10 million Americans pick up Wii Play

Nintendo touts US retail milestone for its controversial controller-bundled title, which has been a fixture in NPD's top 10 since its release in 2007.

Since it was released in the US in February 2007, Wii Play has been a fixture on the NPD Group's top 10 charts. Officially classified as "software," the minigame collection continues to be wildly popular because it is bundled with the Wii Remote. The internally developed title--which received tepid reviews--is also severely discounted, costing just $10 more than the Wii Remote's $39.99 a la carte price.

America's love affair with laser hockey continues...

Despite the controversy about Wii Play having turned NPD's monthly top 10 into an effective top 9 for two years, Nintendo is singing its praises. Today, the Kyoto, Japan-based game giant announced that Wii Play has sold 10 million units in the US alone as of the end of February. The figure puts it on par with the seven DS titles that Nintendo revealed hit the 10-million-unit mark earlier this month.

"Even if you believe people are buying Wii Play solely for the controller, that indicates that there are now more than 10 million people who have an extra Wii Remote controller in their homes," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales and marketing, in a statement. "When added to the 12.7 million Wii Remote controllers that have sold separately, this reinforces the growing 'social gaming' trend we have been seeing where friends and family use their Wii games as a social hub--both in person and online."

The 22.7 million Wii Remote-unit figure is noteworthy, given that Nintendo confirmed that US Wii hardware sales now total 19 million. That means Wii Remote sales have exceeded the console's installed base by 3.7 million.

As part of today's announcement, Nintendo also announced that the popularity of its DS handheld shows no signs of slowing down. The portable sold 588,000 units last month, bringing its life-to-date haul to 29 million units in the US--worldwide, it had shipped 100 million units as of last week.

156 Comments

  • TheYoshster

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 11:59 am GMT

    Wii Play was a waste of money to buy! It's an udderly mediocre contemplation of simple games, and yet it sells 10 mil! That's unbelievable, and it's plain out stupid for a game like this to out sell great franchise games like Super Mario Galaxy.

  • Glade_Gnarr

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 2:58 pm GMT

    I bet wii play is going to outsell Mario Bros. 3 for the top selling video game of all time.

  • Pablo620

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 12:42 pm GMT

    Its just sad too see our beloved gaming industry has been reduced to this rubbish by Nintendo. Sigh...Wii Play is horrible. At least Wii Sports was fun to play with other people

  • popdacracka

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 10:09 am GMT

    Good going Nintendo. I admit, I don't play my Wii as much as I used to but I'm not going to knock their hustle. They found a base to push their system towards and it worked. Beautifully. Beyond anyone's expectations, except Nintendo's, literally. I applaud them.

    Oh, and the DS..best handheld ever made. 100 million units? Incredible.

  • Centra

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 9:59 am GMT

    As a 40 year old gamer, who would rather kick back in a cozy chair and hold a conventional controller, I am surprised that Nintendo was able to pull off what I thought was impossible. Mostly kid games, crazy controls, and more golf games than I can shake a stick at. I admit, I waited in a cold lineup outside a bestbuy store to buy one of these things on release night, and I have to say it only gets used about 5 times a year. But it's the only console in the house that attracts non-gamers like flies. Grandad is playing golf, my uncle loves how the controls mimic a baseball bat, and my Mom is... Well she is still lost, but you get the point. Its great to see this group having some fun instead of watching me mash 80 button combos on my 360. The simple reason the Wii does so well, is because its so aproachable by ANYONE. except my mom.

  • buffdaddy69

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 9:58 am GMT

    " pyroone

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 11:11 am GMT

    A lot of you guys don't seem to realize that there are many people who are just casual gamers. Secondly how many of you have gotten together with a bunch of people, gotten drunk and started wailing away on a wii game. It's a hell of a lot of fun watching drunks swinging away on that remote."

    You know what i noticed? This whole "Casual/Hardcore Gamer" Labeling bull**** has never been fully promoted and used like a crutch until this generation. I think its funny that the main excuse thats ALWAYS used for the Wii is "Well....Its not for hardcore gamers, its for Casual Gamers" Even though much of the fan base for videogames in general since the arcade and Atari days were considered Hardcore Gamers or...Just Gamers for that matter.

  • buffdaddy69

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 9:51 am GMT

    " metabolic_youth

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 6:33 pm GMT (hide)

    Nintendo continues to show Sony and Microsoft the error of their overpriced ways. The future isn't wallet busting complexity, but simple uncomplicated formats and ideas."

