Nintendo in February: Mario Galaxy passes 5 million, Wii and 3DS move more than 200K each [Update: corrected]

by Richard Mitchell on Mar 8th 2012 6:56PM

With February's NPD numbers upon us, Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy 2 has joined a prestigious club. The portly plumber's Wii title has now crossed the 5 million sales mark. Nintendo notes that the Wii has now amassed nine titles that have passed 5 million in sales, which it says is "nearly twice as many 5-million sellers as competing current-generation consoles combined." The company added that Just Dance 3 is quickly approaching the 5 million mark, with 4.61 million copies sold to date.

On the handheld front, two other Mario titles, Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land, both moved more than 100,000 units. In addition, Nintendo notes that Pokemon Black and White have surpassed 4 million units in combined sales.

In hardware, Nintendo sold 228,000 Wii consoles, 262,000 3DS units and 135,000 DS units.

Update: It's actually Super Mario Galaxy, the first one, that just hit this sales milestone.

Nintendo News

Super Mario Galaxy Becomes Ninth Wii Game to Sell More than 5 Million Units

Another month, another milestone for Mario: Super Mario Galaxy became the ninth Wii game to sell more than 5 million units in the United States, according to the NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. The Wii system, which crossed 39 million units sold in February, now has nearly twice as many 5-million sellers* as competing current-generation consoles combined.

"Wii continues its record-breaking run by surpassing 39 million units in its 64th month, a pace that is unmatched by any other system in U.S. history," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Titles like Super Mario Galaxy help explain why Wii continues to resonate with consumers. The fact that one of the best-reviewed games of all time is available for a suggested retail price of $19.99 speaks to Nintendo's combination of quality, family fun and value that is unmatched in our industry."

Other Nintendo milestones achieved in February include:

Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS each sold more than 100,000 units, bringing the life-to-date totals to more than 1.85 million and 1.45 million respectively.
Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version for Nintendo DS have now sold more than 4 million combined units in the United States.
Nintendo sold 625,000 total hardware units in February and saw double-digit growth across each of its product lines compared to January. This includes:
Nintendo 3DS: 262,000, a 53 percent increase
Wii: 228,000, a 50 percent increase
Nintendo DS: 135,000, a 76 percent increase
Total: 625,000, a 57 percent increase
* The Wii games to surpass 5 million units sold in the United States include: Wii Play (13.06 million), Mario Kart Wii (11.3 million), New Super Mario Bros. Wii (8.86 million), Wii Fit (8.18 million), Wii Fit Plus (7.32 million), Wii Sports Resort (6.45 million), Just Dance 2 (5.61) million, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (5.43 million) and Super Mario Galaxy (5.04 million). Just Dance 3 is poised to be the next title added to the list with a lifetime total of 4.61 million.

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Child's Play raises $1.5 million so far in 2011, passes $10 million in total contributions

by David Hinkle on Dec 12th 2011 9:00PM

In 2010, Child's Play earned a whopping $2,294,317.53 for charity, a new record for the organization. Lifetime total earnings came to over nine million dollars last year since the charity started back in 2003, which donates countless toys and video games to childrens hospitals across the country. And in 2011, the bar has been raised even higher.

The charity has earned $1.5 million so far in 2011, pushing total earnings over the $10 million mark. News came via a post over on the official blog, where Robert Khoo, president of operations and business development for Penny Arcade, the charity's organizers. Khoo said fundraising this year "is coming along at a record pace" and thinks the $2 million mark is "well within reach."

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[Multi] Team Bondi passes into administration

[Multi] Team Bondi passes into administration

A few weeks ago we reported a story that claimed that Team Bondi were selling off their assets and IPs, sadly now it appears that the demise of the Sydney-based studio has come to fruition.

Documents that were filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission suggest that Riad Tayeh and David Solomons of de Vries Tayeh were appointed as the joint administrators of the company as of the 30th of August. In the original story it was reported that Team Bondi had been selling their assets and IPs to filmmaker George Miller's studio, KMM. SmartCompany followed up this report and got the usual 'no comment' response.

Upon trying to contact Team Bondi's studio they were informed that the company was no longer located there, and no one would be present to take media enquiries going forward. Neither of the two administrators were able to be contacted either.

This seems like an unfortunate end to the story of a developer who provided gamers with one of the most compelling games of 2011. But considering the claims that many employees made about the development period, and the ex-employees who had to start a website to get credited for their work on the game after leaving it seems that this studio didn't really have what it took to operate as a team.

You can check out the vgZero review of Team Bondi's L.A. Noire right here, but take our word for it: the game is definitely worth your time.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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PSA: PAX Prime passes dwindling, only Friday and Sunday tickets left

by Alexander Sliwinski on May 17th 2011 7:00PM

PAX Prime 2011 organizers announced earlier today through Twitter that there were only 400 passes left for Friday access to the event. The 3-day and Saturday passes have already been tapped, while "a battery" of Sunday passes are still available -- the remaining one-day passes ($35 apiece) must be purchased through the official PAX site.

Penny Arcade marketing maestro Robert Khoo tells us that they've been given the green light to sell about 10 percent more badges than in prior years. It would appear that PAX East, despite welcoming 69,500 attendees in March, did not diminish interest in the Seattle show. At the current rate of ticket sales, the organizers guesstimate that PAX Prime passes will be completely sold out three months before the August 26–28 event takes place.

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Just Dance 2 passes a million sales in UK

by Alexander Sliwinski on Mar 9th 2011 3:30AM

Ubisoft tells GamesIndustry.biz that Just Dance 2 has sold a million copies in the UK. Not exactly the most surprising news to folks who have taken note of the Just Dance franchise's stalwart presence on Chart-Track's weekly top sellers list.

Just Dance 2 may not have brought in the headline-grabbing launch figures when it debuted last October, but much like its predecessor, it has consistently performed in the UK and in the States. Ubisoft's dance titles, which include Just Dance, Just Dance 2, Just Dance Kids, Michael Jackson: The Experience and Dance on Broadway have been shaking player's booties, while the company has been shaking the money tree.

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