Special Report

'Wii Sports' is Nintendo's All Time Best-Selling Video Game

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: February 25, 2023 8:00 am

The NIntendo game platform is among the most successful in the world. Its only real competition comes from the Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox families. The three platforms are part of an industry which is expected to produce over $300 billion in revenue in 2027.

More than 2.5 billion people play video games across the globe, according to Enterprise Apps Today. In the U.S., nearly 64% of adults are gamers, 38% of them between the ages of 18 and 34. Each of the three major platforms has an army of games and configurations. Among those created for Nintendo, the most successful is Wii Sports.

Nintendo was founded as a company making playing cards in Kyoto, Japan, in 1889. It evolved into various other businesses in the ensuing years, and launched its first gaming console, the Color TV-Game, in 1977. Nintendo of America was established in Redmond, Washington, in 1980, and the following year the company had its first hit with the release of Donkey Kong – which, among other things, introduced the character of Mario to gamers. (Speaking of Mario, here are 45 movies based on video games, ranked from worst to best.)

Wii Sports was released in North America on Nov. 19, 2006. By the end of 2017, it had sold 83 copies worldwide. Wii Sports allows gamers to play five sports online – boxing, bowling, golf, baseball, and tennis. Notably, America’s favorite sport, football, is missing. Perhaps that is because the Madden NFL game series developed by EA Tiburon completely dominates the category. Even without football, though, Wii Sports has been an incredible success.

Click here for the best-selling Nintendo games of all time.