According to the NPD Group, the Nintendo DS sold 1,700,000 units and the Wii sold 1,260,000 units, leading the industry by a large margin. The Xbox 360 came in at 819,500 units and the Playstation 3 sold 710,400 units, coming in third and fourth place, respectively.
Nintendo also had great success in software sales, accounting for four of the top ten best-selling titles of November. New Super Mario Bros. Wii placed third selling 1.39 million for the month, and Nintendo has since told the NPD Group that current sales numbers for the latest Mario title have surpassed the 2 million mark , Wii Sports Resort (sixth at 720,200), Wii Fit Plus (seventh at 697,000), and Mario Kart Wii (tenth at 315,000) also placed in the top ten for software sales in November. Topping the chart was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, which combined for over 6 million copies sold for the month.
Overall, sales were down from November 2008. The top 50 game sales sold 5% less than the top 50 from 2008. Hardware sales took more of a hit, falling 13.4 percent from last year. NPD's Anita Frazier noted that although sales were down from 2008, they were up from 2007. "I think we all have to realize the incredible year that was 2008."
"Absolutely. I say that unequivocally," Reggie proclaimed. He did issuethe caveat that they'll only compare sales of Modern Warfare 2 on the360 and not the 360, PS3, and PC combined for this unofficialchallenge, but it's a rather bold claim nevertheless. "Let's take itall the way through the January NPD data -- yes. I'll put that stake inthe ground."
Most people buy Nintendo's consoles for Nintendo games and nothing else. That's why virtually any Nintendo-published title will sell and sell and sell (even if it's Wii Music), because it's pretty much accepted that if you buy a Nintendo system you're golden if you stick with Nintendo's own games. They're always the safe bet. Third-party titles get zero exposure and are usually pretty iffy in quality anyways, so I don't blame consumers for not picking them up.
I'm not arguing the general truth of this, but it makes me sad. As a Nintendo gamer, I have always treasured the variety and quality that other developers can offer on Nintendo systems, on the NES, SNES, N64, GC, and especially the Wii.It makes me sad too not only because Nintendo doesn't (and of course can't) offer something in all genres but because I hear people say that a lot but I can't really refute it. There are only a few third-party exclusives I could point to.
Most people buy Nintendo's consoles for Nintendo games and nothing else. That's why virtually any Nintendo-published title will sell and sell and sell (even if it's Wii Music), because it's pretty much accepted that if you buy a Nintendo system you're golden if you stick with Nintendo's own games. They're always the safe bet. Third-party titles get zero exposure and are usually pretty iffy in quality anyways, so I don't blame consumers for not picking them up.
I agree, the DS is another case entirely. Even though Nintendo doesn't pump out the games for it like they used to, they're still releasing top-notch stuff across a wide range of genres (Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, for example), and the third-party support is nothing short of phenonmenal.
Honestly, when you take everything into consideration, you could make a case for the Nintendo DS being the best game system ever released.
I agree, the DS is another case entirely.
Can it do 80-100 million textureless polygons?
