Wii Software Stats March Update: From ‘Super Smash’ To ‘Game Party 2′

How long do people play the Wii games they buy and rent? Here’s the March update, which, as always, includes some crazy stats about how many hours people are — or aren’t — logging with Wii games.

Highlights of my March check of Wii software usage stats:

*“Call of Duty” On The Rise — Check out the #13 spot on this list for a sign that Activision may have made a breakthrough with Wii gamers with “Call of Duty: World at War.”

*“Animal Crossing” Has Much Love – The biggest playing time boost I’ve ever seen for a Wii title happened in February with “Animal Crossing.” Almost seven hours, per player, for the month. Insane.

*“LEGO” Games Soak Up The Hours — Don’t sniff at the “LEGO Star Wars” and “LEGO Indiana Jones” games. While more high-profile Wii games struggle to gain a decent amount of playtime with their owners, the “LEGO” games easily score 20 and 30-hour average play times.

These are just some of the discoveries in MTV Multiplayer’s seventh monthly breakdown of Wii software usage stats. Remember! I’m not tracking sales. I’m tracking how much time the people who play and rent these games actually play them. Any game can sell. But only good games get played.

Check out the usage stats for more than 40 Wii games:

Note to regular readers: To keep this ever-growing list from getting too cluttered, I’ve removed the Virtual Console and WiiWare games from this edition.

WII SOFTWARE USAGE AS OF MARCH 1, 2009

The following statistics are pulled from the Wii’s Nintendo Channel, which allows users to persistently share their play history for any disc or downloadable games played on the Wii. These numbers do not reflect overall usage of these games on the Wii but instead reflect usage of the more than 2 million Americans who are sharing info with the channel (up from 1.9 million last month). We think that’s a pretty healthy sample size!

Games are ranked in order of average play time. The game we’re tracking that has been played the longest by its average user is at the top of this list.

If there are more games you want us to track, let me know!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Released March 2008)
Current Rank: #1 Last Month’s Rank: #1

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 64 hours, 41 minutes (up 24 minutes)
As of 2/1: 64 hours, 17 minutes
As of 1/1: 64 hours, 51 minutes
As of 12/1: 64 hours, 10 minutes
As of 11/2: 62 hours, 44 minutes
As of 10/5: 61 hours, 24 minutes
As of 9/1: 59 hours 59 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 2/1: 28.33 sessions (up .37 sessions )
As of 2/1: 27.96 sessions
As of 1/1: 27.97 sessions
As of 12/1: 27.38 sessions
As of 11/2: 26.40 sessions
As of 10/5: 25.54 sessions
As of 9/1: 24.65 sessions

Analysis: “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” is back on the upswing and continues to sit on top of the charts. The users of the Nintendo Channel have logged more than 65 million hours with the game so far!

***

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Released October 2007)
Current Rank: #2 Last Month’s Rank: #2

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 57 hours, 39 minutes (down 12 minutes)
As of 2/1: 57 hours, 51 minutes
As of 1/1: 58 hours, 41 minutes
As of 12/1: 58 hours, 31 minutes
As of 11/2: 57 hours, 46 minutes
As of 10/5: 57 hours, 7 minutes
As of 9/1: 56 hours, 30 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 33.88 sessions (up .02 sessions )
As of 2/1: 33.86 sessions
As of 1/1: 34.20 sessions
As of 12/1: 33.89 sessions
As of 11/2: 33.20 sessions
As of 10/5: 32.65 sessions
As of 9/1: 32 (est.)

Analysis: The playing time continues to drop on “Guitar Hero World Tour” even as it goes up for other games high on this list. Best guess: this game is losing steam as fans shift to newer rhythm games.

***

The Legend OF Zelda: Twilight Princess (Released November 2006)
Current Rank: #3 Last Month’s Rank: #3

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 45 hours, 57 minutes (down 8 minutes)
As of 2/1: 46 hours, 5 minutes
As of 1/1: 46 hours, 29 minutes
As of 12/1: 46 hours, 38 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 19.71 sessions (down .06 sessions )
As of 2/1: 19.77 sessions
As of 1/1: 19.98 sessions
As of 12/1: 20.05 sessions

Analysis: Another drop for “Zelda.” Have new owners of the game not had enough time to finish the game yet? Or are newer Wii users just not the kind of people who would ever finish a 45-hour “Zelda” game?

