3rd party Wii games that sold a million |
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| BY Ashutosh Chhibbar Mar. 21st, 2008 | More on: |
While it’s true that Nintendo dominates the sales charts when it comes to Wii software, there are a number of 3rd Party offerings that have been able to achieve million seller status. Here’s a rundown of those games starting with the biggest sellers, and finishing with those that will hit the magical mark in the coming months.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (3.4 mil)
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega/Nintendo
Published by Nintendo in Japan, but by Sega in Europe and the U.S., the game has predictably become a monster hit. The triple whammy of Mario, Sonic and the Beijing Olympics has proven too hard for Wii gamers to resist. The fact that it was a decent game did it no harm either. The scary thing is the scope for improvement in quality and subsequent sales with the inevitable sequel.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (1.8 mil)
Developer: RedOctane
Publisher: Activision
Guitar Hero’s main draw is its innovative and immersing peripheral; sound familiar? Also unlike Dance Dance Revolution, the franchise is still at the height of its popularity. However if the future of the series is downloadable content, then it will be interesting to see how future Wii versions will accommodate and even counter this.
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition (1.6 mil)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Capcom’s port of their multi-million selling game of 2005 has been a stunning success. Two factors seem to be at the heart of this: great controls and budget pricing. The accuracy and joy of aiming with the Wii pointer seems to have spread through word-of-mouth alone, and has given the game real ‘legs’.
Rayman Raving Rabbids (1.2 mil)
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Ubisoft showed some early genius with this title and leveraged their Rayman license to create a collection of above average mini-games starring a likable and deranged cast. While it’s clear to everyone now just how successful mini-game collections can be on Wii in terms of sales and development time, Ubisoft showed true foresight.
Carnival Games (1.2 mil)
Developer: Cat Daddy Games
Publisher: 2K Games/Global Star Software
Carnival Games more than any other title has become the bat with which Wii is bludgeoned so regularly by the hardcore. Its success is a bit of a mystery no doubt, but it really is an accessible piece of software that captures much of the magic that Wii Sports had at launch.
Sonic and the Secret Rings (1.2 mil)
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
For a hero who seemed to be in terminal decline, Sonic and Secret Rings was a minor triumph; in that it wasn’t terrible. In fact after the first few levels the game improved quite drastically. It still suffered from the typical modern Sega design flaws though, but the license was enough to part Wii gamers with their cash.
Red Steel (1 mil)
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Has there ever been a more polarizing launch game than Red Steel? Marketing muscle seems to have won out here as the game’s most promising feature: sword fighting, was actually its weakest aspect. A much rumored sequel still holds great promise though as its development will not be as time constrained as the first.
March 21st, 2008
at 4:09 pm
where is rayman raving rabbits?
March 21st, 2008
at 4:19 pm
are you serious Ruud??? take a look at page one.
March 21st, 2008
at 4:28 pm
I have all of the million sellers except Red Steel…which probably sucked
March 21st, 2008
at 4:53 pm
I wanted MySims to be so much more than it was — it was dumbed down too much from the original Sims concept, and should’ve borrowed a little more from Animal Crossing. There are too many occasions in the game where nothing is really going on, as you’re waiting to unlock new areas to explore. A sequel with more variety, more freedom and online play would be sweet, so I’m hoping this one breaks the million-sold mark.
March 21st, 2008
at 5:06 pm
doh!
March 21st, 2008
at 6:30 pm
Resident Evil UC and Star Wars have already sold 1 million each: http://vgchartz.com/games/index.php?name=&console=Wii&publisher=&genre=&keyword=&order=Sales
March 22nd, 2008
at 1:49 am
No Madden? No sports titles?
March 22nd, 2008
at 2:16 am
Both Madden and Tiger Woods ‘07 were strong sellers, but didn’t quite approach the million mark, Pro Evo has a great chance though,
March 22nd, 2008
at 2:43 am
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 is also on it’s way to 1 million as well
March 22nd, 2008
at 8:30 pm
Eh, they always get it wrong… the official sales numbers for Resident Evil : The Umbrella Chronicles were 950,000 units sold. And that was like numbers from several weeks ago. And I’m not talking about vgchartz estimates either but real numbers from Capcom.
Capcom has shipped 1 million copies of the game to date.
March 23rd, 2008
at 1:08 pm
So I think Rain Anderson rocks, and I am most looking forward to the sale of Rock Band and how they utilize it for the Wii. Let’s see if that soon makes the list and tops Guitar Hero III.
March 23rd, 2008
at 8:11 pm
Red Steel rocks. It has its fair share of problems, but, as a rushed launch title (and first FPS to try these kind of controls), it is awsome.
It has style, the score is great, the single player is well paced, it still is one of the best looking Wii games and, after you get used with the control flaws, it’s a great game. Even the multiplayer can be fun.
April 9th, 2008
at 10:32 pm
Wii Mario should be huge for Wii. DS version still sells very well even now.
May 23rd, 2008
at 8:54 pm
love the wii
June 23rd, 2008
at 8:02 pm
I love Carnival games. Easy game even to play with my all my kids. Age 3 to 8.