Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Top 10 Best Sellers of '08 - Did Your Favorite Make the List?

The stats for the best selling titles of 2008 have been released, and it was unquestionably Nintendo's year for sales. Wii Play (bundled with the Wii remote) is at the top of the pack with a staggering 5.28 million in sales for last year alone. Would it have sold as well without the remote pack in? Probably not, but I know that’s the reason I (and millions of others) purchased it. The mini-games on it are decently fun too, if only for a limited amount of time. Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl round out the next three spots, all featuring both mainstream and casual appeal. Grand Theft Auto IV on the 360 did extremely well at the number five spot with over three million copies sold, and Call of Duty: World at War (the 360 version) outsold Gears of War 2 on the same platform. Grand Theft Auto IV sold under two million units at the number eight spot on the PS3, and Madden 09 on the 360 sold about the same at number nine. Mario Kart DS, a title that was released way back in 2005, rounds out the list at number ten.

And, for those that just want to know the top 10 best sellers without any context...

1. Wii Play (Wii remote bundle - Wii
2. Mario Kart Wii (Racing wheel bundle) - Wii
3. Wii Fit (Balance board bundle) - Wii
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii
5. Grand Theft Auto IV - 360
6. Call of Duty: World at War - 360
7. Gears of War 2 - 360
8. Grand Theft Auto IV - PS3
9. Madden NFL 09 - 360
10. Mario Kart DS - DS

It was a tremendously good year for Nintendo, whose mix of accessible games and popular franchises dominated the sales chart. Amazingly enough, Mario Kart DS made the top 10 list despite being three years old! It was also interesting to see Call of Duty: World at War outsell Gears of War 2. Hopefully 2009 will be an even better year for gaming - I have my fingers crossed...

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5 Comments:

At 6:49 PM, Blogger gnome said...

Shockingly my favourites didn't make the list. Go figure... No Gun Mute, no Penny Arcade Adventures, no nothing. Tsk. At least I own and even enjoyed a few of them titles.

 
At 7:08 PM, Blogger Ross said...

Some of the high-profile games released this year didn't quite meet my expectations gameplay-wise either... I didn't particularly care for Gears of War 2 or Grand Theft Auto IV.

 
At 1:04 PM, Blogger The Sports Satirist said...

Out of those ten games, I only thought Gears of War 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Madden NFL 09 were great. Most of the games that I am interested in sold poorly, but that occurs ever year. Thus, it is not much of a surprise. Nintendo will always wins in the sales department, but I am still stunned by the amount of DS and Wii units sold in this recession.

 
At 4:09 PM, Blogger Ice Koobs said...

*Blushes*
I've got 7 of those games. Take a guess at the ones I don't have.
But I can say that I got both Wii Play and Mario Kart when they were released. So I know I didn't contribute to their positions.
And the only reason why Wii Play does so well is just as you said. For £2 more you get a bunch of decent mini games.
When I used to work in game people got for just that reason.
Koobs

 
At 1:21 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Was not too crazy about any of those games.... See what this year brings...?

 

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