Well, we can consider

Wii sports

Wii fit

Wii music

Wii play

Wii sports resorts

 Games of the same franchise? The Wii______ Franchise? If yes, just with those games it already HUGE.

That's not so much a franchise of games (except Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort) as it is a branding.

Remember "Super" and "64"? This is similar.

However, now that a sequel to Wii Sports has been released it does indeed rank as one of the top 20 biggest selling franchises of all time.

As Viper said, it's not really a series as it is more a branding.

I find the fact that the 'Sports' series is one of the top 20 biggest selling franchises a hard pill to swallow.

Most of the top franchise games have been bundled in one form or another, but I think Wii Sport is the only game I know where the game itself isn't even availible commercially anywhere except in Japan and whose mandatory inclusion in every console outside of Japan has not been usurp in what is now approaching 3 years of sale. A practice that is likely to continue until the end of the Wii's lifecycle.

I don't think the analogy between Wii _____ and Super __________ / ________ 64 is valid

Common themes between Wii _________ games
The name
They all involve Mii's as the characters and have similar graphical style
They all emphasise new control schemes, pick up and play, appeal to similar audiences

Common themes between Super _________ games
The name ... That is all

Not comparable, I'm afraid

@scottie: exactly. We dont group Mario Kart Wii in the same franchise, for example.

You know I had this who example and counter rebuttal already typed but the more I think about it, the more I see that the core principal behind each games share remarkable similiarity. I still don't think it should be considered a franchise but I can accept some people might interpret it as such.

I would call it a franchise, simply because of the low number of games released with that naming convention, the fact that they are all internally developed Nintendo games that are aimed at an expanded audience and share much of the same look and feel. Whew. I need to learn to make shorter sentences.

Mario Kart Wii and New Super Mario Bros. Wii are clearly not in the same franchise though. They even have the Wii in the end.

I'd call it a franchise. If you accept it as a franchise, it's bloody huge.

Sports + Fit + Play = 89.91M

Fit + Play + Resort + Music = 47.15M

Sports + Resort = 46.02M

These are all, naturally, going to increase heavily. It's just the 3 different types of considering the franchise.

Now, to place these onto the "best selling franchises" list. As Oyv's list is no longer visible, I'll have to re-create it. This may cause me to miss a franchise or two.

1. Mario: 367.7M
2. Pokemon: 177.34M
3. Sports + Fit + Play: 89.91M
4. GTA: 80.47M
5. Final Fantasy: 73.8M
(Mario Kart: 62.72M)
6. Sonic: 61.3M
7. The Legend of Zelda: 57.88M
8. Need for Speed: 55.35M
9. Madden: 54.91M
10. Gran Turismo: 50.71M
11. Donkey Kong: 48.52M
12. Fit + Play + Resort + Music: 47.15M
13. Pro Evolution soccer: ~ 47M
14. Sports + Resort: 46.02M
15. Fifa: 45.52M

They're bloody huge. Sports + Fit + Play + Music + Resort (@~ 94M) might have a shot at besting Pokemon.

Given that Nintendo themselves don't refer to it as a franchise, I think that ends the issue.

They see them as a series of Wii titles designed to showcase the hardware. Wii Sports, Wii Play, Wii Fit and Wii Music were all planned by Miyamoto to target specific facets of the Wii. Wii Sports - gesture and IR control, Wii Play - local mulitplayer (and controller dissemination), Wii Fit - the Balance Board, Wii Music - cooperative expression.

Each are treated as individual franchises. Wii Sports and now Wii Sports Resort as well as Wii Fit and soon Wii Fit Plus. Though Wii Play and Wii Music are unlikely to receive sequels.