Thirteen of the 20 top-selling games for 2009 were on Nintendo systems, with the Wii claiming all top six places for last year.

2009 was a stellar year for Nintendo software sales, with the Wii taking out nine places and the DS claiming four. Admittedly, most of those games were hangers-on from previous years with only half being new releases for the year. The now-redundant Wii Fit claimed the top spot, managing to outsell its successor Wii Fit Plus which came in at sixth place. The original fitness game has now sold over 800,000 copies locally, with Wii Fit Plus having shifted 125,000 units since its October launch.

Superstar seller Mario Kart Wii, only a few months away from its two-year birthday, has sold over half-a-million copies in Australia to date. The year’s big Mario title - New Super Mario Bros. Wii, proved to be one of the the fastest-selling games on Wii in Australia, having sold 200,000 copies in its first seven weeks.

The vast majority of games were Nintendo-published titles, with Codemaster’s Cricket and EA’s Sports Active being the only third-party Wii games to make the list (we’re not counting SEGA’s ‘Olympics’ game because it has Mario in it).

Pokémon Platinum was the highest selling DS game for the year, coming in surprisingly low at 12th place, and also being the only 2009 release for the handheld. More Brain Training, Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros. once again proved their immortality, appearing towards the bottom of the list despite being years old.

Last year was a record-setter for video games sales in Australia, and Nintendo has done well to beat off some stiff competition from high-profile titles such as the gigantic Modern Warfare 2 – one of the highest money-making games of all time internationally.

Top 20 games of 2009

1. Wii Fit (Wii)
2. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
3. Wii Play (Wii)
4. Mario Kart (Wii)
5. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
6. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (360)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (PS3)
9. Wii Cricket (Wii)
10. The Sims 3 (PC)
11. Halo 3: ODST (360)
12. Pokemon Platinum (DS)
13. EA Sports Active (Wii)
14. More Brain Training (DS)
15. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
16. Mario Kart (DS)
17. FIFA 10 (PS3)
18. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
19. Assassin’s Creed II (360)
20. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)

Source: Sydney Morning Herald