As Nintendo revealed plans to release a new 2D Mario game for 3DS in the next fiscal year (April 2012 to March 2013), the company announced that Super Mario 3D Land has already sold 5.03 million copies around the world since its launch in November 2011.
That makes Super Mario 3D Land the biggest-selling 3DS game, as well as the first 3DS release to hit the 5 million mark -- 1.36 million of those copies sold in Japan, while the remaining 3.68 million were purchased in North America, Europe, and other regions.
While the game has a long way to go before surpassing 2006's New Super Mario Bros., which has sold 28.7 million copies to date, it's halfway toward matching the numbers of the first Super Mario Galaxy for Wii, which has moved 10 million units since 2007.
And Nintendo intends to bring another 3DS entry to the franchise soon. CEO and president Iwata revealed yesterday, "We are planning to release a totally new side-scrolling action Super Mario in 2D as a key title for the Nintendo 3DS in the next fiscal year."
The second biggest-selling 3DS game, Mario Kart 7, isn't far behind with 4.5 million copies sold globally. Nintendo has pushed nearly 2.5 million units of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, while Capcom has previously revealed that Monster Hunter 3G crossed the 1 million mark in Japan.
Wii's The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, despite difficulties with its holiday debut in Japan, managed to sell 3.4 million copies around the world after shipping in November 2011. For comparison, 2006's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii version) has so far sold 5.8 million units.
The full list of first-party Nintendo games that sold at least 1 million copies worldwide the company's first three quarters (April to December 2011) follows:
Title
(Apr-Dec 2011)
Life-to-date
DS
Pokemon Black Version/White Version
2.91 million
14.42 million
New Super Mario Bros.
1.87 million
28.74 million
Mario Kart DS
1.26 million
22.3 million
Professor Layton & the Last Specter*
1.19 million
1.19 million
Kirby Mass Attack
1.01 million
1.01 million
3DS
Super Mario 3D Land
5.03 million
5.03 million
Mario Kart 7
4.54 million
4.54 million
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
2.49 million
2.49 million
Wii
Mario Kart Wii
4.91 million
31.91 million
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
3.53 million
25.47 million
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
3.42 million
3.42 million
Wii Sports
2.4 million
79.16 million
Wii Sports Resort
2.19 million
29.87 million
Wii Party
1.91 million
7.68 million
Wii Fit Plus
1.75 million
20.24 million
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
1.21 million
1.21 million
Wii Play: Motion
1.12 million
1.12 million
Super Mario Galaxy
1.09 million
10.4 million
*Published by Nintendo in North America and Europe, published in Japan by Level-5
