The year is almost over, and we could probably debate for hours about which games were the best, but in the end, money talks. So, how did Wii games actually sell in 2007? A kind NeoGAFfer compiled a list that shows how much each Wii game sold this year in Japan, based on Media Create figures up until December 2nd.
It's also important, though, to consider how Wii game publishers did this year in Japan (check the stats in the image above). Nintendo certainly had a great year, with over 8 million sales for 17 games. Square Enix also did pretty well for itself with Dragon Quest Swords (the only game released by the company for the Wii before the December 2nd window). As for the other third parties, however, the median game sales seem somewhat poor. Yet, considering the amount of shovelware released this year, it's hard to say that some of them didn't deserve it. Check the list of game sales here to decide for yourselves. You may notice one major disappointment (yes, we're talking about Zack and Wiki) or two, but how many other third-party games, in your opinion, really deserved to sell better than they did?
It's also important, though, to consider how Wii game publishers did this year in Japan (check the stats in the image above). Nintendo certainly had a great year, with over 8 million sales for 17 games. Square Enix also did pretty well for itself with Dragon Quest Swords (the only game released by the company for the Wii before the December 2nd window). As for the other third parties, however, the median game sales seem somewhat poor. Yet, considering the amount of shovelware released this year, it's hard to say that some of them didn't deserve it. Check the list of game sales here to decide for yourselves. You may notice one major disappointment (yes, we're talking about Zack and Wiki) or two, but how many other third-party games, in your opinion, really deserved to sell better than they did?
_thumbnail.jpg "Rune Factory Frontier")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-23-2007 @ 6:03PM
flo said...
wait nintendo didn hav 17 games!
Reply
12-23-2007 @ 7:11PM
Candace Savino said...
Keep in mind it's games *published* by Nintendo, not just developed, so it includes both 1st and 2nd-party games. The number also accounts for games that came out in 2006, since games from 2006 (like Wii Sports, for example) would have sold copies in 2007. I could only think of 16 of the 17, but just to give you a general idea of Nintendo published games in Japan, there's:
Big Brain Academy
DK Barrel Blast
Endless Ocean
Excite Truck
Eyeshield 21: Field no Saikyou Senshi Tachi
Fire Emblem
Twilight Princess
Mario Party 8
Mario Strikers
Pokemon Battle Revolution
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Paper Mario
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Wii Fit
Wii Play
Wii Sports
12-23-2007 @ 7:40PM
Tyler said...
wait...
if i'm reading this right,
Namco released 10 games and came in second, but Square released only a single game and got third? wow...
Reply
12-23-2007 @ 7:55PM
Stephan Pichardo said...
Candace Savino,the game you forgot is Metroid Prime 3.
Reply
12-23-2007 @ 8:10PM
Candace Savino said...
Oh, is that out in Japan already? My bad :).
12-24-2007 @ 3:11AM
ramuji said...
No, Metroid Prime 3 is not out in Japan yet (unfortunately).
12-24-2007 @ 3:20AM
ramuji said...
Candace, you forgot Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.
12-23-2007 @ 9:50PM
idioteraser said...
They should post the ps3 and xbox 360 Japanese game sales.
Not even the top three ps3 titles combined reach a million.
Xbox 360 is worse with the top three getting less then 400,000 units.
Wii is actually sellling games better then the ps2 was at 52 weeks after launch in Japan.
Reply
12-24-2007 @ 6:50AM
Max Headroom said...
I agree, it would be good to see sales from other consoles before the article declares that "the median game sales seem somewhat poor." Poor compared to what?
12-24-2007 @ 9:16AM
Candace Savino said...
Well, poor compared to Nintendo and Square sales, for one. It's *more* than a 400,000 gap between the second and third best medians.
12-23-2007 @ 10:50PM
student said...
This would feel more uplifting if you included ALL of 2007. The next few weeks are the Japanese holiday season as they shop en masse for the New Year. While it won't turn stinkers into hits, it will at least boost the numbers some.
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12-24-2007 @ 2:52AM
Anthony said...
Well done Square Enix! I was quite surprised.
Reply
12-24-2007 @ 9:21PM
Duscrom said...
It's sad to be a 3rd party on a Nintendo console.It'd be funny to see the PS3/360, as while it total was lower, you'd probabbly see that the Medians were Higher then the #2 spot on the list.
People don't buy Nintendo consoles for Non-Nintendo games. It's a fact of life.
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