Super Mario series sales data

How many Super Mario games have you purchased?

  • Every last one

    Votes: 1 7.7%

  • 15+

    Votes: 5 38.5%

  • 10+

    Votes: 3 23.1%

  • 5+

    Votes: 4 30.8%

  • Less than 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    13
YoshiFlutterJump

YoshiFlutterJump

Power Star
MarioWiki
YoshiFlutterJump
I was bored, so I decided to compile a list of the sales of core Mario titles. All sales figures are taken from Wikipedia's "List of best-selling Nintendo _______ video games" articles as of October 6, 2018, and are listed in millions.

Super Mario Bros.: 42.51 (NES + GBA)
Super Mario Bros. 2 (JP): 2.65
Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA): 7.46
Super Mario Bros. 3: 18.00
Super Mario Land: 18.14
Super Mario World: 20.61
Super Mario Land 2: 11.18
Super Mario 64: 11.91
Super Mario Sunshine: 6.31
New Super Mario Bros.: 30.80
Super Mario Galaxy: 12.78
New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 30.22
Super Mario Galaxy 2: 7.41
Super Mario 3D Land: 12.22
New Super Mario Bros. 2: 12.82
New Super Mario Bros. U: 5.77
Super Mario 3D World: 5.80
Super Mario Maker: 4.00
Super Mario Odyssey: 12.17

Ports and remakes
Super Mario All-Stars: 13.10 (SNES + Wii)
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe: 5.07
Super Mario Advance: 5.57
Super Mario Advance 2: 5.69
Super Mario Advance 4: 5.43
Super Mario 64 DS: 11.06
Super Mario Maker 3DS: 2.34
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: N/A
 
Looking at these numbers I still wonder why the first 2 NSMB sales are so skyrocketed compared to everything else.
 
Also, I should note how I handled ports...

Remakes coded from scratch (Super Mario Advance), as well as enhanced ports (Super Mario Bros. Deluxe), are counted separately.

Direct ports (Super Mario Bros. on GBA) are included with the original game's sales, with a little note telling you that the figures are combined sales.

VC games are not counted.
 
Mcmadness said:
Looking at these numbers I still wonder why the first 2 NSMB sales are so skyrocketed compared to everything else.
Click to expand...
Maybe New Super Mario Bros. DS came out when people were starved for new 2D games (at the time, we had only Super Mario Advance remakes and ports), so it met demand. New Super Mario Bros. Wii had the four player appeal (unlike Galaxy) and came out on a really strong console.
 
It's worth noting the sourcing on Wikipedia "best selling X videogames" can be pretty dubious. For example, a quick skimming of the Gamecube one shows it citing a completely random user-contributed list site with no indication of where it gets its numbers form for Sonic Heroes's sales, and it cites this article by Source Gaming (itself hardly an authority on video game sales) for Star Fox Assault's, which in turns cites the notoriously-unreliable VGChartz for its numbers, which is a source banned by... Wikipedia. Yeah.
 
I'd tempted to bring that up in a talk page (if it isn't already), the itching for quality sources is too much sometimes.
 
Ha! Eat your heart out, Galaxy 2! 5 million copies difference! That's my boi game!

(Provided data is legit.)
 
For convenience, I'll rank the games by the number of copies sold.

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. New Super Mario Bros.
3. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
4. Super Mario World
5. Super Mario Land
6. Super Mario Bros. 3
7. Super Mario Galaxy
8. New Super Mario Bros. 2
9. Super Mario 3D Land
10. Super Mario 64
11. Super Mario Land 2
12. Super Mario Odyssey
13. Super Mario Bros. 2
14. Super Mario Galaxy 2
15. Super Mario Sunshine
16. Super Mario 3D World
17. New Super Mario Bros. U
18. Super Mario Maker
19. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
 
Mcmadness said:
Looking at these numbers I still wonder why the first 2 NSMB sales are so skyrocketed compared to everything else.
Click to expand...

Maybe because the platform they're on on top of what LGM said. I mean, DS and Wii were both extremely successful platforms.
 
Honestly I think the 3D Mario games generally offer a superior package, and Super Mario Galaxy came much earlier in the Wii's lifespan too (when the hype for the system was the strongest). You'd think that would push it above New Soup. Especially since it introduced a new staple character in Rosalina.

I think it's a shame Super Mario Maker sold so little too, since it's such a great community-based game that inspires creativity and the sky is the limit on what you can create and share with the world. But that's probably because Wii U did relatively poorly. That's why I want the game on Switch though, and why I hate that the 3DS (a more successful system) got a port with an essential feature removed.
 
Eh, all Super Mario Maker has above other Mario level editing software (ie unofficial ones) is a better UI and a larger community. That's really about it. The rest are far more feature filled and allow further customization.
 
Well modding will always be more elaborate than official level makers.

But one is far more accessible than the other.
 
i.e. baby's first level maker
 
I think some of the omissions in Super Mario Maker are baffling, like the amount of level themes, no slopes, no spiked balls, etc. Didn't leave a good first impression on me, after I used Reggie! a bit.
 
Princess Mario said:
i.e. baby's first level maker
Click to expand...

Well I mean, that is kinda Mario's MO :P
 
WeirdDave13 said:
The first two New games did well, so what happened?
Click to expand...
Most casuals prefer 2D sidescrollers to 3D games, whereas most core gamers prefer the 3D games. The DS and Wii were purchased by many casual gamers, while the 3DS and Wii U were aimed at core gamers.