***

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (November 2007)
Current Rank: #4 Last Month’s Rank: #4

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 44 hours, 24 minutes (up 26 minutes)
As of 2/1: 43 hours, 58 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 16.16 sessions (up .1 sessions )
As of 2/1: 16.0 sessions

Analysis: I only added this “Fire Emblem” game last month and was surprised at how much play time it has received by its fans. While the game was no sales juggernaut (Nintendo Channel users have only played the game about three million hours totally, about a 20th of how much they’ve played “Smash Brothers“), those who have owned or rented it have poured a ton of time into it.

***

Animal Crossing: City Folk (Released November 2008)
Current Rank: #5 Last Month’s Rank: #8

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 34 hours, 47 minutes (up 417 minutes)
As of 2/1: 27 hours, 50 minutes
As of 1/1: 24 hours, 59 minutes
As of 12/1: 15 hours, 22 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 14.88 sessions (up 3.32 sessions )
As of 2/1: 11.56 sessions
As of 1/1: 9.91 sessions
As of 12/1: 5.3 sessions

Analysis: Stunning. This is the biggest increase in average playing time I’ve recorded since I started tracking these stats. People who have this game clearly love it.

***

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (November 2007)
Current Rank: #6 Last Month’s Rank: #6

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 34 hours, 16 minutes (up 38 minutes)
As of 2/1: 33 hours, 38 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 15.06 sessions (up .30 sessions )
As of 2/1: 14.76 sessions

Analysis: I added “Lego Star Wars” last month and it’s bearing fruit. This game’s stats saw a healthy increase, particularly for a title that’s been out for well over a year. Plus, it just passed “Wii Sports“!

***

Wii Sports (Released November 2006)
Current Rank: #7 Last Month’s Rank: #5

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 34 hours, 8 minutes (up nine minutes)
As of 2/1: 33 hours, 59 minutes
As of 1/1: 34 hours, 47 minutes
As of 12/1: 35 hours, 23 minutes
As of 11/2: 35 hours, 4 minutes
As of 10/5: 34 hours, 45 minutes
As of 9/1: 34 hours, 25 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 27.38 sessions (down .02 sessions )
As of 2/1: 27.40 sessions
As of 1/1: 28.38 sessions
As of 12/1: 29.04 sessions
As of 11/2: 28.9 sessions
As of 10/5: 28.72 sessions
As of 9/1: 28.56

Analysis: After two months of decline, the average play time for this game is again on the rise.

***

*NEW ENTRY* Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (November 2008)
Current Rank: #8 Last Month’s Rank: #NA

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 31 hours, 37 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 9.78 sessions

Analysis: This game may not have been played by that many people (only 409,518 hours logged since launch by Nintendo Channel users), but the average play time and session numbers here are great. As with “Fire Emblem,” we can see that “Tales” attracts fiercely loyal players.

***

Rock Band (Released June 2008)
Current Rank: #9 Last Month’s Rank: #7

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 28 hours, 15 minutes (up 23 minutes )
As of 2/1: 27 hours, 52 minutes
As of 1/1: 28 hours, 55 minutes
As of 12/1: 28 hours, 34 minutes
As of 11/2: 26 hours, 40 minutes
As of 10/5: 24 hours, 43 minutes
As of 9/1: 22 hours 37 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 15.49 sessions (up .45 sessions )
As of 2/1: 15.04 sessions
As of 1/1: 15.41 sessions
As of 12/1: 14.94 sessions
As of 11/2: 13.46 sessions
As of 10/5: 12.05 sessions
As of 9/1: 10.52

Analysis: “Rock Band” hasn’t taken the hit yet that “Guitar Hero III” did. Is this a sign of the sequel not catching on yet? The sequel is not yet listed in the Nintendo Channel, despite its December release.

