school bus Ring) @ Jan 9th 2008 7:05PM
Hmm very true very true....except that Brawl will more likely sell 13.95 million units in its first week.
And hey, Wii Play Billiards ain't half bad either.
OTAM @ Jan 9th 2008 7:09PM
I get sad to think that things like this sell (or even exist) on the Wii. It makes me clutch an actual game like Resident Evil 4 Wii tightly.
Mr.ESC @ Jan 9th 2008 7:45PM
Why? people that buy this stuff do so for the extra controller.
Basically is an extra Wiimote that for 10 bucks more includes a game,not that bad.
DCBlack @ Jan 9th 2008 10:23PM
But it's a game that looks so bad that I would prefer to keep my $10 and just buy a Wiimote solo. In fact, that's exactly what I did.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 9th 2008 10:35PM
DC
Tanks is pretty good... billiards is good too.
bm @ Jan 9th 2008 11:26PM
I actually played Wii play at a friend's house the other day, and it is now my belief that anyone who pisses their pants with rage over how "bad" the game is, has never played it. Or they've only played the lame "fit the Mii into the bubbles" game.
My only grief is that the tank game has no versus mode. :(
bm @ Jan 9th 2008 11:33PM
I actually played Wii play at a friend's house the other day, and it is now my belief that anyone who pisses their pants with rage over how "bad" the game is, has never played it. Or they've only played the lame "fit the Mii into the bubbles" game.
My only grief is that the tank game has no versus mode. :(
Cabcru @ Jan 9th 2008 7:10PM
Analyst. Dream job. Paid to guess.
Catprog @ Jan 9th 2008 7:28PM
Except he is not paid to guess. He just use the simexchange figures
ThornedVenom @ Jan 10th 2008 3:01AM
So he's paid to read?
Catprog @ Jan 10th 2008 4:43AM
pretty much
...Jan... @ Jan 9th 2008 7:12PM
- As much as I hate it, I think that'll actually happen. Wii Play's success doesn't make much sense...It makes me question the hardcore to casual ratio (Though I did buy Wii Play).
- Well, I can see all of Nintendo's AAA games selling millions of copies. But I hope Nintendo doesn't think they can sell millions by barely spending anything and make more games like this.
mr mobius @ Jan 10th 2008 4:32AM
Makes perfect sense when you consider tanks and billiards make it worth it since its cheap to buy along with an extra remote for people who don't like to play games alone all of the time.
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Jan 9th 2008 7:18PM
I'm going to buy Wii play when I'm not tempted by good games and the complete series of Dr. Katz and Buffy on DVD.
Extra controller ftw.
baby sea tuna @ Jan 10th 2008 8:37AM
Good plan, Buffy beats Wii-Play any day.
Personally, I think Buffy beats Mario Galaxy too...but that's just me.
Curtis @ Jan 9th 2008 7:21PM
Wii Play shouldn't even be considered software. 4/5 of the price is for the remote so only 1/5 of each sale should count as software. That tank game is really fun for some reason though.
Catprog @ Jan 9th 2008 7:32PM
So your saying that bundled and discounted software should not count as much as full priced games.
vidGuy @ Jan 9th 2008 7:24PM
Wii Play 16m
Wii Fit 14m
Brawl 7m
OTAM @ Jan 9th 2008 7:41PM
And it tells you exactly what kind of crowd is buying the hardware.
Mr.ESC @ Jan 9th 2008 7:47PM
Bu..but the Wii fit looks great with anything from Ikea *sigh
vidGuy @ Jan 9th 2008 8:04PM
Exactly. But that's a tremendously good thing for casual and hardcore gamers alike.
DruidBoi @ Jan 9th 2008 7:30PM
Depending on how long Nintendo continues to either bundle it or before its sequel comes out, Wii Sports is looking to be the biggest selling software of all time, topping even Super Mario Bros. It is currently 8th on the list of biggest selling software of all time (Oddly the top 10 consists of all Nintendo games) with 17.57 million units sold while enjoying an 0.89:1 install base which is more than mind blowing.
I enjoy to watch how things plays out this year. Good Luck to everyone in the industry, lets have a repeat of last year!
LilCo187 (NDF - Hit a ho with a school bus Ring) @ Jan 9th 2008 7:41PM
"Oddly the top 10 consists of all Nintendo games"
Not odd at all, actually.
OTAM @ Jan 9th 2008 7:45PM
"Oddly the top 10 consists of all Nintendo games"
Not odd at all, actually.
Well,what do you expect? Nobody is buying third party titles and the companies arent putting their games on the system for that exact reason. Nobody bought Zack and Wiki and I can't wait to see how No More Heroes does (I personally plan on getting it).
The majority of the people who got the Wii to me seem like the people who bought it as the "Wii Sports" machine. It's their expensive Tiger Electronics machine you hook up to the TV. They buy this machine hat lets them get a certain experience of playing sports with a remote and have no concern of actually buying any more games for it.
I'm very interested to see how No More Heroes does.
DruidBoi @ Jan 9th 2008 7:56PM
@OTAM
You would have something there, but you forgot to do some actual research. If you had before you went off with your mouth, you would had realized those games on the top of the best selling lists (bundled games included) were in the NES/SNES and GameBoy eras, which is before the 3rd party exodus with the N64.
