Top 10 Best-Selling Wii Games - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 24 October 2015 / 29,021 Views
Today we take a look at the top 10 best-selling games for yet another platform. Up to this point we have looked at the original PlayStation, the Nintendo 64, the PlayStation 2, the original Xbox, the GameCube, the Nintendo DS, and the PSP. This week it's the turn of Nintendo's most popular home console, the Wii.
The Wii is the fifth best-selling video game platform in history and the third best-selling home console in gaming history. It is also the best-selling home console not released by Sony. It sold 101.18 million units lifetime.
It was most successful in North America, but also sold well in other regions. It sold 45.38 million units in North America, 33.75 million units in Europe, and 12.77 million units in Japan. It also sold a combined 9.28 million units across the rest of the world.
With its strong install base the Wii also managed to shift a massive amount of games. 157 games for the console managed to sell over one million units and 21 games sold more than five million units. Every entry in the top 10 exceeded a whopping 10 million sales. Below we've compiled the 10 best-selling Wii games.
10th. Just Dance 3 - 10.11 Million
9th. Super Mario Galaxy - 11.29 Million
8th. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 12.68 Million
7th. Wii Fit Plus - 21.80 Million
6th. Wii Fit - 22.69 Million
5th. New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 28.09 Million
4th. Wii Play - 28.91 Million
3rd. Wii Sports Resort - 32.71 Million
2nd. Mario Kart Wii - 35.30 Million
1st. Wii Sports - 82.50 Million
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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66 Comments
- +16
I don't see why many people hated Smash Bros on the Wii. To be honest, the story was actually a feature that was very enjoyable.
- +14
Nobody had a problem with the story. Most people preferred Melee because of the physics and how the game played. This was done to make it easier and accessible to newer players. In Smash 4, they created more of a balance between Melee and Brawl.
- +2
- 0
Most of these games sold more copies then Nintendo sold Wii U consoles. the Wii was a suprising sales cannon. Some of the games on this list, like mario kart, super smash bros and mario are great games tough!
- +11
- +2
It was cheap. That was a good thing. And most of the games looked fine in 480p
- +3
Crazy how those 10 games combined sold over a quarter million games or over a quarter of all the wii games sold.
- 0
Ahh, the Wii. Best selling Nintendo console of all time despite an avalanche of shovelware in its library. And LOL @ Wii Play and Wii Fit / Wii Fit + in the top 10... nothing but plastic peripherals disguised as games.
Those games were good for what they were. Compared to the shovelware that system had, Nintendo's casual games were actually well made. On this particular chart however, I would say that Wii Play is the weakest game.
- +3
wii play yes, but not wii fit. Most people did not buy wii fit because they wanted the balance board. Most people only used the board for wii fit. Winning system always got tons of shovelware. Wii had tons of good games.
- 0
What makes these numbers even more crazy is the fact that Nintendo first party software rarely gets reduced even as the generation finished, Mario Kart wii copies were still selling for almost full original price at least here in Ireland right up til the point where the Wii online services were being taken down, Ninty made a killing with this system and as many put it here as a negative they also used a lot of hardware left over from the failed GC era which would have helped them recoup some of the big losses suffered with that ERA.
Smash Bro was so fun when I still had friends to come to play with. It was just like the Melee days but with more characters and FINAL SMASH. Now all my friends are playing LOL >_>
Its quite amazing to see just how well first party software did on this platform.
Am I the only one who would rather see a top 10 list that DOESN'T include bundled games?
To be fair, outside both Wii Sports none of those were bundled in a greater capacity than any other regular game. There were other bundles outside those featuring some of these games as well, and most late bundles like MK and NSMB were sold simultaneously.
- 0
- +1
By that logic, specific COD games wouldn't be allowed for 360's list (even though majority were individual), certain high-selling PS4 exclusives like MGSIV couldn't count, and on and on it goes. So many games have been lightly bundled at one point or another.
- 0
If a game sells over 10 million, it's gonna get bundled. That's just how bundling works, you bundle the games that are most popular, the ones that will move the most hardware. Yes, wii play is kind of silly because people just bought it for the controller mostly. Wii sports would have sold far less, but make no mistake it still probably would have been #1, or at least #2 on this list.
- 0
"Every game these days are being bundled by certain retailers."
Exactly. But not in case of the Wii. The Wii has been bundled with Nintendo games only except for a very few exception. CoD Bundles, Battlefront, TloU, Killzone, Knack, Watchdogs, Driveclub, Assassins, Fifa, Destiny ... i can think of more OFFICIAL PS4 Bundles now after two years of release than the Wii ever had in its whole lifetime.
"If a game sells over 10 million, it's gonna get bundled. That's just how bundling works, you bundle the games that are most popular"
- 0
The Wii sports resort number is way more impressive since you actually had to buy that one. Instead of being mass bundled but nice numbers I think Mario Kart was a true beast.
- +2
@Qwark well the all weel controller wheel thing was kinda great at the time (and it still is nowdays)
- 0
Imagine if third parties had made an effort on it. We'd have the Nintendo empire back and console gaming would have been restored to its golden age.
PAOerfulone (on 26 October 2015)
Tied as my favorite system with the GameCube. I'm still buying and playing games on my Wii! Such an awesome system!
I don't like these lists including Wii Sports. It was packaged with EVERY Wii for the longest time. That number is so deceptive. Much more worthy are Mario Kart numbers.
