eShop Sales-Ratings: January 2012

The Nintendo eShop is Nintendo's online shop through the 3DS where people can download games from old Nintendo hardware, DSiWare games, and new download software specific for the 3DS. Because Nintendo does not disclose sales numbers, and developers are most likely barred from revealing them, we do not know how games are doing on the service.

But we might have at least a small hint.

After playing a game on the 3DS for over a hour, players are capable of rating these games via the eShop, and the totals are shown on each game page, showing up to five stars based on what the population thinks. At the very least, we now have minimum sales figures for the games, but with a very large disclaimer: these numbers represent the users who have done the following:

1) Purchased the game
2) Played the game for over an hour on the 3DS, and
3) Chose to rate the game on the eShop.

People who play the games on their DSi systems cannot rate games, nor can people who have not played the games for less than one hour. Since rating cannot be done outside of the eShop, some might have forgotten to or chosen not to rate said games. Also note that a rating does not necessarily correspond with a sale in the month in which it appears, only emphasizing the number of additional people who completed the above steps.

With that disclaimer in mind, let us take a look at how the games performed.

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Free Apps

1	3	Swapnote	13752	19277
2	1	Nintendo Video	12880	48813
3	2	Pokedex 3D	12071	58941
4	4	Netflix	7316	30541

As Swapnote went through its first full month, its ratings skyrocketed, putting the game at the top of this month's ratings chart. Now, the game still has a ways to go to brush up against the top two apps, but Netflix will no doubt he taken over in the next couple months. Meanwhile, Nintendo Video and Pokedex 3D remain increasingly close to one another on a monthly basis; overall, Pokedex 3D remains just over ten thousand ratings above all other apps on the list.

What should be more intriguing is just how many ratings were made. There were a total of 46,019 ratings for Free Apps in January, bringing total ratings in Free Apps to 157,572. That means that this month's ratings account for just under a third of all ratings for Free Apps. The holiday season did good for the 3DS, it seems, but will it spread to the other categories?

Also, no Hulu yet again. Nintendo has stated that new free applications might be made in the future, following Swapnote's success, but we'll see about that. Also, as a side note, I would include demos in here as they were added to the eShop this month, but they are attached to the actual games and, therefore, will not be counted.


Video Downloads

1	1	Thriller	97	355
2	2	Night of the Living Carrots	79	274
3	3	The Pig Who Cried Werewolf	28	80

I'm rather surprised no other videos have appeared for purchase. Nintendo Video has a lot of content popping in that some might want to purchase such as the new Kirby video or Dinosaur Office, but we will have to make do with Dreamworks for now.


Pre-eShop DSiWare*

1	1	Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! [CN]	1867	6187
2	2	Plants vs. Zombies	1003	6724
3	3	Photo Dojo	825	5108
4	4	Cave Story	418	4171
5	8	Mario Clock	416	2035
6	20	Dr. Mario Express [CN]	406	1213
7	5	Inchworm Animation	389	3276
8	9	Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 - From the Abyss	342	2359
9	6	Zenonia	284	2095
10	10	GO Series: 10 Second Run	235	1626
11	11	Tetris Party Live	233	1737
12	7	Shantae: Risky's Revenge	216	2710
13	12	Bomberman Blitz	164	1728
14	13	Nintendo Countdown Calender	161	966
15	15	Crystal Monsters	146	1207
16	16	Pop Island - Paperfield	129	1325
17	18	Mario Calculator	100	546
18	14	Army Defender	76	1082
19	17	Soul of Darkness	73	946
20	19	JellyCar 2	69	936
21	30	Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A.	65	390
22	22	Dark Void Zero	51	850
23	25	My Farm	51	474
24	23	Earthworm Jim	49	369
25	24	Touch Solitaire	42	495
26	32	5 in 1 Solitaire	39	313
27	34	Anonymous Notes Chapter 2 - From the Abyss	35	527
28	21	Glory Days: Tactical Defense	35	497
29	29	Blazybloo: Super Melee Action Battle Royale	33	382
30	28	Extreme Hangman	32	580
31	27	Pop Island	30	521
32	36	My Exotic Farm	29	280
33	31	Arcade Bowling	22	421
34	37	AiRace	22	265
35	41	Petz Dogz Family	22	114
36	26	Paper Airplane Chase	21	374
37	42	MySims Camera	21	68
38	33	Castle Conqueror	20	283
39	35	WarioWare: Snapped!	18	275
40	40	Escapee GO!	15	172
41	38	GO Series: Defense Wars	14	220
42	39	Faceez Monsters!	13	200
43	44	Petz Kittens	11	78
44	43	A Topsy Turvy Life: The Turvys Strike Back	10	96

