Topic: Iwata Reveals Number of Global Wii, DS Million Sellers

[Kairon]

You can count the number of third-party Wii million sellers on six hands! For DS third-party million sellers, you'd need ten.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=17649

 There's little question that Wii software sells, but does it sell when it's not made by Nintendo? Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President and CEO, recently took the time to touch on exactly that issue at Nintendo's Third Quarter Financial Results Briefing and provided some numbers to prove it.    

According to Iwata, 30 third-party Wii titles had shipped more than a million units worldwide by the end of last year. That's 18 more than just nine months earlier; suggesting that third-party developer performance on Nintendo's market-leading home console was accelerating.    

For the DS, Iwata trotted out a similar drastic increase from 28 third-party million sellers at the end of last March to 49 by the end of last year. That's 21 new million-selling DS titles in just nine months.    

Iwata noted that, for the past two months, the Wii had sold more third-party software than any other console in the US. He added, "As the hardware [expands] their installed bases, we are starting to see a cycle where more titles from the third parties are making the million sellers list."    

Nintendo themselves recorded sales for 15 first-party DS titles and 11 first-party Wii titles in the last three quarters, but this information does not list million-selling titles that did not feature sales data for that reporting period.

[Tanookisuit]

Sold vs shipped... what are we really talking here?

[Kairon]

When talking of third-party games, I'm inclined to say that Nintendo is using shipped numbers, especially since they know which companies have asked them for more than a million discs. I don't know that they internally track sales of third party titles.

However, when talking about first-party games, you could speculate that Nintendo posts their own internal sell-through data.

Regardless though, I think the error in these cases is less so than that with HD consoles. Publishers who talk about games on other systems often completely front-load their shipments, which can yield a huge disparity between what they say and what NPD data says (see: Ubisoft announcing early on that 2.2 million units of the latest PoP game shipped, while December NPD suggests that just under 500k sold in the US). The Wii I suspect is, ironically, less susceptible to this kind of over-reaching PR since I doubt most Wii games start out with shipments more than a million. Most Wii games I suspect get restocked to go over a million as demand continues over time.

In hardware, Nintendo usually sticks to shipped-to-retailer numbers I believe. The reason Sony got in trouble with this terminology was that they were using shipped to Sony warehouses as the definition.

[Plugabugz]

Lets reset this data a little bit. How many of those have sold past 5 million?

[KDR_11k]

I'm looking through the release list... They list "Dynamic Zan" for 2009 in Japan, no other regions though (I hope that just means it's undecided). Also New Play Control Pikmin 2, Another Code R and Endless Ocean 2 are listed for Europe but not the US? That's weird... Can't say I remember what "Kensakusu","Line Attack Heroes", "Takt of Magic" or "Spurn Smasher" were...

[Kairon]

Lets reset this data a little bit. How many of those have sold past 5 million?

Why are you moving the goal posts? T_T

I don't know if there's any hard data to peg games over 5 million. Besides, only the most expensive of expensive titles would need to sell 5 million units, and only the most blockbuster titles should be expected to.

However, Nintendo has provided data for some recent first-party Wii million sellers... seven of which are over 5 million worldwide.

[NWR_pap64]

I'm looking through the release list... They list "Dynamic Zan" for 2009 in Japan, no other regions though (I hope that just means it's undecided). Also New Play Control Pikmin 2, Another Code R and Endless Ocean 2 are listed for Europe but not the US? That's weird... Can't say I remember what "Kensakusu","Line Attack Heroes", "Takt of Magic" or "Spurn Smasher" were...

Um, are you talking about the 2009 release list Nintendo released a few days ago?

I gave the link to Kairon, but I believe this isn't about that. Unless I am missing something.

[Plugabugz]

Lets reset this data a little bit. How many of those have sold past 5 million?

Why are you moving the goal posts? T_T

I don't know if there's any hard data to peg games over 5 million. Besides, only the most expensive of expensive titles would need to sell 5 million units, and only the most blockbuster titles should be expected to.

However, Nintendo has provided data for some recent first-party Wii million sellers... seven of which are over 5 million worldwide.

That's my point. It's great to see MORE titles selling more than a million. But in comparison to stuff like Wii Fit and Mario Kart which is just selling lots all the time continuously it shows the massive gap between them.

[RABicle]

So do we have a list of the titles or what?

[TJ Spyke]

Lets reset this data a little bit. How many of those have sold past 5 million?

Why pick such a huge number? You do know that even the PS2 had only 7 games that sold more than 5 million copies?

[Kairon]

So do we have a list of the titles or what?

A news story is coming. Until then, you can click the link in the story to see the list straight from Nintendo.

[GoldenPhoenix]

So do we have a list of the titles or what?

A news story is coming. Until then, you can click the link in the story to see the list straight from Nintendo.

Kairon get an interview with Iwata.

[Luigi Dude]

That's my point. It's great to see MORE titles selling more than a million. But in comparison to stuff like Wii Fit and Mario Kart which is just selling lots all the time continuously it shows the massive gap between them.

Well of course there's going to be a huge gap between them.  In the case of Wii Fit it was a game that was heavily advertised and marketed to the right audience very well.  In the case of Mario Kart, it's the new installment of a long running series that's always sold millions, not to mention it also had a big marketing campaign.

It's basic economics going on here.  Right now third parties have still not taken the Wii seriously.  They barely advertise their games and don't release major well know titles.  As a result, of course their sales aren't going to come anywhere near Nintendo's who advertises and releases well known brands.

When major third party games like Monster Hunter 3 and Dragon Quest X are released, then we can start making real comparisons.

[KDR_11k]

I'm looking through the release list... They list "Dynamic Zan" for 2009 in Japan, no other regions though (I hope that just means it's undecided). Also New Play Control Pikmin 2, Another Code R and Endless Ocean 2 are listed for Europe but not the US? That's weird... Can't say I remember what "Kensakusu","Line Attack Heroes", "Takt of Magic" or "Spurn Smasher" were...

Um, are you talking about the 2009 release list Nintendo released a few days ago?

I gave the link to Kairon, but I believe this isn't about that. Unless I am missing something.

It's in the PDF linked in the article.

[SantosL.Halper]

Unfortunately, these stats aren't going to end the complaints that only Nintendo's software sells.

[KDR_11k]

I think that perception exists because people WANT it to exist.