***

Mario Kart Wii (Released April 2008)
Current Rank: #10 Last Month’s Rank: #9

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 27 hours, 52 minutes (up 44 minutes)
As of 2/1: 27 hours, 8 minutes
As of 1/1: 27 hours, 17 minutes
As of 12/1: 26 hours, 49 minutes
As of 11/2: 25 hours, 47 minutes
As of 10/5: 24 hours, 48 minutes
As of 9/1: 23 hours 42 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 16.48 sessions (up .53 sessions )
As of 2/1: 15.95 sessions
As of 1/1: 15.90 sessions
As of 12/1: 15.44 sessions
As of 11/2: 14.61 sessions
As of 10/5: 13.86 sessions
As of 9/1: 13.1 sessions

Analysis: Huge playing time increase for “Mario Kart” fans. There’s little doubt that this game gets continuous play by Wii owners.

***

Madden NFL 08 (Released August 2007)
Current Rank: #11 Last Month’s Rank: #10

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 27 hours, 16 minutes (up 16 minutes)
As of 2/1: 27 hours, 0 minutes
As of 1/1: 26 hours, 49 minutes
As of 12/1: 26 hours, 27 minutes
As of 11/2: 26 hours, 1 minute

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 15.18 sessions (up .17 sessions )
As of 2/1: 15.01 sessions
As of 1/1: 14.85 sessions
As of 12/1: 14.6 sessions
As of 11/2: 14.33 sessions

Analysis: Another boost for 2007’s “Madden NFL 08,” which is still pulling in more average play time than its 2008 sequel, “All-Play.”

***

Super Mario Galaxy (Released November 2007)
Current Rank: #12 Last Month’s Rank:#11

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 26 hours, 40 minutes (up 9 minutes)
As of 2/1: 26 hours, 31 minutes
As of 1/1: 26 hours, 35 minutes
As of 12/1: 26 hours, 25 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 13.77 sessions (up .09 sessions )
As of 2/1: 13.68 sessions
As of 1/1: 13.69 sessions
As of 12/1: 13.57 sessions

Analysis: While it seems that most people play this game to a basic level of storyline completion — and that most people aren’t logging the extra hours to do the game’s second quest — the minutes on this one do keep ticking up.

***

Call of Duty: World At War (Released November 2008)
Current Rank: #13 Last Month’s Rank: #16

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 24 hours, 47 minutes (up 307 minutes)
As of 2/1: 19 hours, 40 minutes
As of 1/1: 19 hours, 15 minutes
As of 12/1: 14 hours, 30 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 10.28 sessions (up 2.3 sessions )
As of 2/1: 7.98 sessions
As of 1/1: 7.40 sessions
As of 12/1: 5.22 sessions

Analysis: Whoa! Anyone have any idea what happened here? People who have this game have been binging!

***

*NEW ENTRY* MySims (September 2007)
Current Rank: #14 Last Month’s Rank: #NA

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 24 hours, 10 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 10.15 sessions

Analysis: This one was a reader request, and look how much it’s been played by the average user. No wonder EA has had the confidence to extend the “MySims” line.

***

*NEW ENTRY* Super Paper Mario (April 2007)
Current Rank: #15 Last Month’s Rank: #NA

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 23 hours, 56 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 10.99 sessions

Analysis: One thing worth noting about this game is how the playing pattern compares to that of “Tales of Symphonia,” which is higher on this list. People looked to be averaging about two hours per session with “Super Paper Mario,” but about three hours per session with “Tales.” Not surprisingly, “Tales” is a more hardcore gamer’s game.

***

Guitar Hero: World Tour (Released October 2008)
Current Rank: #16 Last Month’s Rank: #13

Average time played per player:
Guitar Hero: World Tour
As of 3/1: 23 hours, 23 minutes (up 189 minutes)
As of 2/1: 20 hours, 14 minutes
As of 1/1: 19 hours, 46 minutes
As of 12/1: 19 hours, 55 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 10.84 sessions (up 1.93 sessions )
As of 2/1: 8.91 sessions
As of 1/1: 8.43 sessions
As of 12/1: 7.86 sessions

Analysis: Giant rise in playing time for this game seems to make up for the drop in its 2007 predecessor. As “Guitar Hero: World Tour” rises, so falls “Guitar Hero III,” it seems.

