NSMB Wii Is 3rd Home Console Game To Top 4m In Japan...Ever

In Japan, according to the VGChartz data base, there are 66 games that have topped 2 million units. Of those 66 games, there are 33 games which have topped 3 million units. As of the end of August 2010 though, there are now 15 games to top 4 million units in Japan.

Of those 15 titles to top 4m units in Japan, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is only the third game for a console (i.e. not a portable) to top 3 million units. It is the first console game to do so since 2000, when Dragon Quest VII released for PS1. Only the original Super Mario Bros., for the Famicom (NES) has outsold New Super Mario Bros. Wii on a Nintendo console in Japan. To date, only a handfull of platforms even have a 4m seller in Japan. PS2 and SNES for instance, are notably absent.

DS - Six (NSMB DS, Pokémon Diamond / Pearl, Animal Crossing DS, Brain Age 1, Brain Age 2, and Dragon Quest IX)

GB - Four (Pokémon Red / Green / Blue, Pokémon Gold / Silver, Tetris, Super Mario Land)

GBA - One (Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire)

PSP - One (Monster Hunter Portable 2G - with its two best editions included it is at 3,995,000)

PS1 - One (Dragon Quest VII)

Wii - One (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)

NES - One (Super Mario Bros.)

Sticking to consoles only, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is set to pass Dragon Quest VII for PS1 (4.12m) as the second best selling console game of all time in Japan by the end of 2010. Nonetheless, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is unlikely to pass Super Mario Bros. for the NES, which sits at a staggering 6.8 million units in Japan.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii reached 4m units in Japan in 39 weeks, which qualifies it for the seventh fastest pace since the launch of the Game Boy (as far as VGC Japan data goes back). It is probably seventh fastest all time, but could be eighth if the original Super Mario Bros. had an explosive pace. New Super Mario Bros. on the DS, a different game with a similar name on a portable, needed only 33 weeks to top 4m in Japan, but has since gone on to top 6m units in Japan. Dragon Quest IX (DS) needed only 15 weeks to reach 4m units in Japan, while Pokémon Diamond / Pearl did it in 13 weeks. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is ahead of the Brain Age 2 pace though. Brain Age 2 took 56 weeks to top 4 million units in Japan and has sold over 5.2m units to date.

As a point of reference, here is a look at how long it has taken the biggest titles of this generation to top 4m units in Japan:

1) Pokémon Diamond / Pearl  (DS) - Nintendo - 4.36m (13 weeks)

2) Dragon Quest IX (DS) - Square-Enix - 4.01m (15 weeks)

3) New Super Mario Bros. DS (DS) - Nintendo - 4.09m (33 weeks)

4) New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - Nintendo - 4.00m (39 weeks)

5) Brain Age 2 (DS) - Nintendo - 4.01m - (56 weeks)

6) Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS) - Nintendo - 4.02m (63 weeks)

7) Monster Hunter Portable 2G w/ best editions (PSP) - Capcom - 4.00m (128 weeks)

8) Brain Age (DS) - Nintendo - 4.00m (197 weeks)

It is entirely possible that New Super Mario Bros. Wii will be the only game to top 4m on a console this generation in Japan. Wii Sports probably will get there though - it still sells a thousand or two thousand units per week in Japan and stands at 3.74m units in Japan. Dragon Quest X (for Wii), Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Play and perhaps Wii Party may have a shot in the long term - but within the next year Wii Sports is really the only title with decent odds to top 4m in Japan on a console. Dragon Quest X is not a sure thing to top 4m on Wii - SNES and PS2 versions of the game never topped 4m in Japan.

Contact VGChartz at jmazel@vgchartz.com