Nintendo dominates 2009 software sales

by Stevie Smith - Feb 4 2010, 12:53

The unprecedented consumer momentum enjoyed by (Call of Duty) Modern Warfare 2 may have blasted Activision and Infinity Ward’s juggernaut military shooter to the top of 2009’s software chart, but it’s Nintendo-branded software that emerges as last year’s true retail force.

More pointedly, region-specific market research supplied by leading number crunchers NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain reveal that software titles delivered by Japanese giant Nintendo dominated sales during the course of 2009.

Combined sales across the United States, the UK and Japan reveal a trailing four of Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Fit – all first-party releases exclusive to the motion-sensing Wii home console.

According to the latest sales report figures, fun activity sequel Wii Sports Resort sold 7.75 million copies across the three regions, with New Super Mario Bros. Wii following close behind with 7.41 million unit sales. Rounding out the top-five performers are Wii Fit Plus with 5.80 million sales, and the original Wii Fit with 5.44 million units.

Despite the apparent health of Nintendo’s business on the software front, there is still little doubt regarding the success of Modern Warfare 2, which topped the pile with a staggering 11.86 million sales, which equates to more than $1 billion USD.

That achievement is doubly impressive when considering that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the all-action sequel only hit retail on November 10.

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