Same thing for Tetris on Game Boy, or Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt for NES. Some people buy the bundle who don't want the game, others buy it because of the game, and there is no way to tell. I bought a Wii very late in the game, when there were lots of bundle choices, and I specifically chose the Wii Sports + Resort one.
- 0
Amazing numbers, especially for Wii Sports, despite being sold as a bundle!
Man, whether bundled or casual, there is no denying the Wii was a beast in its time...
Wow! The wii fit franchise was a success!!!! Hopefully that this magic won't be the last one for Nintendo
Wow Nintendo led that thing. Sometimes I wonder if Nintendo needs 3rd parties to survive. Of course they do now but man...those numbers!!!
This just proves whatever sells most isnt always the best..... Feel like theres lots of games that deserve to be on the top10 sales list more than those up there.
What you think is the best, what i think is the best, and what other people think is the best is different.
- +4
there's nothing wrong with any of the "games" (does wii fit count?) on the list. these are pieces of software that had widespread appeal, whether you like them or not. i was in college when wii came out and everyone was excited to play all of these.
- 0
While Digital Foundry writes up an article about anisotropic filtering on PS4/Xbox One... Kinda makes you wonder if things like that are really important when it comes to video game sales...
lol, what? do you guys think twice before you write? so sales tell if a game is good or not?
anyone who claims graphics/physics arent significantly important doesnt know anything about videogames and reality.
- 0
If graphics are so significantly important, there wouldn't be a huge and growing market for indie games. Bravely Default wouldn't have give Square a profit. WoW wouldn't have dominated the MMO market. In terms of the whole package of what makes a game fun, graphics actually aren't as high on priority as the other parts of the whole. They still have to fit and do their part, but they aren't as significant as other things.
- 0
The good old days of easy money with simple and cheap software. Smart phones and tablets learned the lesson and now they're screwed. Better luck next system.
Comments below voting threshold
Yes it does. Wii Sports had always been sold separately in Japan and was eventually sold separately in the US. So unless you can come up with a way to get an exact count between how copies were bundled with the Wii and how many weren't, then you have to include all of them.
- +5
Galaxy 2 and Metroid should be up there. And no Zelda in the top 10! WOW! Proves most Wii owners were not gamers. No more heroes also one of the best games on the system. That list makes me sad really.
- -14
HAHA! 4 dislikes for stating the obvious. People like you are why Nintendo gets away with putting out garbage. So glad the casual fad is over.
- -9
tp sold 7 million skyward sword sold 3.5 million those numbers are nothing to smirk at.
- +8
Nah, it's more like claiming people who bought nearly 1 billion units of software aren't gamers because they don't have the same tastes in games as you.
- +9
Wii was not a success due to gamers buying the console. It was a success because parents thought it would be fun to play with their young children. Look I had a Wii and like 40 games. But it was at the end of the day the worst Nintendo console. They betrayed die hard Nintendo fans like me with it.
- -18
How did they betray the die hard Nintendo fans? There was plenty of games for die hard Nintendo fans like Metroid Prime 3, Metroid Other M which may not have been a masterpiece but was aimed at hardcore fans, 2 3D Mario Games, bringing back two classic series DKC Returns and 2D Mario games to consoles, 2 Zelda games, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Paper Mario, SSB, Mario Kart, 2 Kirby games, Pikmin 2, and plenty of 3rd party series like No More Heroes, Pandora's Tower, Sin and Punishment, Sonic Colors, The Last Story, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, etc.
- +11
- +1
With Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 and several other instant classics, the Wii satisfied my Nintendo needs pretty well. It's WiiU that feels like the betrayal.
- +5
did Tatsunoko vs. Capcom come out in america? I remember wanting that game. Anyway they betrayed me with a weak console I basically paid more money for a new controller. Twilight princess and pikmin 2 are gamecube games. The other games you list are great games. You idiots are blinded by rage and not even understanding my point. Which is Wii was a success due to casual/non gamers buying it not true Nintendo fans and gamers like me.
- -11
I would hardly describe any of the people here as being "blinded with rage". Aside from you, everybody seems pretty calm and coherent.
Personally, I enjoyed the Wii more than any other Nintendo console. It had a great combination of games I could dive into by myself and games that I could play with family and friends who weren't as passionate about gaming as I am.
If you didn't enjoy the Wii, then that's your business. But claiming Nintendo "betrayed" you or people who bought it aren't "true" gamers makes you sound like a petulant child.
- +13
So basically your just mad over the power of the Wii. Most gamers were happy with having a lot of fun games to play but you choose to focus more on the power of the system to categorize it as the "worst Nintendo console."
- +4
- +2
- +1
Ummm. I didn't say I didn't enjoy they Wii I did I had a ton of games for it. But they did betray me. Nintendo used to be cutting edge up until then. Also saying the Wii was the worst Nintendo console is like saying the last season of game of thrones was the worst season... It was still good. Just stating the obvious that this system was only successful due to a casual non gaming audience that got caught up in a fad... And people who say power doesn't matter are lying to themselves.
- -3
- +1
@illdill. Most of Nintendo's history is based on low-end disruption. The best example of that is the portable line, which was always graphically weaker but always beat the competition with fun games to play. The Wii did the same thing and it paid off, unfortunately it didn't pay off with the U, but some attribute that failure to the high console price (due to the cost of the gamepad), brand confusion (was it a Wii?), a pretty laggy OS at launch and high competition from tablets and smartphone apps.
Nintendo didn't abandon you, don't worry. They will keep making games which satisfy everyone, as long as everyone keeps buying what they like.
- -2
