Can we agree that Modern Warfare 2 was an average shooter, just one that happened to be backed by a gigantic marketing budget? It wasn’t bad, certainly, but the story was bat-shit crazy—Red Dawn was more plausible—and No Russian was so clearly developed to spark controversy. This is why this Mario story warms my heart so. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is now the fastest-selling game on a single console to reach 10 million units sold worldwide. The previous record holder was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The key to all this is the single console caveat. The game, as its name implies, was only available on the Nintendo Wii, while Modern Warfare 2 was available for multiple consoles, and technically available for the PC, the lack of dedicated servers notwithstanding.
It took Mario only seven weeks to reach the 10 million mark. That breaks down to 4.5 million sold in North America, 2.9 million in Japan, and 2.9 million everywhere else.
It just goes to show you: Nintendo could release a new Mario game every few years and be guaranteed a hit. Mario is untouchable.
Meanwhile, in just a few years I’m sure we’ll be looking at Modern Warfare 18 and Modern Warfare-branded kids vitamins. Who knows, maybe Activision will actually become a defense contractor in order to better milk the license for money?