Given the nature of gaming discourse, it’s easy to take for granted just how well certain games actually end up selling. The most critically acclaimed ones are seldom heavy hitters when it comes to sales. For instance, despite consistently earning critical praise with each and every new installment, The Legend of Zelda is not on this list. In fact, not a single game came close. Not only did Zelda not make this list, neither Metroid or Donkey Kong made it either. All ♏three franchises have what many consider to be the best games of all time, but they’re not part of Nintendo’s best sellers.
It makes sense, though. Nintendo very much has a specific way to market their games. You’ll notice a pattern throughout this list: all of Nintendo’s best sellers follow a specific formula. Whether it be due to bundling games with consoles or accessories, or simply by using a proper launch window, the best selling Nin🌳tendo games a♐re the ones that play into Nintendo’s penchant for marketing to you. Why does the Switch sell so well? Because Nintendo know what they’re doing and they know what you want. While most of the best sellers are quite obvious, there are a few surprise hits lying in wait.
25 ꧃ Mario Kart 8 | 17.04 Million 𝄹
It’s worth noting, per Nintendo of Japan’s sales tracker, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe makes up over 11 million of the game’s units sold. That means, in less time than its Wii U counterpart, the Switch port was able to nearly double the original’s lifetime sales. While this doesn’t speak to the quality of the game, it does speak to how consumers🐓 viewed 🌃the Wii U and the Switch.
Due to its poor marketing and naming convention, the Wii U struggled immensely with its attach rate and adoption. You’ll notice later on in this list that Mario Kart games tend to sell incredibly well, but 8 would not have even come close to makin✃g this list had the Switch not attracted audiences with its stellar marketing campaign.
24 👍 Super Mario Land | 18.371 Million
It really cannot be understated just how well the original Game Boy sold. Nintendo’s first real foray into a dedicated piece of handheld hardware, the Game Boy was billed as the NES’ natural companion. As a result, fans of the Nintendo Entertainment System🅠 naturally flocked to the Game Boy’s familiar titles.
A mini Mario on the go.
As Super Mario Bros. is one of the best selling games of all time (spoilers,) it’s only fitting that Super Mario Land, its miniature cousin, also sell gangbusters. While far from the best entry in the series, and easily the worst of its own sub-series, there is a certain charm to Land that m🔥ade it appealing to fans of the franchise and those just looking for something fun to play on the go.
23 😼 Brain A﷽ge | 19.01 Million
Speaking of fun on the go, how about🔥 that Nintendo DS? One of Nintendo’s best selling handhelds of all time, don’t be surprised to see quite a few DS games on this list. While its legacy thrived on the 3DS, t🥂he DS had quite a few gems that the gaming community has since forgotten. Which is strange considering how well they sold.
Brain Age, Nintendo’s all purpose intelligence test managed to sell 19.01 million units without so much as leaving a cultural impact on the industry. Few sequels, few spin-offs, and few imitators exist to challenge the Brain Age name. At the same, perhaps that’s for the best. After all, Nintendo more or less knocked the game out of the park in one🍰 go and the sales show.
22 🐭 Wii Fit Plus | 21.13 Million 𒅌
Although most of the entries on this list are sequels- because well-timed sequels print money- it’s important to recognize that said sequels are a part of long-running franchises. Wii Fit is a series with two e🌸ntries, the second installment little more than a glorified remaster of sorts꧒ with some new content.
Because you are always do better.
With that in mind, this sells just how impressive its total lifetime sales actually are. Despite following up a game that, quite honestly, was standalone by design, Wii Fit Plus still somehow sold 21.13 million units. In truth❀,𒅌 this is a testament to the sheer willpower of the Nintendo Wii and its ludicrous legacy.
21 🥃 Super Mario 64 | 23.24 Million 🍸
Given that we live in a medium generation running what seems to be excl𝓀usively nostalgia, it’s not particularly difficult to misremember the things we onced loved in our youth as “good.” This is not to say the Nintendo 64 is mind, it’s a great console with some of the best games ever made, but it didn’t sell all that well.
This statement is made even more surprising over the fact that Super Mario 64 is one of the best selling games of all time at 23.24 million. How could this be if the Nintendo 64 didn’t sell all that well? Well, these ꦉsales also include the DS port which released on a system that sold almost impossibly well.
20 💛 Mario Kart DS ꧃| 23.60 Million
Remember what we said about Mario Kart? Naturally, its Nintendo DS version sold an impressive 23.60 million units. While Mario Kart is more or less always guaranteed to sell well, Mario Kart DS is one of the better games in the series from a quality perspective, int⛦roducing several franchise staples.
Arguably the most important Mario Kart game of all time.
Not only did it bring with it the series’ only dedicated single player mode, DS also introduced online play and throwback tracks, courses that were lifted from previous games and reimagined for the newest installment. Mario Kart DS ushered the fr🅘anchise into a new age and, at the time, it seemed like the best thing ever. Which it kind of was.
19 🍌 Pokémon Sun & Moon | 23.61 Million ♔
Of course Game Freak’s flagship franchise would appear on this list. Every single Generation sells incredibly well, basically pushing units on their own. Game Freak may very well have saved the Wii U had they decided to release a new Generation away from their handheld shtick. Naturally, Sun and Moon make the list.
Keep in mind, this is just the first two installments barring their Ultra revisions. Even without their “third versions,” both games sold well enough to top the list- the same cannot be said for Generat🔥ion V which also had sequels or 🧸Generation VI which only featured base games. Gen VII really brought new blood to the series.
18 Nintendogs | 23.96ꦑ Million 🅰
There’s a good reason Nintendo earned their reputation as the “casual” games developer back in the era of the Nintendo DS and the Wii. Not only were their games selling well almost consistently, the games that were selling were targeted at a more casual audience. Case in point: Nintendogs.
Now don’t get us wrong, a game’s casualness has no bearing on its actual quality. Nintendogs is quite good, in fact, making great use of all of the DS’ features while offering a fun pet simulator where your dogs can’t, you know, pass away. Definitely made for a casual audie𓆏nce in mind, but that’s what sells sometimes.
17 Pokémon Diamond, Pearl,ꦯ & Platinum | 25.27 Million
Generation IV of Pokémon was a massive deal. Not only did the franchise get quite the aesthetic makeover, making greater use of 2.5D models, Gen IV saw the series push familiar concepts into new territories. Like Mario Kart DS, the single player was mor📖e involved and online played a big role in winning ove🅷r audiences.
Pokémon literally prints money.
When it comes down to it, Diamond and Pearl actually didn’t need Platinum to help bolster Gen IV’s sales. As the franchise’s first big foray on the DS, and at a rather comfortable time for the series’ popularity, both games sold fairly well. They may not have made it onto this list without the third entry push, ♍but Game Freak certainly wasn’t hurting for money.
16 Wii Play | 28.08 Millioꦫn ⛦
Wii Sports’ little brother, Wii Play was Nintendo’s attempt at even further experimenting with what the Wiimote could do as a controller. Although nowhere near as critically successful as Wii Sports, or even commercially (spoilers,) people were still eating up the Wii craze at the time, ensuring Wii Play sold more than just well. Of course, it doesn’t have nearly as stro♍ng a legacy and isn’t beloved, but just because something sells or grosses well doesn’t mean that it’ll have a cultural impact.