What the top selling games say about owners of each system:

Wii: Four titles made the top 10 in 2007 – the most of any system: Wii Sports (1^st), Wii Play (4^th), Super Mario Galaxy (6^th), and Mario Party 8 (10^th). First of all, this backs up the claim that Nintendo owners like Mario (some call them “Mario-boys” and “Mario-girls” – we prefer the gender neutral term “Mario-fans”). They also like games where they can be themselves (or a cute representation thereof).  

Xbox 360:  Three sequels made the top 10 in 2007: Halo 3 (2^nd), Call of Duty 4 (5^th) and Forza Motorsports 2 (8^th). It shows that Xbox owners like games they have played before (though on the previous system). It also indicates they like to blow up things and people and drive real fast.

DS: Two franchise games made the top 10 in 2007: Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (3^rd) and Nintendogs (9^th). It means that people who play on little systems like playing with little animals (or pretending to play with little animals).

PS2: The only game in the top 10 for 2007 was Guitar Hero III (7^th). It ranked the highest of any music game last year. It shows that those who are playing an old system have an active fantasy life (as they imagine themselves rock stars).

PS3: There were no games for this system that cracked the top 10 in 2007 and only Motorstorm (20^th) made the top 20. It means that purchasers of this system must be waiting for something worth playing or that they have bought it because they like watching movies in high definition.

PSP: There were no games for this system that cracked the top 25 in 2007.  It indicates that the system’s media player capabilities and hacking qualities are valued more than its game-playing.

Seriously, Nintendo (Wii and DS) owners tended to want cute and cuddly, casual, and comedic. Meanwhile, Xbox owners appeared to be more interested in realism. The leftover PS2 game purchasers are more like Nintendo owners. It is probable the PS3 game purchasers are more like Xbox owners. (PSP is anyone’s guess as the system moves almost no game software for the size of the system sales and installed base).

(All sales are for Americas in 2007 from VGChartz.com)

The beauty of averages is that it tells you so much about the whole, and thus exactly nothing about the specifics. Using large-scale numbers to figure out overall preferences is a delightfully futile process, particularly when you take varying tastes into account. The finest example I can think of this in action is the Grand Theft Auto series on PS2. A series whose highest-selling title managed to sell to almost 20% of PS2 owners, yet which also represents nothing of the tastes of the average PS2 owner.