    With *****y gameplay and Graphics while Sony and Microsoft further improve their graphics, gameplay and technology all together

  • RockmanSRD

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 9:51 am GMT

    More like 10 million got an extra wii-mote that happened to come with Wii Play... My friend picked this up for his Wii and we got tired of it after about 20 minutes. Oh wait, that wasn't just Wii Play, that was the whole system, sorry. XD

    Then we went and played on his PS3.

  • buffdaddy69

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 9:49 am GMT

    " lewisg1212

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 10:06 am GMT

    Half the Americans got home, read the manual and realised they were too fat to use it lol"

    I love how Froggies think that Americans are nothing but fat people, even though if he ever came over here, He wouldn't see that many fat people. Also, its not like fat people aren't limited to just the US.

  • ThAdEa82

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 8:57 am GMT

    lewisg1212 - its true XD

    People, do yourselves a favor and get a 360 or ps3.

  • Jshaw71

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 8:28 am GMT

    that's cool that 10 mil ppl picked up wii play, i was one of them, i play it from time to time, a fun lil' game collecton and it comes with a extra wiimote, it's a win win situation like getting links crossbow training with the zapper shell, well, ok, maybe not a win win for the zapper, but you get it, right?

  • efunk25

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 6:04 am GMT

    The Wii reminds me of the newest exercise fade like "The Total Gym" by Chuck Norris, or Bowflex. Everyone has to have one when it comes out, you use it for a few months, get extremely board, then is ends up sitting in the corner with dirty close on it while you play your PS3 or Xbox.

  • lewisg1212

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 3:06 am GMT

    Half the Americans got home, read the manual and realised they were too fat to use it lol

  • HappyBB

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 2:25 am GMT

    "worldwide, it had shipped 100 million units as of last week. "

    -Wow, 100 million! That's a lot of resource being put into producing DS. I hope all those 100 million DSes are and will be used meaningfully. Otherwise, it's a waste of resource!!

  • coldfire94

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 2:15 am GMT

    lol no wonder so many wii fits have been sold in America they need it the most lol

  • snoop_rogg

    Posted Mar 23, 2009 1:17 am GMT

    Wii Play is about as much fun as E.T. on Atari.

  • aaronobst

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 7:06 pm GMT

    Surprise, Surprise M0RE Wii sales news

    Seriously Gamespot don't quit your dayjob

  • pyroone

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 4:44 pm GMT

    @JackHoleFace00

    Your just like the wii, not too serious and funny.

  • GatCloudX

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 4:03 pm GMT

    showing that the majority of America is fail its a sad day for me to be an american

  • ehsan8888

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 3:19 pm GMT

    Saying this is like saying you bundle 360 controller with a crappy game like Jumper for $10 more.

  • Redsyrup

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 1:44 pm GMT

    Hello Mrs Dunaway, Don't act like you're doing me any favors. I remember playing Super Mario World with my friends using the second controller bundled with the console, granted controlers where cheaper back then, but price of the entire system could easily sustain a second wiimote. By excluding the second controller you're still treating multi-player as an after thought on a box engineered for it. This does not compute.

  • hassy94

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 1:14 pm GMT

    "You pay £5 for the game than the remote alone. It's a bit of fun so who can complain at that price. I know it isn't the best game ever but lets face it, sony and microsoft are probably kicking themselves for not thinking of doing this with their controllers."

    Actually Microsoft have done it before the Wii even came out, called "entertainment packs" which is a game-controller bundle.

  • r_gam3

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 12:29 pm GMT

    i bought my extra controller separate. Thank goodness.

  • metabolic_youth

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 11:33 am GMT

    Nintendo continues to show Sony and Microsoft the error of their overpriced ways. The future isn't wallet busting complexity, but simple uncomplicated formats and ideas.

  • TXMostWanted

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 11:26 am GMT

    Wii Play is horrible compared to Wii Sports...if it wasn't bundled, no one would've gotten this!!

  • Gamingcucumber

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 7:36 am GMT

    quanloco:

    Instead of talking out of the wrong end of the body, you should try and pick up games such as Zak & Wiki, Blob, NMH, Madworld, Hosue Of Dead etc and support the quality 3rd party games. It's lacking yeah, but it's far from the worst system ever made. It's just "family" console, thats all.

