19 of 20 best-selling games were sequels in 2010

By Jeffrey Van Camp February 1, 2011

In its earnings briefing over the weekend, Nintendo was forced to defend lagging sales of the Wii and DS. Speaking to the company’s success, President Satoru Iwata revealed that for 2010, Nintendo games accounted for more than half of the top 20 U.S. software titles for the year.

We’ve typed out the full list below, which is fairly revealing. Though Nintendo systems hold 11 of the top 20 spots, Nintendo-published games account for nine of those positions. Only Ubisoft’s Just Dance and Just Dance 2 managed to make the charts on Wii without a “Published by Nintendo” label on them.

Historically, third party publishers have had a difficult time competing with Nintendo-published games on Nintendo systems–a trend that appears to be stronger than ever. Still, it’s a double-edged sword for Nintendo. Though it wishes to promoted third party content, it makes a lot more money if gamers purchase its own products.

NPD 2010 U.S. Software Top 20 Chart

Call of Duty: Black Ops, Activision Blizzard, X360
Call of Duty: Black Ops, Activision Blizzard, PS3
Halo: Reach, Microsoft, X360
New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Nintendo, Wii
Just Dance 2, Ubisoft, Wii
Wii Fit Plus w/Balance Board, Nintendo, Wii
Super Mario Galaxy 2, Nintendo, Wii
Madden NFL 11, Electronic Arts, X360
Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar Games, X360
Pokemon SoulSilver Version, Nintendo, DS
Mario Kart Wii w/Wheel, Nintendo, Wii
Just Dance, Ubisoft, Wii
New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, DS
Donkey Kong Country Returns, Nintendo, Wii
Madden NFL 11, Electronic Arts, PS3
Wii Sports Resort w/Wii Motion Pluss, Nintendo, Wii
God of War III, Sony, PS3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfware 2, Activision Blizzard, X360
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Ubisoft, X360
Pokemon HeartGold Version, Nintendo, DS

Sadly, though we criticize Nintendo, most games on this list are predictable best-sellers. God of War, Assassin’s Creed, Madden, Red Dead, Call of Duty, and Halo may not be Nintendo franchises, but they are all part of extended best-selling franchises. The only original game on this list is Just Dance (as is its sequel). Ah well, there’s always next year?

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Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

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