'Wii Sports': Best-selling, but not best of all time

The best-selling game of all time

(Credit: Nintendo)

VGChartz released internal data Saturday claiming that Wii Sports, Nintendo's sports title that comes bundled with each Wii outside of South Korea and Japan, is the world's best-selling game.

According to the report, VGChartz software data for the week ending December 27, 2008, found that Wii Sports "has now passed sales of Super Mario Bros. at 40.24 million units, making it the best-selling video game of all time. The game...reached that milestone after 110 weeks of sales."

To be honest, I'm upset that this day has come. I was sure it would happen eventually, but I never believed that it would happen so soon and at the hands of a game like Wii Sports.

The title held by Nintendo's great Super Mario Bros. has been vanquished by Wii Sports and there's really nothing we can do about it. But does being the best-selling game of all time make it the best?

I don't see how anyone can call it that. Regardless of sales, Wii Sports is nothing more than a proof of concept that aims at helping new Wii converts get the feel for the console's interaction mechanism.

More importantly, I don't think Wii Sports is really a "game" in the conventional sense. It lacks a story, offers no measurable ability to get from one point to another, and boasts the most basic functionality.

Sure, it's a video game, but I don't think it can be compared on the same level with games like Super Mario Bros. or any title in the Madden franchise.

I'm more than a little upset by the news of Wii Sports taking the top sales spot from Super Mario Bros. Suffice it to say that in my mind, regardless of sales, Wii Sports will never compare to any fine franchise and to compare it as such is an insult to those titles.

It's not that I dislike Wii Sports or haven't enjoyed my time playing it. I just don't see how it can be held in the same high regard as Super Mario Bros.

I'm happy for Nintendo that Wii Sports is now the best-selling game of all time, but we should never compare that "game" to the countless others that truly fit the billing.

Check out Don's Digital Home podcast, Twitter feed, and FriendFeed.

[emunews]

It lacks a story? Huh? Pong, Pac Man, Asteroids, Battlezone, Defender , Galaga, Pole Position and thousands of others had no really story either. I guess they weren't really video games. From reading the article, one gets the feeling that Don Reisinger thinks video games started with the NES. Jeez, what a newb!

[Penguinisto]

Agreed - Combat and Breakout were also for a time the best-selling games ever (they were the two game cartridges that came with the Atari 2600).

[JoeCool1986]

I think you need the mention the fact that both Super Mario Bros. and Wii Sports were bundled with their respective systems. The fact that Wii Sports has sold more units than any other game really is a testament far more to the success of the Nintendo Wii itself than it is to the game. Likewise, I think part of the reason Wii Sports has beaten Super Mario Bros. is because the Wii is selling better (I assume from what I hear) than the Super Nintendo did.

So, in conclusion, it's really hard to compare sales of bundled games with other games or even with other bundled games (on a different system) because the game's sales is so directly tied to how well the system as a whole is doing. And on top of that, the health of a system is very dependent on other current games that are out.

[bluemist9999]

I hope Nintendo is including the sales of Super Mario Bros. via their Wii Virtual Console to the Super Mario count.

According to the Wii Shop channel, one of the most popular games downloaded for the Virtual Console is Super Mario Bros.

[wigmo]

Why is it every story I read by this "reporter" makes me want to slap him on the back of the head. Wii Sports is a great game, and can hold it's own with SMB for the simple fact that both games helped get Nintendo to the head of the pack of console makers and has motivated hundreds of thousands of new buyers to play video games.

[George Gray]

Amen. I fail to understand why people dog Wii Sports and call it a 'demo' or 'proof of concept'. The only really incomplete game is Baseball. The others are great. And that it has no story is irrelevant. That it is bundled with the console everywhere but S. Korea and Japan is also irrelevant. Even in Japan, it has sold nearly 7 million copies. That's almost as many Atari 2600's that were produced during it's run. The author did point out - in the first paragraph - that it was a pack in game.
It is a brilliant move by Nintendo to put this particular game in the box. I think people like Riesinger are upset that it is now the best selling game BECAUSE it is not a Metal Gear Solid or a Halo (i.e. not a 'serious' or 'hard core' game.)
I call it sour grapes.