*This list consists of a selection of DSiWare games that released prior to June 2011 and does not reflect the actual rating listing of every previous DSiWare game released.
[CN] Game has been made freely available via Club Nintendo and may skew data as a result.

This particular list is becoming fairly uninteresting. There are shifts, yes, but they do not appear to be that great to note, outside of Club Nintendo selections. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong remains on top and is now the second-most rated Legacy DSiWare game on the list, and if it does not slow down, it will surpass Plants Vs. Zombies. Dr. Mario Express benefited greatly from Club Nintendo, having received half of its original ratings total in a single month.

There has been an increase in ratings for the month overall, but that may be mostly attributed to Mario Vs. Donkey Kong continuing to be rated in high frequency. In both months, 17 games had more than a hundred ratings, and only one more had two hundred ratings last month.

February's Club Nintendo choice is Art Academy: First Semester. It and its sequel will be added next month alongside:

Music on: Retro Keyboard

141

141

Post-eShop DSiWare

1	1	The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition**	15221	47829
2	2	Bloons TD	603	1351
3	3	Cut the Rope	401	813
4	8	Come On! Heroes	134	185
5	67	Cake Ninja	120	123
6	13	Rytnik Retrobits	114	144
7	16	Doodle Fit	105	132
8	4	Afterzoom	71	664
9	11	Castle Conqueror: Against	69	104
10	37	Elite Forces: Unit 77	66	76
11	5	Extreme Hangman 2	60	467
12	6	1001 BlockBusters	48	204
13	18	Escape Trick: Convenience Store	47	86
14	27	Chronicles of Vampires: Origins	46	61
15	10	My Australian Farm	42	183
16	7	Let's Create! Pottery	39	333
17	9	GO Series: Fishing Resort	39	234
18	34	Word Searcher 4	36	47
19	12	Magical Whip	32	208
20	14	The Lost Town: The Dust	29	297
21	73	Slingo Supreme	29	31
22	21	My Asian Farm	28	137
23	17	Calculator	27	129
24	20	Moto eXtreme	25	174
25	19	Stratego: Next Edition	24	170
26	23	Build-a-lot	24	112
27	22	Make-Up & Style	23	153
28	24	Crazy Hamster	23	107
29	15	Go! Go! Kokopolo	19	198
30	28	Christmas Wonderland	19	33
31	33	Academy Checkers	18	42
32	31	Antipole	12	163
33	41	GO Series: Portable Shrine Wars	12	87
34	43	Defense of the Middle Kingdom	11	55
35		3 Heroes: Crystal Soul	11	11
36	38	Pro Jumper! Guilty Gear Tangent!?	10	100
37	66	Furry Legends	10	30
38	25	Castle Conqueror: Revolution	10	76
39	63	WordJong Arcade	10	14
40		Hip Hop King: Rytmik Edition	10	10
41	40	Farm Frenzy	9	70
42	35	Kung Fu Dragon	9	58
43	26	Simply Minesweeper	9	59
44		Anne's Doll Studio: Gothic Collection	9	9
45	42	Zoonies - Escape from Makatu	8	67
46	36	Break Tactics	8	66
47	30	Castle Conqueror: Heroes	8	32
48		Gaia's Moon	8	8
49	58	Roller Angels	7	46
50	54	Trollboarder	7	51
51	57	Bugs 'N' Balls	7	33
52	59	House M.D. - Skull and Bones	7	23
53	29	Halloween: Trick or Treat	7	54
54	48	Heart Spaces Euchre	6	54
55	32	Blockado - Puzzle Island	6	61
56	52	1950s Lawn Mower Kids	6	19
57		Quick Fill Q	6	6
58	39	Hidden Photo	5	54
59	53	Jewel Keepers: Easter Island	5	68
60	70	Puzzle Rocks	5	15
61	44	Escape Trick: Ninja Castle	5	39
62	45	Play & Learn Chinese	5	15
63	62	House M.D. - Crashed	4	17
64		Flipper 2: Flush the Goldfish	4	4
65	68	Gold Fever	3	25
66	60	Puzzle Fever	3	39
67	50	House M.D. - Blue Meanie	3	51
68	56	DotMan	3	26
69	46	House M.D. - Under the Big Top	3	11
70	75	Just SING! Christmas Vol. 3	3	4
71	64	Delbo	2	34
72	65	Boardwalk Ball Toss	2	25
73		101 Pinball World	2	2
74	47	Zimo: Mahjong Fanatic	1	31
75	61	Just SING! 80s Collection	1	10
76	69	Oscar's World Tour	1	17
77	49	Play & Learn Spanish	1	22
78	51	Crystal Caves of Amen-Ra	1	25
79	72	Battle of the Elements	1	3
80		Lola's Alphabet Train	1	1
81	76	Beach Party Craze	0	25
82	74	B-Team - Episode 2: Ice & Venom	0	7
83	55	Go Fetch! 2	0	25
84	71	Bridge	0	5
85	77	Double Bloob	0	0

