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August 21, 2008 11:01 AM PDT

The best-selling video games of 2008 (so far)

by Dave Rosenberg

A new alliance of organizations that monitor video game sales has released the Top Global Markets Report, the first in a new series of monthly tallies detailing video game software sales across the U.S., U.K., and Japan.

Grand Theft Auto IV--6,293,000 units sold (despite the fact that the game was only released in late April in the U.S. and U.K. and has yet to hit the Japanese market)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl--5,433,000 units sold
Mario Kart Wii--4,697,000 units sold
Wii Fit--3,604,000 units sold
Guitar Hero III--3,475,000 units sold

That's 23,502,000 units sold just for the top five games in the U.S., U.K., and Japan only.

Statistically speaking, I would be interested in just how many of these games are purchased by repeat buyers and what the demographics are associated with each leading game.

The video game business thrives on hits, with a huge catalog of less important titles that help to augment sales and provide alternatives to the big hitters. But in general it's safe to say the market is expanding, and that interactive games such as those on the Wii, as well as Guitar Hero, are clearly hitting a stride.

I still like to rock old school, so please enjoy a game of Donkey Kong, courtesy of my friends at Widgetbox.

Dave Rosenberg dishes up "Software, Interrupted" with nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs to open-source enterprise software companies. He is co-founder of MuleSource and currently serves as the general manager of Hardy Way. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can contact Dave via e-mail at softwareinterrupted@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @daveofdoom.
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by compudoc318 August 22, 2008 12:59 PM PDT
wii games...lol. wait a year or so and the wii will be like the virtual boy....sitting collecting dust, the games for it suck, and the only good ones play better on the real systems, the wii is just a gimmick and programers havent made any good games for it yet. and i love the wii fit commercial, show a girl bending over and whatnot.......not gonna get fit that way....lol.
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by Nighteye19 August 22, 2008 1:44 PM PDT
Give me a break. Is this all you do all day compudoc318? Blog about how the Wii sucks anywhere you can? Guess what... it's not going anywhere and seems to be kicking some serious butt in sales lately. I'm actually looking forward to the new Madden for Wii coming out. They finally figured out that Wii players want to use their motion sensing remotes and nun chucks in games and not just use it like a regular console... Of course Wii games that make you turn your remote sidways and just mash buttons don't sell! Those who bought Wiis didn't buy them so they could sit there and mash buttons like those other lazy-arse console players. We want something different. Finally, some programmers are starting to get it.
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by Kwasiowusu August 24, 2008 8:59 PM PDT
The Wii will be lucky to have even one game in the top 5 for the second half of this year. 360 games are going to dominate, just like they did last year.
Gears of war 2 is going to sell at least 4 million in the US alone, and another million in the UK.
Given that COD4 sold over 6.5 million units on the 360 alone, COD 5(aka World At War), is going to sell at least 3 1/2 million in the US and UK.
After those 2, we have resistence 2 on the PS3, then COD 5 on the PS3, then Fable 2 on the 360, , which will pretty much take care of the top 5.
I don't think any Wii game is gonna make the top 5 list. Pre-orders for Wii Music have been pretty weak, and Animal Crossing doesn't have much of a buzz. COD 5 on the Wii will have pethetic sales just like COD3 on the Wii had terrible sales back in 2006.
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by j_eames January 23, 2009 1:12 AM PST
Looks like the Wii won even if you add total sales of GTA4 for both consoles together.

1 Mario Kart Wii 13.64m
2 Wii Fit 13.64
3 Wii Play 11.00m
4 Super Smash Brothers Brawl 8.31m
5 Grand Theft Auto IV (X360) 6.64m
6 New Super Mario Brothers 5.53m
7 Brain Training 5.45m
8 Grand Theft Auto IV(PS3) 5.25m
9 Mario Kart DS 4.76m
10 Nintendogs DS 4.52m
by Nighteye19 August 25, 2008 3:33 PM PDT
Yeah.. refer to my prevoius statement as to why those games fail on Wii. Simply porting a game to Wii isn't going to cut it. Developers need to wake up if they are going to make games for the Wii, otherwise don't waste your time because we aren't going to buy it.
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by rd6apache September 17, 2008 8:04 AM PDT
To the folks above. I am researching the gaming industry, and I wonder if one of you could give me a ballpark figure on the following;

How much, on avearge would one of the above games cost.
How often are they either updated, or made obsolete.
How much would any one of you approximately spend in a year on video games


I hope you can help me on this. Just leave a post, and I'll check back in couple of days
Thanks
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About Software, Interrupted

In "Software, Interrupted," Dave Rosenberg discusses disruption in the software market, as well as the products and services that keep business technology norms in perpetual flux.

With nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience spanning from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs, Dave co-founded open-source software company MuleSource and now serves as general manager of Hardy Way. He also happens to be a U.S. patent holder and a workaholic. Technology is his best friend and mortal enemy.

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