***

*NEW ENTRY* LEGO Indiana Jones (June 2008)
Current Rank: #17 Last Month’s Rank: #NA

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 22 hours, 14 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 9.06 sessions

Analysis: The “LEGO Indiana Jones” game posts some strong numbers, making it one of the few 2008 Wii games to get more than an average 20 hours of play time per user. Thought there is a caveat: the “LEGO” games are some of the best-designed games for co-op play. So it could be argued that the amount of playtime here isn’t being experienced by single users of the game, but, very often, by pairs of people playing the game together. However you look at it, this is an impressive showing.

***

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Released August 2007)
Current Rank: #18 Last Month’s Rank: #12

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 21 hours, 20 minutes (up one minute)
As of 2/1: 21 hours, 19 minutes
As of 1/1: 21 hours, 23 minutes
As of 12/1: 21 hours, 23 minutes
As of 11/2: 21 hours, 17 minutes
As of 10/5: 21 hours, 14 minutes
As of 9/1: 21 hours, 11 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 9.91 sessions (up .01 sessions )
As of 2/1: 9.90 sessions
As of 1/1: 9.94 sessions
As of 12/1: 9.92 sessions
As of 11/2: 9.88 sessions
As of 10/5: 9.84 sessions
As of 9/1: 9.82

Analysis: Almost perfect stasis.

***

Okami (Released April 2008)
Current Rank: #19 Last Month’s Rank: #15

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 20 hours, 00 minutes (up 16 minutes)
As of 2/1: 19 hours, 44 minutes
As of 1/1: 19 hours, 43 minutes
As of 12/1: 19 hours, 31 minutes
As of 11/2: 18 hours, 56 minutes
As of 10/5: 18 hours, 28 minutes
As of 9/1: 17 hours, 51 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 7.76 sessions (up .12 sessions )
As of 2/1: 7.64 sessions
As of 1/1: 7.64 sessions
As of 12/1: 7.54 sessions
As of 11/2: 7.32 sessions
As of 10/5: 7.12 sessions
As of 9/1: 6.9

Analysis: People are getting closer to the end, reaching, on average the 20-hour mark of this epic. I think that’s more than halfway, if memory serves. Plus, this game just leapfrogged “Mario Party 8.”

***

Mario Party 8 (May 2007)
Current Rank: #20 Last Month’s Rank: #14

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 19 hours, 59 minutes (up seven minutes)
As of 2/1: 19 hours, 52 minutes
As of 1/1: 19 hours, 52 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 11.35 sessions (up .07 sessions )
As of 2/1: 11.28 sessions
As of 1/1: 11.27 sessions

Analysis: Decent uptick and good overall average playing time for a game that seems to spark little discussion among the gaming Internet.

***

Madden All-Play (Released August 2008)
Current Rank: #21 Last Month’s Rank: #17

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 19 hours, 33 minutes (up 55 minutes)
As of 2/1: 18 hours, 38 minutes
As of 1/1: 19 hours, 31 minutes
As of 12/1: 18 hours, 14 minutes
As of 11/2: 15 hours, 18 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 9.91 sessions (up .88 sessions )
As of 2/1: 9.33 sessions
As of 1/1: 9.58 sessions
As of 12/1: 8.86 sessions
As of 11/2: 7.3 sessions

Analysis: This game still can’t catch its predecessor, but here’s the question I’ll be interested in getting answered over the next couple of months: do people play more or less “Madden” during the NFL off-season?

***

*NEW ENTRY* Pokemon Battle Revolution (June 2007)
Current Rank: #22 Last Month’s Rank: #NA

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 19 hours, 21 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 11.76 sessions

Analysis: It’s a “Pokemon“-branded game, and therefore people who have it play it a lot.