That explains why every NSMB game outsold the 3D Mario on the same console (NSMB outsold SM64DS, NSMBW outsold both SMG and SMG2, NSMB2 outsold SM3DL, NSMBU outsold SM3DW until March 2018)
 
Ghostly Yoshi said:
Most casuals prefer 2D sidescrollers to 3D games, whereas most core gamers prefer the 3D games. Zlathlnathnl
Click to expand...
Yeah, can you back that up? That "more casual gamers bought the DS while more core gamers bought the 3DS"? Also, "casual" and "core" are poorly-defined arbitrary labels assigned to... well, I'm not sure. What makes one a "casual" and one a "core"? Why do "casuals" prefer the 2D sidescrollers to the 3D games? And what is your reasoning that the 3DS are for "core" gamers while the "DS" are for "casuals"? I'm not following that because they both advertise similar gimmicks and they host similar games and they're both successful systems. I understand the Wii has a "general audience" appeal just from the kinds of games it has released and its gimmicks it advertises and the unconventional controller, but why isn't the Wii U "casual"? Does it not have the same appeals?

Even if the labels are useful, I don't see a consistent pattern from those ranks, with New Super Mario Bros. U selling worse than 3D World despite it being a 3D game and implies a smaller base ("core" implies smaller amount of people because less people naturally have the same dedication as Mario fans like us). See what I mean by those labels?

I feel there's an argument beneath these distinctions that the "casual" part of it overlooks the context of the top-selling games, that the DS and the Wii are highly successful systems. New Super Mario Bros. Wii has a really good appeal for letting four people play at once, which is a major selling point for a lot of people, as games are so much more fun with other people. New Super Mario Bros. DS seems to be not only a revival of classic Mario platforming, but it came with the DS's massive success, hence it's a highly portable Mario game.
 
Princess Mario said:
Ghostly Yoshi said:
Most casuals prefer 2D sidescrollers to 3D games, whereas most core gamers prefer the 3D games. Zlathlnathnl
Click to expand...
Yeah, can you back that up? That "more casual gamers bought the DS while more core gamers bought the 3DS"? Also, "casual" and "core" are poorly-defined arbitrary labels assigned to... well, I'm not sure. What makes one a "casual" and one a "core"? Why do "casuals" prefer the 2D sidescrollers to the 3D games? And what is your reasoning that the 3DS are for "core" gamers while the "DS" are for "casuals"? I'm not following that because they both advertise similar gimmicks and they host similar games and they're both successful systems. I understand the Wii has a "general audience" appeal just from the kinds of games it has released and its gimmicks it advertises and the unconventional controller, but why isn't the Wii U "casual"? Does it not have the same appeals?

Even if the labels are useful, I don't see a consistent pattern from those ranks, with New Super Mario Bros. U selling worse than 3D World despite it being a 3D game and implies a smaller base ("core" implies smaller amount of people because less people naturally have the same dedication as Mario fans like us). See what I mean by those labels?

I feel there's an argument beneath these distinctions that the "casual" part of it overlooks the context of the top-selling games, that the DS and the Wii are highly successful systems. New Super Mario Bros. Wii has a really good appeal for letting four people play at once, which is a major selling point for a lot of people, as games are so much more fun with other people. New Super Mario Bros. DS seems to be not only a revival of classic Mario platforming, but it came with the DS's massive success, hence it's a highly portable Mario game.
Click to expand...
I simply mean "casual" as those who don't play many games, and "core" as those gamers who play a lot of games.

The Wii was advertised as a console for everyone, while Nintendo specifically said that the Wii U "was specifically tailored for you hardcore gamers," hence why 3D World outsold NSMBU in March 2018.

As for the DS...the touchscreen was new and appealed to both casual and core gamers, but by the time 3DS came around, touchscreens weren't new anymore and didn't attract as many casuals (although that's not to say none bought it)

The point is that NSMB attracts both casual and core gamers (especially casuals), while the 3D Marios aren't as appealing to the casuals.
 
We have a sales update! Time to see which games are still selling...

Super Mario Galaxy - 12.78 (previously 12.77)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - 30.22 (previously 30.20)
Super Mario 3D Land - 12.22 (previously 12.12)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - 12.82 (previously 12.70)
Super Mario 3D World - 3.80 (previously 3.78)
Super Mario Odyssey - 12.17 (previously 11.17)

Odyssey's huge jump in sales has caused it to outsell Mario 64, making it the third best-selling 3D Mario game!
 
This is off-topic, but I just noticed something odd in some of the previous posts. Look at this post quoted by LGM:

Princess Mario said:
Ghostly Yoshi said:
Most casuals prefer 2D sidescrollers to 3D games, whereas most core gamers prefer the 3D games. Zlathlnathnl
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
What is the word Zlathlnathnl doing in there? It wasn't in YFJ's original post, but it was added when LGM quoted it. What's with that? :koopa:
 
The Octagon gang must've seized her account, I deduce.

They're trying to sell Mario games, and this is their way of making propaganda for it.
 
I must've overlooked it when I was being too lazy to write the name out.
 
I love how the first NSMB has a godly number of sales, but then you reach NSMBU and it has over 25 million sales less.
 
that's what the wii u does.
 
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