The Best-Selling Nintendo Games of All Time
In honor of the release of the highly anticipated Super Mario Maker just a few days ago, we’re giving away a Nintendo Wii U! Click here to enter for your chance to win the console, as well as two games: Super Mario 3D World and Nintendo Land, from September 14 - 16.
We’re big Nintendo fans at RIPT Apparel, so we decided to look back on the history of the company’s best-selling games.
Nintendo Entertainment System, (NES): Super Mario Bros
Release Year: 1985
Copies Sold to Date: 40.24 Million
The first version of the Mario Bros. franchise is considered one of the best (if not the best) games of all time, period. It consistently ranks first on IGN’s Top 100 List due to its “remaining one of the most pioneering and influential titles to date.”
Honorable Mentions: Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Bros. 2, Tetris, The Legend of Zelda
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES): Super Mario World
Release Year: 1990
Copies Sold to Date: 20.6 Million
The revamped Super Mario World marked the first appearance of Yoshi, and is considered a huge commercial success. It was re-released four times due to the huge amount of success, and is still available for download on the Wii U Virtual Console.
Honorable Mentions: Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest
Nintendo 64: Super Mario 64
Release Year: 1996
Copies Sold to Date: 11.89 Million
The N64 gave us the chance to play in 3D like we never had before. This game revolutionized 3D gameplay, and successfully updated the Italian plumber gamers knew and loved. This game is also considered a classic by Nintendo fans.
Honorable Mentions: Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Smash Bros, Pokémon Stadium.
GameCube: Super Smash Bros: Melee
Release Year: 2001
Copies Sold to Date: 7.09 Million
Let’s take all of the best characters in the Nintendo universe, and pit them against each other in a huge brawl! The first version of the Super Smash Bros. series debuted in 1999 for the N64, but its younger brother for GameCube had a much bigger budget and became the best-selling game for that console. This was also the first time players used discs instead of plastic cartridges.
Honorable Mentions: Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Luigi’s Mansion, Animal Crossing
Wii: Wii Sports
Year Released: 2006
Copies Sold to Date: 82.69 Million
This may be considered cheating, considering Wii Sports came with every new Wii console. That doesn’t defeat the fact that for the first time, you could actively create and play sports as your own avatar. This game made us think we were actually good at bowling, only to be severely disappointed by our distinct lack of spin on the ball in real life.
Honorable Mentions: Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Play, Wii Fit
Wii U: Mario Kart 8
Year Released: 2014
Copies Sold to Date: 5.43 Million
The 8th installment in the Mario Kart franchise was released a little over a year ago, and remains the console’s best-selling game. Just a few days ago, Nintendo released a Wii U console with the game preloaded!
Honorable Mentions: Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, New Super Luigi U
Click here to enter for your chance to win this awesome console, where you can download these games and more from the Wii U Virtual Console store!
