Nintendo has had its highs and lows, but it has never stopped making its quirky original games . They have such a unique and visual style that the technical quality and graphics of their titles have always taken a back seat. For the nintendero, fun and creativity prevail . So… Are the most creative games the ones that have sold the most? Here we show you the ranking of the Nintendo games that have garnered the most sales.
Wii Sports – 82.9 Million (Wii, 2006)
Wii Sports had it very easy to be the best-selling video game in the history of Nintendo . We could even say that he has achieved this position at the top by cheating a bit. In less than a year, Wii Sports was the best-selling game for Wii. It would end up selling almost 83 million copies.
The secret of its success is not a great mystery. Wii Sports came bundled with the console . You might think then that as many units of this game as consoles were sold, but it was not like that. In Japan the game was marketed separately , hence the sales figures do not match.
Its position in this ranking is well deserved. Never before has a video game been so revolutionary . Middle-aged people who had never wanted to get close to a video game were captivated by the title.
Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus – 43.8 Million (Wii, 2008/2009)
Without the previous work that Wii Sports did, Wii Fit would have come to nothing. Nintendo took advantage of the pull of its console and gave it an even more creative spin with the Wii Balance Board . It was not a cheap game at all, as the game with the table was worth almost as much as half a console. Still it was a resounding success .
Wi Fit sold 22.67 million units, while the Plus version touched practically the same numbers. Both video games were practically identical . Wii Fit Plus included everything that came in the original game, as well as some extra content.
We could consider Wii Fit one of Nintendo’s most successful successes. Mario must have taken his hat off when he discovered that a home exercise game was so easily ahead of him in sales.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 38.74 Million (Switch, 2017)
It was a rehash and was heavily criticized during its release for Switch. It was coming off as the best-selling game on the Nintendo Wii U , with a dismal 8.46 million copies sold.
But to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of the best Mario Kart that has ever existed. Visually it looks spectacular, it released the 200cc mode and the battle mode has more variety than ever. In addition, he responded to the fan service very intelligently. Every self-respecting nintendero wanted a Mario Kart that would make a crossover with characters from other Nintendo sagas such as Zelda or Animal Crossing.
Mario Kart Wii – 37.38 Million (Wii, 2008)
True Mario Kart fans will tell you that Mario Kart: Double Dash (GameCube, 2003) was a much more complete video game than its successor. And they are probably right. Sales sometimes do not do justice to the quality or originality of video games. The GameCube was unlucky enough to be overshadowed by the PlayStation 2, and its magnificent catalog is a veritable gold mine for those discovering Nintendo today.
Mario Kart Wii had a lot of sales because Wii was a real boom . Still, the game was quite good, despite being a bit difficult to drive the car with the WiiMote. It also had online mode (although this was previously released by Mario Kart DS) and offered the possibility of motorcycle racing.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 34.85 Million (2020)
We were all looking forward to the release of an Animal Crossing for Switch. The 3DS version had set the bar quite high, and the release of Pocket Camp for iOS and Android did not quite fill us up. The game was going to be a success yes or yes, but it was intended to come out on March 20, 2020 . Yes, you read that correctly, just that fateful week in which practically half the world was confined to home by the coronavirus pandemic.
While reality presented an apocalyptic world, Dodo Airlines transported us to a desert island. Our mission? Fill the island with life and happiness . New Horizons certainly couldn’t have come at a better time . He was an ally during those weeks, especially for those people who went through confinement alone and who were able to interact with friends through the video game. But not only served in his day to disconnect a bit from reality. It is a great video game that will continue to sell for the next few years thanks to the fact that they knew how to vary the mechanics and give a different approach to the franchise.
Wii Sports Resort – 33.14 Million (Wii, 2009)
He took advantage of the Wii Sports slipstream. Many who already had the Nintendo Wii bought it to have new sports to hang out with. On the other hand, new consoles were sold with Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort on a single disc.
The game came in a fairly large package, as it included Wii Motion Plus , an accessory that improved the capabilities of the original controller. In the new consoles, the control already had this technology integrated without having to connect any extra accessories.
The video game had its charm, but it never came to be the shadow of what the original Wii Sports was. It did its job. It was fun and sold a summery and heavenly climate that gave a very good vibe.
Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue – 31.38 Million (GameBoy, 1996)
What can be said about these two that has not already been said? Pokémon Red and Blue were a success that not even Nintendo expected . They were originally released in Japan in 1996 ( Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green ). They arrived in the United States in 1998 and appeared in Europe at the end of 1999.
How programmers were able to fit such a complex game onto a cartridge with so little memory remains a mystery . What we do know is the mass phenomenon that Professor Oak generated when he gave us the choice between Bulbasaur , Squirtle and Charmander .
One of the most interesting rumors about this pair of video games is that they totally disrupted Nintendo’s plans . Until Pokémon, GameBoy had been the console for Tetris (35 million copies, 1989). The console was already at the end of its useful life when Pokémon came out. There were both the original GameBoy and the Pocket. They surely had zero hope of hitting the ball with the pocket monsters. But they did.
What was supposed to happen then? Nintendo was in a rush to want to extend GameBoy’s life even more so as not to miss the Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Gold and Silver train. It would be then when they decided to launch a console that was not in the plans. The GameBoy Color . Apparently the Japanese already had the GameBoy Advance ready to go on the market around the year 2000. But the success reaped by Charizard and Blastoise was a butterfly effect that would delay a whole new generation of portable consoles. In any case, it was worth it.