Two Nintendo video games designed to appeal to both novice and expert gamers posted healthy numbers in the May sales charts, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks sales of video game products in the United States. Mario Kart® Wii and Wii Fit™ finished No. 2 and No. 3 for the month, demonstrating continued consumer response to new controls and experiences.
“The Wii Wheel and Wii Balance Board accessories make game play fun for new gamers while presenting new challenges for those who have been playing a long time,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The diversity of the seven Nintendo games represented in NPD’s top 10 for May demonstrates how Nintendo has something for everyone.”
Other highlights from NPD’s May U.S. sales report include:
- Wii™ (675,089 sold) and Nintendo DS™ (452,608 sold) again emerged as the two top-selling video game systems.
- Wii represented 63 percent of all current-generation consoles sold in May, while Nintendo DS had a 71 percent share of the portable market.
- Lifetime sales of Wii now stand at nearly 10.2 million.
- Lifetime sales of Nintendo DS are now at more than 20 million.
- Wii Play™ sold more than 295,000 in May, bringing its lifetime sales to more than 5.8 million.
- Of the top 30 best-selling games of May, 19 are made for Nintendo systems, including third-party hits like Guitar Hero™ III: Legends of Rock from Activision, We Ski™ from Namco Bandai, Game Party™ from Midway and Boom Blox™ from Electronic Arts.
- Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness combined to sell more than 208,000 in May, with lifetime sales of more than 613,000.
Source: Nintendo PR email
Hardware
Wii – 675.1K
DS – 452.6K
PS3 – 208.7K
Xbox 360 – 186.6K
PSP – 182.3K
Software
1. GTA IV – Xbox 360 – Take-Two – 871.3K
2. Mario Kart Wii (w/ wheel) – Wii – Nintendo – 787.4K
3. Wii Fit (w/ Balance Board) – Wii – Nintendo – 687.7K
4. GTA IV – PS3 – Take-Two – 442.9K
5. Wii Play (w/ remote) – Wii – Nintendo – 294.6K
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl – Wii – Nintendo – 171.1K
7. Iron Man – PS2 – Sega – 130.6K
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – Wii – Activision – 116.8K
9. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness – DS – Nintendo – 107K
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time – DS – Nintendo – 102K
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO – News), today announced that the next iteration of the popular hockey franchise, NHL 2K9, will be coming to the Wii™ console from Nintendo this fall. As the first and only officially licensed NHL and NHLPA video game for Wii, NHL 2K9 will offer fans the fun opportunity to play like the pros using the Wii Remote™ controller as a hockey stick, and enjoy playing hockey in a wholly unique and entertaining experience like never before.
“Nintendo is thrilled to have 2K Sports’ NHL 2K9 on the Wii platform this season,” said Steve Singer, VP of Licensing at Nintendo of America Inc. “This title has been highly anticipated by our Wii consumers who will now be able to use the Wii Remote to face-off, play hockey, and fire a slap shot in their living rooms.”
In celebration of NHL 2K9 for Wii, Nintendo’s most iconic video game character, Mario™, will be walking down the red carpet during the 2008 NHL Awards tonight at the Elgin Theatre, 6:15 p.m. ET in Toronto. Fans in attendance will also have the special opportunity to meet and greet Mario and have their picture taken with him.
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Most musicians dream of one day reaching platinum success. A new Nintendo DS™ bundle lets aspiring axe shredders claim that coveted status right from day one. The new Silver/Black Nintendo DS branded with the Guitar Hero® logo will be available exclusively as part of a limited-time bundle with Guitar Hero®: On Tour. For the first time, this smash-hit franchise is playable on a portable video game system using the revolutionary Guitar Hero™ Guitar Grip™ peripheral and fully tapping into the distinctive abilities of the Nintendo DS hardware.
Available on June 22, 2008, at North American retailers nationwide, the bundle provides a cool combo package for grads about to head off to college as well as summertime, road-tripping rockers of all ages.
“This one-of-a-kind bundle makes Nintendo DS even more appealing to our ever-growing audience of players,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Like Nintendo DS itself, the Guitar Hero franchise has attracted millions of new players to the world of video games.”
Rare has not truly supported a Nintendo console since the N64 era, although it is possible that the Wii could be receiving support from the company in the near future. When asked about the possibility of Viva Pinata on Wii, Rare’s Gary Richards provided an unexpected and cryptic answer by simply stating, “(Grins). I’m not saying.” Of course, this statement does not necessarily mean we’ll see Viva Pinata on Wii, or any other titles. However, if Rare does plan on releasing a Viva Pinata title for the Wii, perhaps the floodgates will open.
01./00. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai-Namco) – 92,000 / NEW
02./00. [WII] Mysterious Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 3 (Sega) – 59,000 / NEW
03./01. [PSP] Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (Konami) – 43,000 / 159,000
04./03. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) – 39,000 / 1,406,000
05./00. [NDS] DS Misa Yamamura Suspense: Kyoto Murder Files (Tecmo) – 38,000 / NEW
06./05. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom) – 35,000 / 2,177,000
07./04. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) – 34,000 / 2,190,000
08./00. [360] Ninja Gaiden 2 (Tecmo) – 25,000 / NEW
09./06. [WII] Family Trainer (Bandai-Namco) – 15,000 / 59,000
10./12. [NDS] DS Beautiful Letter Training (Nintendo) – 15,000 / 267,000
“We have two original IPs in development and some neat ideas with an existing IP. Most of that stuff is next-gen, but we’ll see as we move forward what turns into games and/or what goes in different directions.” – Ready At Dawn’s president, Didier Malenfant
Even though Okami is a port, it is still a game that required Ready At Dawn to gain some experience with the Wii hardware. Hopefully the team will have something in store for Wii owners in the future.
Virtual Console
1 (1) – Super Mario Bros. 3
2 (2) – Super Mario Bros.
3 (3) – Super Mario World
4 (4) – Punch Out!!
5 (5) – The Legend of Zelda
6 (6) – Super Mario Bros. 2
7 (7) – Mario Kart 64
8 (9) – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
9 (8) – Super Mario 64
10 (10) – Double Dragon
11 (13) – Donkey Kong
12 (11) – Donkey Kong Country
13 (17) – Metal Slug
14 (12) – Pac-Man
15 (14) – Paper Mario
16 (16) – Star Fox 64
17 (15) – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
18 (18) – Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
19 (19) – Kirby’s Adventure
20 (N/A) – Bubble Bobble
WiiWare
1 (1) – Dr. Mario Online Rx
2 (2) – Defend your Castle
3 (N) – My Pokemon Ranch
4 (3) – Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
5 (4) – TV Show King
6 (6) – Family Table Tennis
7 (5) – LostWinds
8 (11) – Toki Tori
9 (7) – Pop
10 (12) – Protothea
11 (8) – V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack
12 (9) – Star Soldier R
13 (10) – Critter Round-Up
– Numbers in parenthesis indicate slot in previous week
– N stands for new title
– N/A means the title was not on the last week’s list
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Final Fantasy Agito XIII
Kingdom Hearts Coded
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Dissidia Final Fantasy
The 3rd Birthday
Sigma Harmonics
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete
The absence of Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers does not seem too encouraging…I’d say that if we don’t hear any news about the title at E3, the project is as good as dead.