***

Wii Fit (Released May 2008)
Current Rank: #23 Last Month’s Rank: #18

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 16 hours, 15 minutes (up 22 minutes)
As of 2/1: 15 hours, 52 minutes
As of 1/1: 16 hours, 15 minutes
As of 12/1: 16 hours, 16 minutes
As of 11/2: 15 hours, 41 minutes
As of 10/5: 15 hours, 26 minutes
As of 9/1: 14 hours, 26 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 12.96 sessions (up .35 sessions )
As of 2/1: 12.61 sessions
As of 1/1: 13.0 sessions
As of 12/1: 12.84 sessions
As of 11/2: 12.09 sessions
As of 10/5: 11.33 sessions
As of 9/1: 10.59

Analysis: “Wii Fit” playing time is moving back up, but it’s clear that playing time on this game isn’t destined for “Animal Crossing” level numbers

***

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Released September 2008)
Current Rank: #24 Last Month’s Rank: #19

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 13 hours, 27 minutes (up 18 minutes)
As of 2/1: 13 hours, 9 minutes
As of 1/1: 13 hours, 33 minutes
As of 12/1: 13 hours, 30 minutes
As of 11/2: 12 hours, 33 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 6.15 sessions (up .22 sessions )
As of 2/1: 5.92 sessions
As of 1/1: 5.97 sessions
As of 12/1: 5.82 sessions
As of 11/2: 5.17 sessions

Analysis: “Star Wars” is popular, but it’s no “Lego Star Wars (see above).”

***

Boom Blox (Released May 2008)
Current Rank: #25 Last Month’s Rank: #20

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 12 hours, 39 minutes (up 13 minutes)
As of 2/1: 12 hours, 26 minutes
As of 1/1: 12 hours, 25 minutes
As of 12/1: 12 hours, 15 minutes
As of 11/2: 11 hours, 53 minutes
As of 10/5: 11 hours, 32 minutes
As of 9/1: 11 hours, 8 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 6.27 sessions (up .16 sessions )
As of 2/1: 6.11 sessions
As of 1/1: 6.04 sessions
As of 12/1: 5.9 sessions
As of 11/2: 5.65 sessions
As of 10/5: 5.41 sessions
As of 9/1: 5.16 sessions

Analysis: Is the mid-2009 sequel going to stall this one? It’s still rising.

***

Sonic Unleashed (Released November 2008)
Current Rank: #26 Last Month’s Rank: #23

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 12 hours, 28 minutes (up 64 minutes)
As of 2/1: 11 hours, 24 minutes
As of 12/1: 11 hours, 4 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 6.07 sessions (up .82 sessions )
As of 2/1: 5.25 sessions
As of 12/1: 4.61 sessions

Analysis: Here’s a surprising surge, as “Sonic” fans put a lot more time into their hero’s latest game.

***

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Released June 2008)
Current Rank: #27 Last Month’s Rank: #21

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 12 hours, 22 minutes (up 7 minutes)
As of 2/1: 12 hours, 15 minutes
As of 1/1: 12 hours, 31 minutes
As of 12/1: 12 hours, 24 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 8.09 sessions (up 1.6 sessions )
As of 2/1: 7.93 sessions
As of 1/1: 8.00 sessions
As of 12/1: 7.79 sessions

Analysis: Not much going on here.

***

No More Heroes (Released January 2008)
Current Rank: #28K Last Month’s Rank: #22

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 11 hours, 32 minutes (unchanged )
As of 2/1: 11 hours, 32 minutes
As of 1/1: 11 hours, 35 minutes
As of 12/1: 11 hours, 35 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 5.48 sessions (up .02 sessions )
As of 2/1: 5.46 sessions
As of 1/1: 5.47 sessions
As of 12/1: 5.46 sessions

Analysis: By the first of February, Nintendo Channel users logged 1,160,072 hours with this game. One month later, they’ve logged 1,207,165 hours. That’s not quite stasis, but as you can see above, it evens out to just about that.

***

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (January 2008)
Current Rank: #29 Last Month’s Rank: #24

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 10 hours, 53 minutes (up 7 minutes)
As of 2/1: 10 hours, 46 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 8.19 sessions (up .1 sessions )
As of 2/1: 8.09 sessions

Analysis: Little movement here.

***

Skate It (November 2008)
Current Rank: #30 Last Month’s Rank: #29

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 10 hours, 43 minutes (up 84 minutes)
As of 2/1: 9 hours, 19 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 5.92 sessions (up 1.02 sessions )
As of 2/1: 4.9 sessions
Analysis: Here’s a surprise boost, but there’s some bad news here. The game has only been played for a total of about 106,000 hours by Nintendo Channel users, a paltry figure given that about two million people have contributed stats.

