NPD sales data shows top 10 best selling exclusive games since 1995, all are Nintendo games

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The NPD Group has been tracking United States video game sales data since 1995, offering decades of sales history to look back upon. Analyst and employee of The NPD Group, Mat Piscatella, has trawled through the available records in order to create a definitive list of best selling games, with previous lists including what titles shifted the most copies on PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. This time, Piscatella has revealed the best selling console exclusive video game titles since 1995--not including ones that were bundled with hardware--and the results show overwhelming domination by a single company: Nintendo. Every entry on the list belongs to a Nintendo system, ranging from the Wii to the Nintendo 64. The top ten are as follows.

10. Wii Sports Resort
9. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
8. Super Mario 64
7. Mario Kart DS
6. New Super Mario Bros.
5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
4. Wii Fit Plus
3. Mario Kart Wii
2. Wii Play
1. Wii Fit

Taking the lead, perhaps surprisingly, is Wii Fit, and the top 5 are solely comprised of Nintendo Wii games. The most recent release from there is New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which hit store shelves on November 11, 2009. NPD does not track digital sales data, however none of the above games were available in a digital format at the time of release.

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|<roni&g

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Wii was the last great Nintendo console. A packed library that we haven’t seen from a Nintendo console since.
Switch’s library is made up of old games that people who bought the wiiu have already played through, Nintendo has gone down the pan and I really hope they go out of business if they don’t remove paid online and make new mario kart & bros games for switch.
 

duwen

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Wii was the last great Nintendo console. A packed library that we haven’t seen from a Nintendo console since.
Switch’s library is made up of old games that people who bought the wiiu have already played through, Nintendo has gone down the pan and I really hope they go out of business if they don’t remove paid online and make new mario kart & bros games for switch.
I kind of agree... except the Wii's vast library of games was predominantly dog shit shovelware - it's 'exclusive' own titles that are worth playing probably amount to a similar number as the Wii U's and Switch's combined 'exclusives'.
As for it being Nintendos last great console... not really - it was just an enhanced Gamecube with a gimmick that appealed to the masses, and most gamers still prefer the Gamecube.
 

|<roni&g

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I kind of agree... except the Wii's vast library of games was predominantly dog shit shovelware - it's 'exclusive' own titles that are worth playing probably amount to a similar number as the Wii U's and Switch's combined 'exclusives'.
As for it being Nintendos last great console... not really - it was just an enhanced Gamecube with a gimmick that appealed to the masses, and most gamers still prefer the Gamecube.

Yeah the thing about the Wii if it could play all the GameCube games and a bunch of good games for the Wii, I just this week got into Wii party with my girlfriend and it’s been great, also played Wii for for the first time and I was surprised how good it was, got a sweat on in my living room and felt like I’d had a little work out.
The thing about Nintendo these days is they’ve turned poisonous, attacking emulation sites that offer old games that can be hard to find and Nintendo don’t receive the money for them anyway, and now charging for online for their tony library of decent multiplayer games as well as all their main titles being on the wiiu before it, the loyal customers all paid for those games and are expected to be happy buying the same games again on switch, not good at all.
Wii was a golden era for Nintendo and they’ve gone downhill since the switch came out
 

Zense

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Yeah the thing about the Wii if it could play all the GameCube games and a bunch of good games for the Wii, I just this week got into Wii party with my girlfriend and it’s been great, also played Wii for for the first time and I was surprised how good it was, got a sweat on in my living room and felt like I’d had a little work out.
The thing about Nintendo these days is they’ve turned poisonous, attacking emulation sites that offer old games that can be hard to find and Nintendo don’t receive the money for them anyway, and now charging for online for their tony library of decent multiplayer games as well as all their main titles being on the wiiu before it, the loyal customers all paid for those games and are expected to be happy buying the same games again on switch, not good at all.
Wii was a golden era for Nintendo and they’ve gone downhill since the switch came out

Nintendo needs to realize that the best way to combat piracy is availability, price discounts, good online, and last a console that not everyone and their dog is readily able to crack.

Like my main reason to mod my 3ds was to be able to play 4 swords anniversairy, which was only available for a week for free to those who grabbed it...
 

thewarhammer

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https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Min...8&qid=1542793446&sr=8-35&keywords=wii+bundles
Isn't it tho ;) New or used doesn't matter.
NPD group clearly states no bundles, it doesn't say anything about new or old. If you go to the amazon listing it clearly shows New super mario bros in a bundle while it is on the list plus wii sport resorts plus mario kart

C'mon, it's not that hard.

If they say they aren't including bundles it just means that, doesn't matter the game, they are counting with the software individual sales only.

This become even more obvious with Wii Sports being out of the list.
 
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In all honesty, I find it hard to believe.

COD games sell well in the 20 million copies and last year, GTA 5 was the 6th or 7th best selling game in the US...

Edit: if it's physical copies only then it would be a bit more believable, but then the title would be misleading.
This list is console exclusives only
 

kumikochan

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C'mon, it's not that hard.

If they say they aren't including bundles it just means that, doesn't matter the game, they are counting with the software individual sales only.

This become even more obvious with Wii Sports being out of the list.
It is not. I showed that all those games are bundled together with systems so the list is not correct. Also Halo 3 had a couple million more sales then Smash bros brawl so why isn't that game included in the list but smash is ? I find that a bit weird
 
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thewarhammer

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It is not. I showed that all those games are bundled together with systems so the list is not c orrect

I'll say it again:

They aren't saying that any of these games weren't included in bundles (besides the fact that most of the bundles you showed are from Europe, and this case is about the US sales ONLY).

