Best Selling Nintendo Games – When it comes to games from Nintendo, there’s no end in sight. In addition to being a console manufacturer that puts innovation first, Nintendo also develops its own exclusive games and became a first-party developer that once competed fiercely with SEGA in their golden age of third-generation and fourth-generation home consoles. But sadly, their exciting period of competition came to an end as SEGA withdrew from the console industry.
Now talking about games from Nintendo, there are many Nintendo best-selling games created in each generation. Games that become best-selling from Nintendo are exclusive games that have become the property of this company. For the calculation, we will not count from home consoles alone, but will also count from portable consoles as well, considering Nintendo has many portable consoles that they have launched so far.
Now as explained above, for this article we will discuss the list of 8 Best Selling Nintendo Games on each console. Curious about what the games are, here’s the discussion.
8 Best Selling Nintendo Games
1. Super Mario Bros.
We start this list with the best-selling Nintendo Entertainment System game, and it’s no other than Super Mario Bros. It is a side-scrolling platformer game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES console. Being the first game in the Super Mario series, it was first launched in 1985 for the Nintendo Famicom console in Japan. Super Mario Bros. is often considered one of the best games of all time, with praise for its precise controls.
This game is one of the best-selling games of all time, with over 58 million copies sold worldwide. It is credited alongside the NES as one of the key factors in reviving the video game industry after the Video Game Crash of 1983 and helped popularize the side-scrolling platformer genre. Koji Kondo’s processed soundtrack is one of the earliest and most popular in the game, making this music the core of the game design.
2. Wii Sports
Next up is Wii Sports which is the Nintendo Wii’s best selling game. Wii Sports is a collection of five sports simulations, which have been designed to demonstrate the Motion Sensor capabilities of the Wii Remote. The five sports are tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. Players use the Wii Remote to act out movements performed in real-life sports, such as swinging a tennis racket.
The rules for each game are simplified to make them more accessible to beginners. The game also features Training and Fitness Modes that monitor the player’s progress in sports. The game was well-received by critics and audiences alike. Wii Sports also received a number of awards, and sold over 82 million copies by the end of 2017, making it the best-selling single platform game of all time and fourth best overall.
3. Mario Kart 7
Next on this list is Mario Kart 7 which became the best selling Nintendo 3DS game. Mario Kart 7 is a Kart Racing Game developed by Nintendo EAD in collaboration with Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for Nintendo 3DS in 2011. Like previous games in the Mario Kart series, players participate in races on various Mario-themed tracks and play as one of seventeen different Mario characters.
While racing, players use power-up items that help their characters or hinder the opposing characters. This game supports Local Multiplayer and Online for up to eight players. The game was launched in reply to positive reviews with praise for additional features, tracks, and new gameplay despite limited single-player modes, item balancing, and difficulty curves. Mario Kart 7 is the best-selling game on 3DS, with 18.97 million copies sold worldwide as of March 31, 2022.
4. New Super Mario Bros.
Next is New Super Mario Bros. as the best selling Nintendo DS game. New Super Mario Bros. is a platformer game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The game was first launched in May 2006 in North America and Japan and in PAL regions the following month. It is the first installment in the New Super Mario Bros. subseries of the Super Mario franchise and chronicles Mario as he battles Bowser’s minions to save Princess Peach.
New Super Mario Bros. was a commercial success and received positive reviews. Praise was aimed at the improvements made to the Mario franchise and fidelity to older Mario games, while criticism was aimed at its low difficulty level and many critics noted its similarity to previous games. The game sold over 30 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling game for Nintendo DS and one of the best-selling video games of all time.
5. Pokémon Ruby dan Sapphire
Next on this list is Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Version which are the best-selling games of Nintendo GameBoy Advance. Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version are 2002 Turn-Based RPG games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the GameBoy Advance portable console. Both are the first installments in the third generation of the Pokémon game franchise series, also known as Advanced Generation.
After years of Nintendo being the sole publisher of the franchise in all regions, The Pokémon Company is taking part in publishing games for the first time since the establishment of the co-owned company in 1998. With over 16.22 million copies sold worldwide, Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version were commercially successful and became Nintendo’s best-selling games for the Nintendo GameBoy Advance portable console.
6. Super Mario 64
Next is Super Mario 64 which is the best selling Nintendo 64 game. Super Mario 64 is a 3D platformer game released in 1996 for the Nintendo 64 console. Developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo, the game is the first Super Mario game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional Super Mario gameplay, visual style, and characters in Open-World areas.
Super Mario 64 was highly anticipated by journalists and video game connoisseurs alike, boosted by an advertising campaign and a showing at the E3 trade show in 1996. The game received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest video games of all time. Reviewers praised its ambition, visuals, and gameplay while some criticized its virtual camera system. It is the best-selling Nintendo 64 game, with nearly twelve million copies sold in 2015.
7. Mario Kart 8
The next one on the list this time is Mario kart 8 which became the best selling game of Nintendo Wii U. Mario Kart 8 was a critical and commercial success. Critics raved about the new additions, tracks, graphics, gameplay, and orchestral-type soundtrack, but criticized its limited battle mode. The game is the Nintendo Wii U’s best selling game, with over eight million copies sold worldwide. Nintendo continues to roll out patches and DLC.
Mario Kart 8 is a kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Wii U hybrid console in May 2014. This game retains the game mechanics of the Mario Kart series, where the player controls the Mario franchise character in kart racing, collecting various items to hinder opponents or gain an advantage. Mario Kart 8 introduces anti-gravity, which allows you to drive on walls or ceilings.
8. Pokémon Gold dan Silver
The last one on this list is Pokémon Gold and Silver which became the best selling games of Nintendo GameBoy Color. Pokémon Gold Version and Pokémon Silver Version are 1999 Turn-Based RPG games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameBoy Color portable console. Both are the first installments in the second generation of the Pokémon video game series. The Gold Version and Silver Version were first launched in Japan in 1999.
Pokémon Gold and Silver received critical acclaim at launch. both are considered by some to be the best games in the entire series, as well as some of the most significant games of the fifth generation of video game consoles, despite some criticism for their lack of plot. The game almost matched the sales of the Red Version and Blue Version, and by 2010 had sold over 23 million copies making it Nintendo’s best selling game for the Nintendo GameBoy Color.
And that was the 8 Best Selling Nintendo Games that Gamedaim has summarized for you, hopefully, this article can add to your insight into the world of Nintendo systems.