** This game is freely available until February 2012.

There was a bump from the post-holiday downloads, but only some games benefited from that, particularly the November and December releases. Both Cut the Rope and Bloons TD did very well this past month; in fact, Bloons TD became the first new DSiWare title to have more than a thousand ratings (outside of the free Zelda title). Cut the Rope looks set to pass that milestone in the next few months, as well.

Three games released last month received more than a hundred ratings this month: Cake Ninja, Doodle Fit, and Rytnik Retrobits. Even Come On! Heroes received more ratings in the past month than it had received in total beforehand. Other month-old titles shot to the top of the charts, but Double Bloob remained completely unrated, becoming the first DSiWare title to lack a rating after two months of being on these charts. Four other games were unrated this past month, including Beach Party Craze which was unrated last month, as well.

Now what about the new releases? Well, they did not do all too well. The most-rated debut goes to 3 Heroes: Crystal Soul with a paltry 11 ratings, the lowest most-rated debut since tracking began. In the aggregate, this category did better by almost a thousand ratings, but the spread has declined. 40 of the 85 games had more than 10 ratings, which was more than in December, but with 8 new games and little shifts upward in monthly ratings, it appears that more effort will be needed to get attention brought to these DSiWare titles.

As Zelda stops being freely available next month, it may begin to ebb away, but considering how ratings continue to flow, I suspect it will take several months for it to be overtaken by a newer DSiWare title.

Classic Games

1	1	Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX	1305	18768
2	5	Kirby's Dream Land [CN]	1218	4946
3	2	Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins	1046	4734
4	3	Super Mario Land	610	10895
5	4	Metroid II: Return of Samus	425	1162
6	25	Tetris	266	273
7	6	Donkey Kong	209	4319
8	7	Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge	163	980
9	9	Game & Watch Gallery	100	1225
10	8	Mario's Picross	98	1242
11	10	Gargoyle's Quest	62	685
12	23	Bionic Commando	57	68
13	12	Pac-Man	52	244
14	11	Catrap	45	210
15	14	Blaster Master: Enemy Below	39	82
16	18	Double Dragon	32	146
17	13	Adventure Island	24	75
18		Lock'N Chase	21	21
19	22	Radar Mission	19	260
20	15	Alleyway	18	713
21	17	Avenging Spirit	16	224
22	16	Burger Time Deluxe	16	92
23	20	Qix	15	230
24	27	Golf	11	40
25	19	Balloon Kid	11	89
26	26	Tennis	9	176
27	28	Fortified Zone	5	115
28	21	Baseball	5	192
29	24	Side Pocket	4	26

[CN] Game has been made freely available via Club Nintendo and may skew data as a result.