***

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Released November 2007)
Current Rank: #31 Last Month’s Rank: #25

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 10 hours, 37 minutes (up 7 minutes)
As of 2/1: 10 hours, 30 minutes
As of 1/1: 10 hours, 23 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 6.83 sessions (up .09 sessions )
As of 2/1: 6.74 sessions
As of 1/1: 6.65 sessions

Analysis: Curious development here, as this game’s stats increases are exactly the same as they were a month ago.

***

Sonic and the Secret Rings (February 2007)
Current Rank: #32 Last Month’s Rank: #26

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 10 hours, 6 minutes (up 1 minute)
As of 2/1: 10 hours, 5 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 6.91 sessions (up .03 sessions )
As of 2/1: 6.88 sessions

Analysis: This game shows little movement, unlike the more recent “Sonic Unleashed.” And guess what? A new “Sonic” game, a direct sequel to this one, is out this month.

***

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Released November 2007)
Current Rank: #33 Last Month’s Rank: #27

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 9 hours, 52 minutes (up two minutes)
As of 2/1: 9 hours, 50 minutes
As of 1/1: 9 hours, 50 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 6.28 sessions (up .03 sessions)
As of 2/1: 6.25 sessions
As of 1/1: 6.25 sessions

Analysis: Some people believe this game is the prototype for EA’s upcoming “Dead Space Extraction.” If so, it’s showing a healthy amount of playtime for a light-gun game.

***

Wii Play (Released February 2007)
Current Rank: #34 Last Month’s Rank: #28

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 9 hours, 33 minutes (up three minutes)
As of 2/1: 9 hours, 30 minutes
As of 1/1: 9 hours, 44 minutes
As of 12/1: 9 hours, 45 minutes
As of 11/2: 9 hours, 36 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 10.17 sessions (up .04 sessions )
As of 2/1: 10.13 sessions
As of 1/1: 10.38 sessions
As of 12/1: 10.42 sessions
As of 11/2: 10.28 sessions

Analysis: “Wii Play” still gets played more than people think.

***

Carnival Games (Released August 2007)
Current Rank: #35 Last Month’s Rank: #30

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 9 hours, 1 minutes (up 5 minutes)
As of 2/1: 8 hours, 56 minutes
As of 1/1: 8 hours, 55 minutes
As of 12/1: 8 hours, 48 minutes
As of 11/2: 8 hours, 37 minutes
As of 10/5: 8 hours, 30 minutes
As of 9/1: 8 hours, 21 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 6.73 sessions (up .09 sessions )
As of 2/1: 6.64 sessions
As of 1/1: 6.59 sessions
As of 12/1: 6.48 sessions
As of 11/2: 6.31 sessions
As of 10/5: 6.19 sessions
As of 9/1: 6.07

Analysis: Standard small increase for this game.

***

Wii Music (Released October 2008)
Current Rank: #36 Last Month’s Rank: #31

Average time played per player:
As of 2/1: 7 hours, 38 minutes (up 40 minutes)
As of 2/1: 6 hours, 58
As of 1/1: 7 hours, 3 minutes
As of 12/1: 7 hours, 28 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 2/1:5.04 sessions (up .66 sessions )
As of 2/1: 4.38 sessions
As of 1/1: 4.08 sessions
As of 12/1: 4.05 sessions

Analysis: That’s a stronger jump thank I was expecting. Can you picture the average “Wii Music” user playing the game for 40 minutes in the last month?

***

Wario Land: Shake It (Released September 2008)
Current Rank: #37 Last Month’s Rank: #33

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 7 hours, 23 minutes (up 34 minutes)
As of 2/1: 6 hours, 49 minutes
As of 1/1: 6 hours, 49 minutes
As of 12/1: 6 hours, 45 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 4.28 sessions (up .28 sessions )
As of 2/1: 4.0 sessions
As of 1/1: 3.95 sessions
As of 12/1: 3.9 sessions

Analysis: There’s been a mini-surge here. Not sure why.