[The Noble Robot]

Yeah, Don has a bizarre history of Wii hatred, sprinkled with wildly-inaccurate-but-boldly-stated-predictions and incredibly biased statements poorly disguised as sober analysis. It's one thing to think that the Wii doesn't stack up to it's competators (and in some ways it sure doesn't), but Don is a zealot. This is the guy who not only said that Super Mario Galaxy wasn't that great (which is fine), but with a straight face claimed not to understnad why anyone could have liked it.

Don't take him seriously...

[usualsuspect87]

i'd like to see someone compare hours spent playing a game... i remember playing mario for days on end, multiple times as a kid, for years and years... most everyone i know with a wii hasn't touched their system in months.... though i'm sure WoW would proabably be the outright winner, it'd be fun to see the breakdown... Diablo II peaked my interest for a long time, Halo 1,2 and 3, as did FFVII for PS. I don't like thinking about how much time i've wasted on chocobo races!

[brightstarbeing]

Don has some really bad oppinion columns. Just read his multiple rants against Blu-Ray. Yah, Wii Sports is no Super Mario, but just like Super Mario, its sales are directly tied to console sales. If the NES did well in sales, SM did well in sales. If Wii does well in sales, Wii Sports does well in sales. I think titles bundled with hardware shouldn't even be counted in sales because really, they're not being sold. They're being given away with hardware. I think if you broke it down, Super Mario probably would have sold less than half of what it ultimately did without bundled software added to the count.

[subslug]

The beauty of Wii Sports is it's simplicity, anyone with a hand can pick up the Wii's controller and join the fun. No silly story lines to wade through, no endless combination of control movements to master and even grandpa can beat the family 15 year old at a game of bowling in just a few minutes.
Ever try getting grandpa to play a game of Madden with you?

Saying that Wii Sports isn't even a game because it lacks a nonsensical story line is purely garbage. Please just give us the facts and we'll form our own opinions.

[steve8rox]

Right on, slugger, from a grandpa.

[spiffy1001]

What a whiner, who cares.

[bitshiftr]

No one said it's the best game, therefore this "story" lacks any substantial claim or argument. Best selling game, yes, because it's directly proportional to the console sales. Best game? Maybe for it's genre because there's something to compete with something so interactive and innovative. It's the first of its kind, thus making it the best of its kind.

[bitshiftr]

Except for the part where there's nothing to compete with something so interactive and innovative. Epic error and no edit button ftl.

[haveAjob]

My Grandma has Alzheimer's and doesn't recognize really anyone, yet two years ago she was able to create a Mii and then bowl a 100. It took almost a minute to teach her to throw the ball each time. It will always be a cherished memory and a testament to Wii Sports. Try doing that with any other videogame... I don't think you would get very far.

[Zucas]

I must say Super Mario Bros. was one of the most revolutionary games of its time and people should be honored that one of the most revolutionary games of this generation is the one to pass it. Sure it's not the best game. Unfortunately usually the best games don't sell well because they aren't mainstream enough. Such as LoZ: OoT at 7.6 million and Okami barely at a million. Usually its the mainstream games that sell well.

Even though Wii Sports was bundled and even though it is not the best game, is it not a solid game? Did it not show everyone how amazing the wiimote is and how you can completely change an experience for the better? Wii Sports was not only one of the most revolutionary games released it expanded the sports genre that was in need of something other than its roster updates.

Wii Sports is one of the most important games ever released just like Super Mario Bros. And although it outsells SMB because of the console selling better it does not take away from the greatness that was Super Mario Bros. Although I suspect that's not the reason most of you hate on Wii Sports as you still think Wii is killing the hardcore despite yall not understanding what it means.

Nothing can take away the greatness that is Super Mario Bros. Not a game like Halo 3, GTA IV, or even MGS4. So obviously being outsold by a game like Wii Sports won't take that away. Make sure you realize that before you write things this. But give credit where its due to Wii Sports which was a risk all itself because such a drastic change in gameplay could have caused it and the Wii to flop right there if it didn't work just like NES and Super Mario Bros. so long ago. It's an honor to see the industry once again recognize the important of innovations whether by bundle or not. As long time people in the industry as well you should be honored as well.

[drbyte]

Wii sports has parents actually playing games WITH their kids with joy joy feelings. That is revolutionary enough.

[CreatureX]

I agree with Time Magazine when they said Wii Sports may be "the greatest videogame ever made"!

