Scribblenauts achieves noteworthy 194K sales in September

by JC Fletcher { Oct 20th 2009 at 7:30PM }

In its first two weeks on the market in North America, Scribblenauts sold 194,000 units, making it the third highest-selling DS title in September, behind Mario & Luigi and Kingdom Hearts sequels. That's 105,000 more copies than Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars moved in its first month.

We asked 5TH Cell creative director Jeremiah Slaczka if it met his expectations. "I didn't have any expectations," he told Joystiq. "I just hoped it'd do well. It's awesome for a completely new, original 3rd party IP on DS to do so well."

Does this strong debut mean a sequel is guaranteed? "Way too early to tell that," Slaczka said. "We've only seen 2.5 weeks of sales." He told us that Drawn to Life, which went on to break a million worldwide, only sold 40,000 copies in its first month, with one more week of sales in that month.

Tags: 5th-cell, npd, sales, scribblenauts, third-party, warner-bros-interactive

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

captainprotonx @ Oct 20th 2009 7:35PM

Well deserved numbers.

Wardo @ Oct 20th 2009 7:38PM

Fantastic concept, flawed execution. Still very entertaining all things considered.

Plus I got my rooster hat!

Adv2k1 @ Oct 20th 2009 7:45PM

I hope this is encouragement for more developers to take risks. This is exactly why I bought a DS to play games like Scribblenauts that are unique, fresh, new and something that wouldn't play or be the same on any other console or handheld.

lnternetjesus @ Oct 20th 2009 7:59PM

You're right the game is very fresh and unique, I've never experienced such a fresh unique take on horrible godawful controls in years.

KaBob799 @ Oct 20th 2009 8:16PM

I didn't have many problems with the controls but it just seems so popular to act like they were the worst thing ever.

Josh @ Oct 20th 2009 11:03PM

You know how people are online.

esposch @ Oct 21st 2009 1:49AM

@ Jesus:
2 Words: Conker's Bad Fur Day
OK, that's 4, but you get the point.
I stopped playing that game because of bad controls.
Scribblenauts is just a bit blegh, that's all.

greenpangolin @ Oct 21st 2009 5:20AM

So I'm the only person who didn't find the controls awkward? I thought they were pretty good for controlling flying vehicles. They just take a bit of getting used to, that's all.

AerialAngel @ Oct 20th 2009 7:47PM

Honestly i didn't expect the game to reach that high of numbers. But very nice they did.

Blue_Falcon @ Oct 20th 2009 7:48PM

I gave up on playing it after the second or third day. I really wanted to like it, but some things just completely killed my interest along the way.

commen-cents @ Oct 21st 2009 2:32AM

i agree... its extremely frustrating when you know a solution should work but the game cant recognize it. i played up to the 5th world but im not really feeling an itch to play it anymore, or ever again for that matter.

lnternetjesus @ Oct 20th 2009 7:57PM

Shit sales this is proof.

AerialAngel @ Oct 20th 2009 8:22PM

"That's 105,000 more copies than Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars moved in its first month."

It did better then grand theft auto. How is that shit sales? You just have a shit comment.

AerialAngel @ Oct 20th 2009 8:22PM

*than

(Please joystiq. "edit" option)

rkrocks123 @ Oct 20th 2009 8:23PM

I think he meant to say "Shit sells".

Yeah, I speak idiot...

Special Agent Steve @ Oct 20th 2009 8:45PM

Or, was he saying "This is the shit, sales=proof"? ? ?

Das Boot @ Oct 20th 2009 8:56PM

COMPUTER HACKER

(Clicks and drags Hacker to Joystiq, locates internetjesus.)

AIRPLANE

AIRPLANE PILOT

(Flies to internetsjesus' house.)

NITROGLYCERIN

NAPALM

(Sets fire to said persons house.)

The solution; Scribblenauts Style.

Special Agent Steve @ Oct 20th 2009 9:14PM

I was never able to do that in Scribblenauts... DID I GET A REVIEW COPY???

shadowhowl1900 @ Oct 20th 2009 8:02PM

would it be possible to get a Iphone or PC version of this game? the game sounds really good

Ashitaka @ Oct 20th 2009 8:18PM

Yeah, I'd really like an iPhone version since I don't want to buy a DS just for it.

