This year has been an interesting one for gaming. It has seen more delays than any other in recent memory, and it seems like a large number of triple-A titles were released earlier in the year than we usually see. This year has already brought us such heavy hitters as Red Dead Redemption, God of War III, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 which have all sold very well.
The NPD group recently just released its list of the top ten selling games of 2010, which features those three games along with a surprising number of 2009 titles, headed up by Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The big question is how much will this list change between now and the end of the year?
- Halo Reach (Xbox 360)
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
- Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
- Pokemon Soul Silver (Nintendo DS)
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
- Wii Fit with Balance Board (Wii)
- God of War III (PS3)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
- Just Dance (Wii)
- Wii Sports Resort with Motion Plus (Wii)
Since that list is only from data collected from January to September, the order and titles on it could and probably will change by the end of year. The just released Fallout: New Vegas has the potential to possibly make this list, and Call of Duty: Black Ops is almost a sure thing considering the amount of pre-orders it has already received. On the PC side of things, Blizzard's next World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm, will surely sell through the roof.
After looking at the games on this list it is kind of easy to see why Microsoft and Sony are so desperate to get a piece of the casual market. Five out of the ten bestselling games are for the Wii, and besides Super Mario Galaxy 2, they can all be considered casual games. Whether or not Kinect or Move will get soccer moms to go out and buy $300 systems and $150+ add-ons remains to be seen. One thing is for sure is that Sony and Microsoft would love to have this list filled with Kinect Sports or Sports Champions type games by this time next year.
Readers, what are your thoughts on this list? Anything surprising or missing from this list? How much will it change in the last few months of the year?
Source: Gamesutra