14 DAY TRIAL // 2009 was a bad year for the videogaming industry, with overall revenue falling by a median of 8% and with the worldwide economic crisis affecting both hardware makers and videogame publishers more than they initially thought.
But after a shaky start that saw the Wii quickly lose sales and some managers calling its situation “unhealthy,” the Nintendo home console rebounded and continued to sell more than its rivals combined. Its total for 2009 stands at 9.6 million units sold, which is 5.7% lower than in 2008.
But the biggest product in Nintendo's lineup is the DS handheld. Its various versions, with the new camera enabled DSi leading the way, sold more than 11.2 million units in the United States during 2009, which is a new record for a gaming device. Another Nintendo product, the Game Boy Advance, held the record until now.
Cammie Dunaway, the executive vice president in charge of sales and marketing at Nintendo of America, stated that “Wii, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi combined to sell more than 7 million units in the month of December alone. Clearly there is overwhelming consumer demand for fun games, motion controls and value. This remarkable hardware sales surge presents a tremendous software opportunity for Nintendo and its third-party partners as we head into 2010.”
Nintendo is also managing to sell quite a few titles for its platforms. While the various third-party developers have not succeeded in creating blockbusters for the Wii, the company is iterating on its most important franchises, with Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort still dominating the NPD charts. And then there's New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which, in December, sold better than the versions of Modern Warfare 2 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 combined.