I doubt the controllers would be any better though :/

INNUENDO 64 @ Oct 21st 2009 1:34AM

The iPhone has a harder time being as precise as the ds because fingers and thumbs are fatter than a stylus.

oh and no buttons

bm @ Oct 21st 2009 11:12AM

Just swallow your misplaced fanboy pride and buy a DS, there are so many countless great games on it that there is bound to be enough for anybody's tastes. There's really no excuse not to have one.

WINterfang ( Now with the power to piss you off ) @ Oct 20th 2009 8:11PM

Glad it's selling, know if you excuse me I'm gonna play some Mario and Sonic Winter Olympics on my DS.

Das Boot @ Oct 20th 2009 9:07PM

Man, your power is REALLY showing.

Special Agent Steve @ Oct 20th 2009 9:15PM

Know if youl excuze moi, me have some explainin too deux.

That's right, TWO French words.

WINterfang ( Now with the power to piss you off ) @ Oct 20th 2009 9:32PM

Oh no! he is very happy about the fact that a interesting new idea is being rewarded and selling accordingly gathering fans and attention but what is this? is he playing another DS game? COMMENCE DOWNVOTING!!!

Cypher @ Oct 20th 2009 8:25PM

It would probably be higher... WITH D-PAD CONTROLS. (yes, I'm bitter)

HighFiveJesus @ Oct 20th 2009 8:50PM

i still want to get drawn to life. looks more interesting than this

RupeeClock @ Oct 20th 2009 9:06PM

With the amount of support Nintendo gave the game, even with direct statements from Reggie and a Nintendo World Store launch, I'm surprised it didn't sell more.

Was it the R4s, or the fact it just happened to be a very flawed game that would've been much better off on PC?

esposch @ Oct 21st 2009 2:25AM

Neither, it's just the way the DS's sales works. It'll keep selling 194k every month for a year.

gLitterbug @ Oct 20th 2009 10:32PM

Wait, did I just read that Drawn to Life sold a mill? So why does he still only get a year development time for a game and complains about it, pondering what he could do with 2 years?
Seriously I'd love to see what he COULD do with 2 years, since flaws like the controls in Scribblenauts aren't something you polish away, but should find out from playing your protoype build.

I also wonder about the long term sales, since the game got a ton of pre-sale hype and when everyone got his hands on it, you have a lot of people who openly regret buying it.

The Most Interesting Man in the World @ Oct 20th 2009 11:01PM

I'm not a Nintendo fan AT ALL but I bought a DS just for this game. Well worth it.

INNUENDO 64 @ Oct 21st 2009 1:38AM

do yourself a favor and buy moar games!

not that scribblenauts is not reason enough for a ds, but a little advance wars here and gta there wont hurt.

chrono trigger for dessert

esposch @ Oct 21st 2009 2:28AM

The World Ends With You!!!!

SoshiKitai @ Oct 21st 2009 3:22AM

If ya've got a friend with a DS, Rocket Slime is underrated in the VS-replayability.

I never get tired of that thing.

If you want to try an OK game from the same guys that made Scribblenauts, Lock's Quest is pretty coo. Nothing spectacular, but a good tower defense-type game.

Trauma Center, Hotel Dusk, Knights in the Nightmare, and Elite Beat Agents are definitely ones you have to pick up.

esposch @ Oct 21st 2009 4:46AM

Oh yeah, Rocket Slime too!
Great game, and RIDICULOUSLY cheap (AU$15 - new PS3/360 games being AU$100 for a quick currency conversion)

Meh @ Oct 21st 2009 10:42AM

GTA: Chinatown Wars. It's the best game on the DS EVER.

kyle hyde @ Oct 20th 2009 11:02PM

This was a good month for DS, four titles made it in the top 20 (mario & luigi, kingdom hearts 358/2, scribblenauts and profesor Layton and the diabolical) and with more than 130k sold units. But I stil want to know how much layton sold exactly, because their number of units is not marked, but something is sure, it was more than 134 k in september.