Released on November 19th 2006, the Nintendo Wii targeted a much broader demographic than any other home gaming console before. With its revolutionary controller and massive range of software (games still being released as of July 2020!), to say the Wii was a success is an understatement. The Wii leads its seventh generation console rivals, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in worldwide sales with more than 101 million units sold. Did you have one? Have you still got it? And do you play any of these titles; the 10 biggest selling Nintendo Wii games of all time...
1. Wii Sports
With 22 games available to purchase on the day the Nintendo Wii was launched, the title everyone wanted to play came bundled free with the machine. Wii Sports, comprising of bowling, boxing, golf, tennis and baseball, has amassed sales of 82.9 million. An absolutely staggering number, and even though this is largely down to it being included with the machine for the first few years of its shelf-life, it still makes Wii Sports the biggest selling single-platform game of all time.
2. Mario Kart Wii
32 tracks, extensive character choice, an online multiplayer mode and a brand new way to control your racer, Mario Kart Wii arrived to almost universal acclaim in 2008. Selling 300,000 copies in Japan on its launch day alone, Mario Kart Wii's global sales stand at 37.32 million as of March 2020.
3. Wii Sports Resort
The updated and expanded Wii Sports sequel was bundled with the Wii MotionPlus accessory. With more than a dozen new sports, like archery and wakeboarding, plus returning favourites, 33.13 million Wii owners grabbed themselves a copy after Wii Sports Resort was released in June 2009.
4. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Taking it back to the old-school, in 2009 Nintendo added multiplayer capability to their classic 2D Mario platform game for some retro-tastic fun times with friends. And 30.3 million Wii owners took the bait.
5. Wii Play
Accessories for new games consoles are never cheap, but in a nifty bit of marketing Nintendo coupled a second controller with earlier copies of Wii Play. Arriving just after the consoles launch, it made sound financial sense to snap-up this nine-minigame + controller combo pack, and that's exactly what 28.02 million people did.
6. Wii Fit
The sixth biggest selling Nintendo Wii game is also the third biggest selling all-console game that has never been bundled with the console. Wii Fit was, however, bundled with another of those expensive accessories - the balance board. A staggering success; when released in the UK in 2008 the software and balance board package retailed at £70 (almost double a standard console game at the time) but sold out everywhere at an estimated 90 copies a minute in its first week available! Final global sales of 22.67 million saw a worldwide legion of Wii owners jogging, rhythm boxing, hula-hooping, stepping and practicing yoga for, what I suspect for many was, the very first time.
7. Wii Fit Plus
Proving that the Wii fitness craze was no fad, the 2009 sequel was available in packaging with or without the balance board, and 21.13 million people got themselves a copy. Combining both Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus' sales, this title is the eight biggest selling game of all time, regardless of console. Do you still have your balance board tucked away in a cupboard?
8. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The first game on this list which does not include the word "Wii" in its title, and the only one to not be developed solely in-house by Nintendo. 2008s Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the third installment in the franchise, sold 874,000 copies on its release day in the U.S. alone, making it the fastest selling Nintendo video game of all time. With final sales 13.32 million, it has been voted the best fighting game on the Wii as well as best online multiplayer game.
9. Super Mario Galaxy
Personally I prefer its sequel (which is the 13th biggest selling Wii game, with sales of 7.41 million) but 2007s Super Mario Galaxy revolutionised the company's flagship series and upon release was both a critical and commercial success, with sales of 12.8 million. How successful? Well, Super Mario Galaxy was the highest-rated game of all time on review-aggregating site GameRankings (before the site was discontinued in 2019). Critics praised the game's graphics, gravity mechanics, soundtrack, and setting. It won several awards from gaming publications, including multiple "Game of the Year" titles, and became the first Nintendo title to win the British Academy Games Award for Best Game. Not bad for a 25 year old plumber.
10. Wii Party
Another title that was available in an optional package with a Wii remote controller, Wii Party just beat Mario Party in game sales with 9.34 million to 8.85 million, knocking the eighth installment in Nintendo's long-running series into eleventh place and Wii Party rounding out our top ten. Although receiving a mixed response from critics, the 80 minigames and 9 different play modes was enough to make it a commercial success.
And they are the 10 biggest selling Nintendo Wii games of all time. How many did you play? Let us know in the comments below.
Previously
The Million Selling Nintendo Game And Watch Games
The 10 Biggest Selling Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Games Of All Time
The 10 Biggest Selling Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Games Of All Time
The 10 Biggest Selling Nintendo 64 (N64) Games Of All Time
The 10 Biggest Selling Nintendo GameCube Games Of All Time
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