Don’t panic! Mario Kart may have dropped out of the charts last week. But it’s OK. It’s back this week. Phew!
As we get closer to Christmas, Wii games are resuming their traditional place atop the tree. Five of the top six are Wii games, all but one of which were actually released this year. And then there’s Mario Kart, back in at number four a mere 20 months after it was first released. Clearly it cheats and gets the lightning bolt every lap.
All Format Full-Priced Games Top 10 for the w/e November 29:
1. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
2. Wii Cricket (Wii)
3. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
4. Mario Kart (Wii)
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)
6. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
7. Assassin’s Creed II (360)
8. Assassin’s Creed II (PS3)
9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360)
10. Wii Play (Wii)
DansDans
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 10:43 AMWhy is WiiPlay STILL on the list? Oh God get it out of our charts. Also, CoD MW2 is still pretty high on the list, esp PS3 version… hmm…
mkl
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 1:23 PMBecause people keep buying Wiis. Come to terms with it. Because they’re not going to scratch it off the list now.
plmko
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 10:46 AMWow I’d have thought more Xbox users would buy MW2.
David Wildgoose
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 11:13 AMI suspect they all bought it the first week.
DavidR
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 10:52 AMWii Cricket is now at number 2? WHAT THE HELL DUDE?!?!?
Ribs
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 11:59 AMhaha welcome to xmas mate, when people who don’t game, buy games.
Michael Ormando
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 12:20 PMhaha good call. so true.
DavidR
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 12:43 PMUnfortunately, you’re right. But the consistent (and seemingly increasing) sales of Wii Cricket blows my mind. This game has had bugger-all marketing but somehow is almost selling as much as a new Mario Bros game?
If you discount the general public learning about this game from TV and magazine advertisements (because it’s unlikely they are looking at game wesbites), then the only possible conclusion you can make is that people are simply wandering aimlessly into a shop and stumbling across this game. IN RECORD NUMBERS.
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it bundled with Wii consoles though. That may explain it. But good lord, this game is becoming a riddle wrapped inside an enigma.
Stinky
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 1:13 PMAlthough I haven’t tried it, the wiimote seems like it was made for cricket. I’d still rather play cricket.
Ad
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 11:23 AMIt’d be nice if any game bundled with hardware was eliminated from sales charts. There’d be a much more honest idea of what games are selling on their own merits if games coming free with a console/controller weren’t on there.
Scott Vandonkelaar
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 3:37 PMThat would be a tough call to make though. When you take into account the number of bundles offered by both the 360 and PS3 they have some of the best selling games there, and people really do buy those bundles for the game they are getting with it, as the choice is there.
Like it or not, even the Wii games that are bundled are actually sought after and played by the individuals purchasing it. Maybe not in all cases, but enough to justify it as a sale.
Bundles do boost sales, but only because the interest is there.
Daniel
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 12:12 PMDo we know why Wii Play was added to the charts after two years of not being added?
I’m not saying it shouldn’t be on there or should, it’s just weird that they decided to count it all of a sudden.
David Wildgoose
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 12:14 PMIt’s been there for as long as I can recall. When was it not being counted?
Daniel
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 1:20 PMI believe it was sometime in mid 2008 they started counting it, it wasn’t that it wasn’t charting because it would have least shown up on the Wii charts.
06 and 07 definitely didn’t have it though at all.
Jay
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 1:18 PMIts funny hearing how people think the PS3 version of MW2 is doing so much better than the 360 version.
I wish there sales to prove me wrong, but i doubt they would anyway.
Then again, perhaps all the commercials of games followed by the whole “On PS3″ is paying off for Sony.
Rob
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 1:18 PMPossibly because it is bundled with a second Wiimote?
Brendan Tonkin
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 4:32 PMI know why it’s doing so well, but Mario Kart Wii was such a lacklustre effort… it felt third party. Every Mario Kart game before it was a lot better.
picky
Friday, December 4, 2009 at 10:50 PMmario kart wii feels like a port of the ds version