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1558498,00.html

[Penguinisto]

Agreed w/ drbyte - any game that brings parents and children together in a fun way, especially one that requires physical effort to play?

Damn, that should be heralded, not bad-mouthed!

/P

[Zoobie]

"I'm more than a little upset by the news of Wii Sports taking the top sales spot from Super Mario Bros."

Wow that's quite a statement--I'm more than a little upset that the economy is in the toilet, that people are losing jobs, that Israel and Palestine are launching missiles at each other, etc.

I find it interesting trivia that Wii Sports has passed Super Mario Bros. I'm not in the least upset about it--they're just games.

[The Noble Robot]

So, it's a video game, but it's not a "'game' in the conventional sense?" Wow, you have really gone off your rocker this time. I mean, as a bowling/tennis/boxing simulator, it's more a "game" in the conventional sense than "Gears of War" or "Super Mario Galaxy."

Listen everyone, Don has a bizarre history of Wii hatred, sprinkled with wildly-inaccurate-but-boldly-stated-predictions and incredibly biased statements poorly disguised as sober analysis. It's one thing to think that the Wii doesn't stack up to it's competators (and in some ways it sure doesn't), but Don is a zealot. This is the guy who not only said that Super Mario Galaxy wasn't that great (which is fine), but with a straight face claimed not to understnad why anyone could have liked it.

Don't take him seriously...

[DBY106698]

As a long time video gamer and student of Video Game design, I feel there are some vital things that need to be pointed out to this "Don Reisigner" that he is obviously ignorant to. Other readers may lso find it worth noting that for a "Reporter", Mr. Reisigner doesn't have all his facts in order.

The first thing I would like to point out is the highly offensive and editorial remark of being upset about Wii Sports taking the #1 spot from Super Mario Bros by stating "I don't think Wii Sports is really a 'game' in the conventional sense. It lacks a story, offers no measurable ability to get from one point to another, and boasts the most basic functionality."

I would like to point out there there exists a video game that I can promise anyone who has ever played a video game has played. A game that is readily available online and on each and every single device in this known universe that can play any games. This game is also on the top 10 list of best selling game of all time and had literally no plot, no point, no story. This game was the absolute most basic and I am willing to bet cold hard cash even Don Reisigner here considers it a TRUE video game. This game is none other than the classic known as Tetris. Everything Wii Sports apparently lacks, Tetris does too. And while Tetris measures "lines", Wii Sports measures performance.

the next thing I would like to point out is that, on technicality, Wii Sports and Super Mario Bros. both share the title of "Best Selling Video Game of all Time." But that doens't sound as appealing or new worthy, so everyone out there is only reporting the side of it you are all reading.

While Wii Sports has indeed sold more copies on Wii compared to Super Mario Bros. on NES, Wii Sports has NOT sold more copies than Super Mario Bros. combined sales on re-releases of the game, including for the Gameboy Advanced and Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. It is because of this, Super Mario Bros is for sure to forever be the most ALL TIME BEST SELLING GAME EVER.

Please make sure to get your facts in order and consider everything before reporting your "oppinion" on something, otherwise you WILL have people like me who happen to come across your article and feel like proving you wrong.

[AT2ND]

The biggest thing for me, I think, is that Wii Sports is a collection of video games, essentially - no real depth to the game [Tetris does have more depth in strategies, higher speeds tatics, and when ported, often new operative inputs, as well as multiple difficulty levels.], and the game itself is not all that great because it is no one game - it's several.

However, also - did someone say Wii Sports was a solid game, and that the only weak part was baseball?

Tennis - can't move your character to avoid a ball, if, say, it's out of bounds and you don't want to get hit by it.

Golf? No taunting, and just one run.

Bowling? I'll grant that, but it's still kind of stale - since it's meant to be a non-mainstream game, where is the bumper mode?

Boxing? Again - you do have a lot of control over your character's spacing.

So yeah - not all that great, and when you consider today's developements - yes, it was revolutionary, but it has no quality control.

[Inconnux]

Don you are showing your age... the only reason you think Super Mario Bros is the 'greatest' is because it is what you grew up with...

As someone who started playing video games when you could hook up pong machines to your TV, I have played Wii Sports 10x as much as Super Mario Bros.