  • disfalling

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 7:34 am GMT

    i bought this, and traded it at gamestop for $10-$15 credit after playing it for an hour. pretty terrible game, but it's obvious why people are buying it. i sure wish nintendo would start making more enjoyable games. wii play, wii music, etc. is not innovative. braid, portal, world of goo, that's innovative. in fact, i play world of goo maybe an hour a week, and that is the ONLY time my Wii is on.

  • MattHopeKids

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 7:10 am GMT

    You pay £5 for the game than the remote alone. It's a bit of fun so who can complain at that price. I know it isn't the best game ever but lets face it, sony and microsoft are probably kicking themselves for not thinking of doing this with their controllers.

  • King_Jeremy_77

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 6:52 am GMT

    Congrats to Nintendo.

  • quanloco

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 5:11 am GMT

    Well when all you have are 5 games to choose from of course its going to sell 10 million. Wii fit, Wii Play, Mario Cart, Smash bros, Guitar Hero. Im sorry but the wii is just garbage in my opinion there is nothing to even get excited about with it I own one and It has not been turned on for about 1yr.

  • CTR360

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 4:24 am GMT

    no suprise too bad gamers buy this stupid game mgs4 dont sell 10 milion why have super graphics and gameplay too bad

  • JackHoleFace00

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 3:21 am GMT

    @pyroone

    Actually if I'm out getting drunk with friends we're sure as hell doing things more fun than playing Wii. I would know because I'm drunk right now and just got back from the bars. WHy I'm on Gamespot is anyone's guess. Oh wait because I didn't hook up with a girl. Oh well life goes on. I'm talking to fellow GS readaers, you guys know this!!

  • misterstatus

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 8:46 pm GMT

    I'm surprised Nintendo isn't trying to claim that Wii Sports is the biggest selling game of all time, since they bundle it with every system.

  • D_West

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 8:43 pm GMT

    Nintendo: good for you for coming back from the brink of annihilation.
    Now get off your pile of money and make some good games.

  • VenomRitual

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 6:46 pm GMT

    come on nintendo, bundle a remote with something funner like a wii sports 2 title or wii points for your store.

  • Spartan_418

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 6:20 pm GMT

    Microsoft should consider bundling Wii remotes with crappy games like Fusion Frenzy 2 if it wants them to sell.

  • Slaveways

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 4:15 pm GMT

    in related news 10 million people have thrown their money into a giant hole

  • imperial_agent posted Mar 21, 2009 4:07 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    imperial_agent

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 4:07 pm GMT (hide)

    Look.

    Selling 10 million pieces of dog turd doesn't mean it's golden dog turd that tastes like bacon and honey. It's still dog turd no matter how you look at it.

    /dog turd

  • svaubel

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 11:35 am GMT

    I bought Wii Play back in the day because it was the ONLY way to get an extra Remote at the time. The minigames are pretty lame though and I traded the game in and havent looked back.

  • swamptick

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 10:20 am GMT

    And 10 million people continue to do not much with them.

  • Hayden10Noah

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 9:43 am GMT

    way to go nintendo. many more milestones ahead.

  • Travo_basic

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 9:38 am GMT

    Congrats to Nintendo.

  • FlashCharge

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 9:06 am GMT

    Its good that nintendo is doing well and that families are enjoy the Wii. Although it is a social gaming console it still fills the bill for many families. Both the 360 and PS3 are really for a different type of gamer and if they included more social games their popularity would even grow more.

  • misterstatus

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 8:20 am GMT

    At least Nintendo seems to acknowledge that it's the controller people are buying Wii Play for and not the game itself, although they immediately spin it in their favor by using the extra controller sales as proof that people are using their Wii as a "social hub". That's funny, I thought extra controllers have always been available for all game systems and that most people usually buy an extra one no matter which system they own. The only difference is, Nintendo is the only company that tries to pass off controller sales as game sales.

  • -Raiden-

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 6:35 am GMT

    hehe they are rocking the gaming world!

  • Soulk posted Mar 21, 2009 6:35 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Soulk

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 6:35 am GMT (hide)

    no wonder how xbox360 outsold ps3 in america
    1 milllion Halo Wars sold also?
    "vox popus vox dei"?
    big crappy things happening lately

  • pyroone

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 4:11 am GMT

    A lot of you guys don't seem to realize that there are many people who are just casual gamers. Secondly how many of you have gotten together with a bunch of people, gotten drunk and started wailing away on a wii game. It's a hell of a lot of fun watching drunks swinging away on that remote.

  • so_hai

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 3:56 am GMT

    I'm glad I don't own that pile of pus called "Wii Play"...

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