***

Cooking Mama Cook Off (Released March 2007)
Current Rank: #38 Last Month’s Rank: #32

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 6 hours, 55 minutes (up two minutes)
As of 2/1: 6 hours, 53 minutes
As of 1/1: 6 hours, 56 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 5.93 sessions (up .05 sessions )
As of 2/1: 5.88 sessions
As of 1/1: 5.89 sessions

Analysis: Same as last month… This game charts. It’s sequel, released last fall, still does not.

***

Ghost Squad (Released October 2007)
Current Rank: #39 Last Month’s Rank: #34

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 6 hours, 34 minutes (up four minutes)
As of 2/1: 6 hours, 30 minutes
As of 1/1: 6 hours, 28 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 5.23 sessions (up .05 sessions )
As of 2/1: 5.18 sessions
As of 1/1: 5.16 sessions

Analysis: Small increase. Nothing remarkable.

***

Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (November 2008)
Current Rank: #40 Last Month’s Rank: #35

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 5 hours, 57 minutes (up 32 minutes)
As of 2/1: 5 hours, 25 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 3.64 sessions (up .44 sessions )
As of 2/1: 3.2 sessions

Analysis: No pattern yet.

***

House of the Dead 2 and 3: The Return (Released March 2008)
Current Rank: #41 Last Month’s Rank: #36

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 5 hours, 30 minutes (up seven minutes)
As of 2/1: 5 hours, 23 minutes
As of 12/1: 5 hours, 18 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 4.54 sessions (up .09 sessions )
As of 2/1: 4.45 sessions
As of 12/1: 4.38 sessions

Analysis: Small numbers. This game’s mid-February sequel, “House of the Dead: Overkill,” hasn’t charted yet.

***

Link’s Crossbow Training (Released November 2007)
Current Rank: #42 Last Month’s Rank: #37

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 4 hours, 42 minutes (up three minutes)
As of 2/1: 4 hours, 39 minutes
As of 1/1: 4 hours, 38 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 4.43 sessions (up .05 sessions)
As of 2/1: 4.38 sessions
As of 1/1: 4.38 sessions

Analysis: Let’s give this game credit for showing an increase in playing time every month, no matter how small.

***

NERF N-Strike (October 2008)
Current Rank: #43 Last Month’s Rank: #38

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 4 hours, 10 minutes (up 30 minutes)
As of 2/1: 3 hours, 40 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 3.36 sessions (up .47 sessions)
As of 2/1: 2.89 sessions

Analysis: No longer the bottom-dweller on this list.

***

*NEW ENTRY* Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip (November 2008)
Current Rank: #44 Last Month’s Rank: #NA

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 4 hours, 4 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 3.35 sessions

Analysis: This game finally shows up on the Nintendo Channel, posting some disturbingly low numbers. Only 71,487 hours have been logged by the Channel’s two million users. People who have the game don’t seem to be playing it a lot. And this is despite the game being heavily hyped by both Nintendo and developer/publisher Ubisoft, despite widely publicized integration with the Wii Balance Board, and despite the Wii version of the game being showcased more than the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. Not good.

***

*NEW ENTRY* GAME PARTY 2 (October 2008)
Current Rank: #45 Last Month’s Rank: #NA

Average time played per player:
As of 3/1: 3 hours, 48 minutes

Average number of sessions per player:
As of 3/1: 3.11 sessions

Analysis: After not displaying stats last month, “Game Party 2” does just well enough to get logged by the Nintendo Channel… and to take the bottom spot on this list.

***

Games I wanted to track that do not have usage data listed on the Nintendo Channel yet: Celebrity Sports Showdown, Blastworks, Rock Band 2, House of the Dead: Overkill, Cooking Mama World Kitchen

Games I wanted to track that are not listed on the Nintendo Channel: Resident Evil 4, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Game Party

CONCLUSION

After a lot of declining numbers in last month’s edition, today’s Wii software numbers show some amazing increases. Whether it’s the solid jump for a “Wii Music” or the massive spurt for “Animal Crossing” or the excellent numbers for “Tales of Symphonia,” there are lots of signs that a wide array of Wii games are clicking with their owners. The only thing missing? New games. Nothing released in 2009 has made the chart yet.

Source: http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/03/02/wii-software-stats-march-update/