July 16, 2009 - After all the nay saying around Wii's "unfriendly third party" aura, the NPD report for June of 2009 has just shown that the right games do in fact sell on Nintendo's blue ocean console. Of the top 10 highest-selling games in June, four of those titles were found on the Nintendo Wii, and while we've come to expect generally high numbers from Nintendo's system the real surprise has come with the titles themselves.
Gone is Wii Play from the top four after an astounding 29 months, and instead publisher EA has taken not only two of the four Wii spots, but the top two. Leading the pack in the third overall position for the month is EA Sports Active, selling 289,000 units in its second month on the shelves. And that's a $59.99 title, mind you. Losing only to Prototype and UFC: Undisputed (both on 360), EA's Wii Fit rival actually trumped Nintendo's own fitness game by 18,000 units. Wii Fit currently sits in the fifth ranked spot this month with 271,600 units.
As the other major star for publisher EA, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for Wii also outsold Nintendo's own software, sitting between Active and Wii Fit with 272,400 units sold in its debut month. That's good enough for the number four position in overall sales.
But what's this? Tiger Woods isn't in the top 10 for any system but Wii? It looks like EA made the right move in pairing Wii MotionPlus with the software and spending additional time to get the weather channel support and Wii-exclusive disc golf modes ready in time for release. EA stated that Wii was the lead platform for Tiger Woods 10, and it looks to have paid off. Oh, and for those keeping score, Wii's fourth game was none other than Mario Kart Wii, selling 202,100 units and clinching the eighth spot for the month.
The real question though is where EA will go from here, and if the publisher's other titles will see as much success. An all-new Madden experience is hitting later this year on Wii, Need for Speed is headed in an all new direction with Nitro, and FIFA – which we went hands-on with earlier today - is bringing a more arcade-like experience to Nintendo's console this October. Oh, and with the early success of Wii MotionPlus, hopefully EA is looking at new ways to expand its library with even more content. May we suggest taking a Wii-specific slant on the Fight Night series with MotionPlus? The next-generation boxing game held both the number six and seven spots this month, though as June's NPD numbers show that's only good enough to take a backseat to EA's Wii properties.
Third party games don't sell on Wii, you say? We're pretty sure EA would beg to differ
