Nintendo of America has announced a new Wii bundle, and hardware revision, to be available starting October 23, 2011. Nintendo has removed the top backwards compatible GameCube accessory ports and will no longer be compatible with GameCube software. Also notable is the new horizontal only orientation, forgoing the previous vertical orientation (so, no more Wii stand). The bundle will include the New Super Mario Bros. Wii game, a Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack CD (only available in this bundle), a black Wii Remote Plus controller and a black Nunchuk controller for $149.99 MSRP. This latest Wii bundle will be available in black or white.
Watch for the online availability of the Nintendo Wii New Super Mario Bros. Wii bundle here, or purchase a GameCube compatible Wii with the Mario Kart Wii bundle, which will continue to be available. For more details, visit www.nintendo.com/wii.
The NPD Group has announced this year’s top selling games through November 2009. These numbers account for total units sold throughout the year, until the end of November 2009. December holiday sales and complete sales for 2009 will be announced in January 2010. For now, you can get a pretty good idea at what’s topping 2009 with the list from NPD Group below, as posted by industrygamers.com.
It’s no surprise that Nintendo dominates most of the top 10 spots (6 of them), having the largest hardware base of gamers. Modern Warfare 2 was this year’s biggest seller, and an entertainment blockbuster, with the Xbox 360 version leading at the number one spot and the PlayStation 3 version in the number eight spot.
Here are the top 10 video games sold through November 30, 2009*:
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) – Activision Blizzard – 4.2 million units
2. Wii Fit (w/ balance board) – Nintendo – 3.5 million units
3. Wii Sports Resort (w/ MotionPlus) – Nintendo – 2.4 million units
4. Wii Mario Kart (w/ wheel) – Nintendo – 2.2 million units
5. Wii Play (w/ remote) – Nintendo – 2.1 million units
6. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360) – Microsoft – 2 million units
7. Pokemon Platinum Version (DS) Nintendo – 1.9 million units
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) Activision Blizzard – 1.9 million units
9. Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360) Electronic Arts – 1.5 million units
10. New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Nintendo – 1.4 million units
*(accounts for all special editions and bundles)
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November 2009 NPD Group data is in for video game industry retail sales. Industry numbers are still a bit down in comparison to last year. Video game sales were $1.406 billion and game hardware sales were $1.05 billion. It was a much bigger month in comparison to last month’s sales numbers with many blockbuster games out (Modern Warfare 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Assassin’s Creed II, and more) and Black Friday deals. Compare this year’s November sales to last year’s November 2008 NPD numbers here.
For video game hardware, Nintendo’s DS and DSi system reign at number one, with 1.7 million units sold. Last year, the Wii had the number one spot in the busy November month at 2.04 million units. This November, the Wii sold 1.26 million, taking the number two spot for game hardware. As a matter of fact, if you compare last year’s November 2008 game hardware sales, all were down in unit sales with the exception of the Nintendo DS and PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 may have had the number 4 spot, but it had the largest increase in sales units from all of the hardware when you compare it to November 2008 (almost double).
The top 10 game software sales list shifted dramatically from October 2009, with seven new games on the list, and three previously released Wii games still hanging on strong (Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, Mario Kart Wii). It is no surprise seeing Modern Warfare 2 in the top two spots, selling for a combined 6.07 million units. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
took the third place at 1.39 million units sold. Assassin’s Creed II
broke over 1 million units sold for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms.
Here’s the breakdown of November 2009 video game industry sales, based on units, from the NPD Group (via IndustryGamers.com):
Game hardware sales (in units) for November 2009:
1. DS and DSi - 1.7 million units
2. Wii – 1.26 million units
3. Xbox 360 – 819.5K units
4. PlayStation 3 – 710.4K units
5. PlayStation Portable – 293.9K units
6. PlayStation 2 – 203.1K units
Game software sales (in units) for November 2009:
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) – 4.20 million units
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3) – 1.87 million units
3. New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 1.39 million units
4. Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360) – 794.7K units
5. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – 744.0K units
6. Wii Sports Resort – 720.2K units
7. Wii Fit Plus – 679.0K units
8.
Assassin’s Creed II (PlayStation 3) – 448.4K units
9. Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360) – 362.1K units
10. Mario Kart with Wii Wheel – 315.0K units
See what last month’s October 2009 sales were here. The December 2009 top 10 game sellers probably won’t shift as dramatically as it did from October to November. Some new additions will likely be The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS) and possibly The Saboteur
(Xbox 360/PS3), but many big game releases are holding out for a January 2010 release to kick off the new year strong.
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New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Available for Nintendo Wii
Game Developer: Nintendo
Game Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: November 15, 2009
Official Website: mariobroswii.com
Review Summary:
The team at Nintendo has once again made a game for all ages. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a delight to play and is accessible for everyone. Casual to hardcore, young to old, this game surely bridges the gamer gap. With its all-new 4 player multiplayer, new power-up suits and level designs, players will come back for more. No two game sessions will ever be alike.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Read the full review below.
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