OTAM @ Jan 9th 2008 8:19PM
I'm talking about the top 10 on the Wii,not of all time.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 9th 2008 8:40PM
Otam
The Wii is selling a lot more software than the PS3... event third party titles.
LilCo187 (NDF - Hit a ho with a school bus Ring) @ Jan 9th 2008 9:18PM
LOL wow, people that bash Nintendo over the third party woes amaze me. They act as if it's Nintendo's fault for putting out titles head and shoulders better than third parties...
WTF, mate?
i_hate_mtv @ Jan 10th 2008 12:46AM
@OTAM
Well, to be fair, Zack and Wiki had very little, if any, advertisement. It also doesn't help that on the surface (i.e. box art), it looks like it could be just another low budget piece of shovelware like Ninjabread Man (a title that utterly deserved to fail), or some wacky Cartoon Network spin off title.
But I could be wrong.
Roto13 @ Jan 9th 2008 7:44PM
I bought it for the Wiimote and because my husband will enjoy it when he gets a chance to play it. It's believable to me.
spoo @ Jan 9th 2008 7:54PM
Also it is worth noting that Nintendo is flooding the market with Wii Play. I haven't seen a Wii Remote in stock at a store since Wii Play came out, but I have seen Wii Play many times for purchase.
Kitation @ Jan 10th 2008 5:38AM
Exactly. Before Christmas we only got Wii Play to sell instead of the controllers alone. Now Christmas is over, we've been flooded with the controllers alone, but no Wii Play.
Neebs @ Jan 9th 2008 8:07PM
I got addicted to SimExchange. Then, in an attempt to break it I sold all my stocks for lowest prices possible. The system is not flawless.
Psaakyrn @ Jan 9th 2008 8:16PM
Wouldn't that make Wii sports (Comes with free Wii!) the best selling game instead (though I guess Japanese numbers could mess it up slightly)?
mouse_clicker @ Jan 9th 2008 10:47PM
I don't see why Wii Play shouldn't be considered a "legitimate" game just because it has the Wii remote. That's like saying budget titles aren't "real" games. At what point did a game's legitimacy become determined by its price? Sure it's an amazing deal, and sure that has a significant impact on sales, but it's still a GAME no matter how much it costs. I think this "controversy" really just stems from the fact that it's a way people can knock the incredible sales the game is getting.
-Moses
DarkGhost1 @ Jan 9th 2008 10:50PM
its a $50 game with a controller, so why not...
phihexy27 @ Jan 10th 2008 12:31AM
One of the biggest problems with a game like this selling so much is that as a result people buy less software. Let me explain - People buy this game, and on top of that they already have Wii Sports bundled in with the system. What happens is they say well now I have 14 some odd games to play (5 with Wii Sports, and something like 9 with Wii Play), therefore I have enough games to hold me over for nearly 6 months to a year. Then many of these people hold off on buying anymore games, and when they do buy games only buy the ones that have multiple mini-games. Unfortunately many very good games go overlooked as a result.
Geist @ Jan 10th 2008 1:37AM
Buying only games that they want to buy? Those assholes!
No seriously though I see what you're saying, and it's a shame. I wouldn't say it's the minigames' fault, though, it's just the fault of the players for settling for these titles instead of wanting a better experience.
t_m @ Jan 10th 2008 9:55AM
3rd parties aren't doing that bad on the Wii, its just that people buying the Wii get pack in games for free, so they don't need to buy games again for a while.
Also, I think that $50 is too high for the casual games market, they need to reduce the price of a lot of the causal games (which aren't anything like the budget anyway) and they'd shift a lot more. Keep the high price bracket for the hardcore games, cos hardcore fans will pay it.
LiQuidSnakex @ Jan 10th 2008 11:40AM
How about third-parties just hold up on making so much casual crap. I'm glad RE4 sold over a million, at least some people who own a Wii besides myself know what a good game is. Wii Play is just a perfect example of nongamers and casuals ruining gaming. If Wii never gets another mini-game complication that would be good news in my book.
Sadly I have a feeling SSBB will only sell around 6-7 million if that. Since the people who bought Wii solely for Wii Sports won't even know what SSBB is which is what I hate. Yes this is the world of casuals Wii Play outsells RE4, LoZ TP, SMG, etc. Crappy games win, epic games lose in sales.
t_m @ Jan 11th 2008 6:49AM
Depends on your definition of casual. I've been playing games for almost 18 years, on Spectrum, PC, Xbox, Gamecube, (and even my mates snes and genesis) and DS.
but i'd say i'm now a casual gamer. I still play, but I don't LIVE for playing. I no longer bother getting the newest hardware, or the newest games the second they launch. I can't be bothered with online multiplayer, and I have mo time for lengthy games, or those that make me replay huge portions or pad out things with time-wasting quests.
I'm happy to play mini-games with my girlfriend, I don't care which console wins, and I don't have insanely high standards when it comes to games.
Give me a good, concise story, or fun gameplay, or a new idea and I'm happy.