It's only that these numbers are about the individual software sales, not counting the bundled ones (Official bundles. Retailer combos obviously have nothing to do with it). For example, if a game sold two copies, one alone and one bundled with the console, the data will count the individual sale only, cutting out the bundled one.

And with the fact that Wii's best-selling game (which is obviously Wii Sports) isn't on the list, it's a no-brainer.

Again, it's not that hard.
 

kumikochan

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I'll say it again:

They aren't saying that any of these games weren't included in bundles (besides the fact that most of the bundles you showed are from Europe, and this case is about the US sales ONLY).

It's only that these numbers are about the individual software sales, not counting the bundled ones (Official bundles. Retailer combos obviously have nothing to do with it). For example, if a game sold two copies, one alone and one bundled with the console, the data will count the individual sale only, cutting out the bundled one.

And with the fact that Wii's best-selling game (which is obviously Wii Sports) isn't on the list, it's a no-brainer.

Again, it's not that hard.
No i did not, i even showed links from Amazon.com. They did say games that were bundled weren't included but i showed 3 titles in that list that are bundled. Again Halo 3 has 2-3 million more sales than super smash bros brawl but isn't even in the list but smash bros brawl is. That doesn't even make sense if the list is exclusive games that sold most between now and 1995. Seeing Halo 3 has more sales it should have been included in that list. Again it is not that hard, i can keep saying that 2
 

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So there are some interesting sides to this,

This is a bit obvious, but notice there's no Gamecube games, which I believe still sold more units than the N64(?).

Super Mario 64 is there even if it's what a lot of people got bundled with their N64 (at least all my friends did back in the day).

And I have yet to play Wii Play...
N64 sold more than GameCube.
 
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10. Wii Sports Resort
9. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
8. Super Mario 64
7. Mario Kart DS
6. New Super Mario Bros.
5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
4. Wii Fit Plus
3. Mario Kart Wii
2. Wii Play
1. Wii Fit
The best-selling console exclusive of all time is Wii Fit. That's concerning.
 

thewarhammer

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No i did not, i even showed links from Amazon.com. They did say games that were bundled weren't included but i showed 3 titles in that list that are bundled. Again Halo 3 has 2-3 million more sales than super smash bros brawl but isn't even in the list but smash bros brawl is. That doesn't even make sense if the list is exclusive games that sold most between now and 1995. Seeing Halo 3 has more sales it should have been included in that list. Again it is not that hard, i can keep saying that 2

Your text comprehension in this case is really concerning. It does not matter if a title were bundled or not, as they are only counting standalone sales. It's not about cutting out bundled TITLES, only bundled SALES.

upload_2018-11-22_12-55-16.png

If bundles were to be included, Wii Sports would easily take the first place of the list, with Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports Resort taking the second and third places, as you can easily see here.

About Halo 3 I can't say much, as I couldn't find sources about US sales only, BUT as Halo 3 had a few bundles, it would impact it's sales numbers (even more taking in consideration that we're talking about US sales only). With that in mind, it wouldn't be impossible for it to be out of this list (as it is).
 
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pedro702

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No i did not, i even showed links from Amazon.com. They did say games that were bundled weren't included but i showed 3 titles in that list that are bundled. Again Halo 3 has 2-3 million more sales than super smash bros brawl but isn't even in the list but smash bros brawl is. That doesn't even make sense if the list is exclusive games that sold most between now and 1995. Seeing Halo 3 has more sales it should have been included in that list. Again it is not that hard, i can keep saying that 2
you aren't understanding lol

they took away bundled sales not the entire games, so any game that had a standalone release will only count for it.

so if the bundle sold 2 millions and standalone sold 20
it would mean the game only counted 20 millions instead of 22 because they removed the standalone value.

heck they even splitted pokemon versions by solo or else any pokemon generation would be there for sure.
 

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The best-selling console exclusive of all time is Wii Fit. That's concerning.

Likely the reason for that is Wii fit wasn't really meant for gamers but for your average adult. Apparently it was quite popular for people to use it to stay in shape and saw it as another way to diet. Not facts, merely my assumption.
 

kumikochan

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Your text comprehension in this case is really concerning. It does not matter if a title were bundled or not, as they are only counting standalone sales. It's not about cutting out bundled TITLES, only bundled SALES.

View attachment 149987

If bundles were to be included, Wii Sports would easily take the first place of the list, with Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports Resort taking the second and third places, as you can easily see here.

About Halo 3 I can't say much, as I couldn't find sources about US sales only, BUT as Halo 3 had a few bundles, it would impact it's sales numbers (even more taking in consideration that we're talking about US sales only). With that in mind, it wouldn't be impossible for it to be out of this list (as it is).
The list is still a load of bull seeing halo sold more than smash bros brawl and isn't included.
you aren't understanding lol

they took away bundled sales not the entire games, so any game that had a standalone release will only count for it.

so if the bundle sold 2 millions and standalone sold 20
it would mean the game only counted 20 millions instead of 22 because they removed the standalone value.

heck they even splitted pokemon versions by solo or else any pokemon generation would be there for sure.
Then they should have added Halo 3. It's as simple as that
 

pedro702

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The list is still a load of bull seeing halo sold more than smash bros brawl and isn't included.

Then they should have added Halo 3. It's as simple as that
lol what is your data? halo 3 had bundles and if you take out the bundles it may have not sold better than smash in NA...
 

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