Salnax on 26 December 2015
It has been about a decade since the Japanese gaming market began to turn away from console games and more towards handheld games. One can make arguments about the turning point being in 2005, 2006, or some other year, but console gaming is clearly no longer the centerpiece it was as late as 2004. So I thought it would be interesting to look back at the past decade and see what console games have been most successful, selling a million units or more.
Note that sales of multiple console versions of the same game are combined. For example, Grand Theft Auto V's PS3, PS4 and X360 versions are combined.
| Game | Publisher | Year | Sales (M) |
| New Super Mario Bros Wii | Nintendo | 2009 | 4.7 |
| Mario Kart Wii | Nintendo | 2008 | 3.78 |
| Wii Sports | Nintendo | 2006 | 3.77 |
| Wii Sports Resort | Nintendo | 2009 | 3.28 |
| Wii Play | Nintendo | 2006 | 2.93 |
| Super Smash Bros Brawl | Nintendo | 2008 | 2.65 |
| Wii Fit Plus | Nintendo | 2009 | 2.53 |
| Wii Party | Nintendo | 2010 | 2.49 |
| Final Fantasy XII | Square Enix | 2006 | 2.33 |
| Final Fantasy XIII | Square Enix | 2009 | 1.88 |
| Mario Party 8 | Nintendo | 2007 | 1.58 |
| Animal Crossing: City Folk | Nintendo | 2008 | 1.32 |
| Dragon Quest X | Square Enix | 2012 | 1.31 |
| New Super Mario Bros U | Nintendo | 2012 | 1.25 |
| Grand Theft Auto 5 | Rockstar | 2013 | 1.22 |
| Resident Evil 5 | Capcom | 2009 | 1.21 |
| Super Mario Galaxy | Nintendo | 2007 | 1.2 |
| Mario Kart 8 | Nintendo | 2014 | 1.16 |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 | Konami | 2007 | 1.11 |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 | Konami | 2006 | 1.07 |
| Monster Hunter Tri | Capcom | 2009 | 1.05 |
| Donkey Kong Country Returns | Nintendo | 2010 | 1.03 |
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 | Namco Bandai | 2007 | 1.02 |
Publisher Notes
- Nintendo is the most prominent publisher by far, with 14 of the 23 games above being published by them. This is a product of the Wii's wild success, as 12 of these are Wii exclusives. The best-selling Wii game, New Super Mario Bros Wii, reached 4.7 million sales, and is apparently the second best-selling game of all time in Japan, only surpassed by the original Super Mario Bros at 6.81 million. Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports are also in the Top 10.
- Besides Nintendo, a few publishers stand out. Capcom's Resident Evil 5 and Monster Hunter Tri made the cut, though Resident Evil 6 notably fell a bit short. Note that Dragon's Dogma did surprisingly well for a new IP largely overlooked in the West, with about 800k sales.
- Konami, now better known for being evil, was once a force to be reckoned with even with just Pro Evolution Soccer. Note that although PES did best on the PS2, it was also a multiplatform success across generations and brands. Also note a lack of Metal Gear Solid.
- Square Enix's two numbered Final Fantasy games and one numbered Dragon Quest game also appear. Though the first two are obvious, Dragon Quest X could be a surprise considering how it was an MMORPG, a genre shift that didn't work as well for Final Fantasy.
- Though Namco Bandai (or whatever they're currently named) releases many hits in Japan, they often fall closer to the 500k mark than a full million. DBZ:BT3 barely made the cut when factoring in both the PS2 and Wii versions of the game.
- Rockstar is the one obviously non-Japanese name on this list. Their appearence is a testament to the popularity of Grand Theft Auto V in Japan, especially compared to other non-Japanese console games. The only other "Western" game present is Donkey Kong, which was developed by an American studio despite being a Nintendo game.
Other Notes
- There is a clear decline in the count of million-sellers over the past decade, even when accounting for the continuous sales of some titles. Of the 23 games listed, 17 were released from 2006 to 2009, compared to just 6 for the next six years. Even when discounting the Wii's success, 7 of those 17 games were by third parties, meaning they would still outnumber million-sellers from 2010 onwards.
- Despite this lack of recent million-sellers, there have only been two years this decade without any: 2011 and 2015. 2011's closest contendor was Final Fantasy XIII-2, with about 0.91 million sales. Splatoon is in a similar position for 2015, though by the time we get to the end of the year, it could easily make the cut.
- 2009 was the Last Big Year for console gaming, with six million-sellers: New Super Mario Bros Wii, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, Resident Evil 5, Monster Hunter Tri, and Final Fantasy XIII.
- The last title to sell over 2 million was Wii Party. Interestingly, it was also a semi-new series for Nintendo. If the Wii series is treated as a single franchise, then it is the only new franchise represented above. Even Monster Hunter had a 2004 debut. Splatoon might buck that trend in a couple of weeks.
- Concerning the latest generation of consoles, two of the 23 titles are Generation 8 exclusives (NSMBU and MK8) while another two are cross-generation titles (DQX and GTA5).
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