I have a theory why Nintendo let the Virtual Console sit dormant this month, but it still makes little sense. I suspect the releases were kept short here to bring attention to the new 3DS Download Software and DSiWare releases. Regardless of conspiracy theories, the Virtual Console received but one game, Lock 'N Chase, and it debuted with a low 21 ratings. Games which debuted in December got a boost, as expected, and Tetris received the biggest boost of them all.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX still sat on the top despite Club Nintendo affecting Kirby's Dream Land's ratings. LA looks poised to pass 20,000 in the next couple months, so that will be fun to watch, just as Super Mario Land had made it to half that. Metroid II finally passed the thousand-rating mark, and it looks like Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge will be the first third-party game to do the same come February or March.

To date, outside of the new debut, Side Pocket is the least-rated game on the list.


3DS Download Software

1	1	Pushmo	3002	5872
2	2	FreakyForms: Your Creations, Alive!	1736	4702
3	3	3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure	1341	3305
4	8	VVVVVV	1229	1400
5	6	Mighty Switch Force!	1028	1511
6		Zen Pinball 3D	649	649
7	5	3D Classics: Xevious [CN]	610	2358
8	4	3D Classics: Excitebike*	406	20133
9		Mutant Mudds	382	382
10		Samurai Sword Destiny	290	290
11	7	Let's Golf! 3D	228	2363
12	10	3D Classics: Urban Champion	100	836
13	11	Pyramids	93	381
14	9	3D Classics: Twinbee	62	499

*Game was available for free during June 2011.
[CN] Game has been made freely available via Club Nintendo and may skew data as a result.

No doubt about it, the month of January was all around good for 3DS Download Software. Pushmo, which was the chart-topper last month, remains on top, more than doubling its total ratings in its second month. It is now the most-rated 3DS Download Software not available for free at any moment, and even without that final clause, it is one-fourth of the way to matching Excitebike's ratings in a mere two months (which, by the way, passed 20k in January). FreakyForms did well for itself, as well, but even as it grows, Pushmo will remain the better performer. Both of those games will, no doubt, surpass 10k ratings in the next year.

The other December games, Mighty Switch Force! and VVVVVV, received over a thousand ratings a piece, no doubt promising signs for their futures. Of course, as new games emerge, the monthly ratings will decline, but we will see how long it takes for them to really slow down. In the end, five games had more than a thousand ratings in a single month, the most since we started tracking.

The month was pretty good for new games as well. Zen Studios' Zen Pinball 3D was the highest with 649 ratings; it will pass the thousand mark in February no doubt. Renegade Kid's Mutant Mudds seems to be doing pretty well, as it had less than a week to garner ratings for this month; I suspect a it will surpass a thousand ratings by March or April. As for UFO's Samurai Sword Destiny, it will probably grow slowly as the months go onward, sitting in the lower end of the monthly ratings. Speaking of slower growers, 3D Classics: Urban Champion is poised to pass a thousand ratings in the next few months.


Overall

1	1	The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition*	15221	47829
2	2	Pushmo	3002	5872
3	6	Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! [CN]	1867	6187
4	3	FreakyForms: Your Creations, Alive!	1736	4702
5	4	3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure	1341	3305
6	5	Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX	1305	18768
7	30	VVVVVV	1229	1400
8	18	Kirby's Dream Land [CN]	1218	4946
9	7	Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins	1046	4734
10	14	Mighty Switch Force!	1028	1511
11	9	Plants vs. Zombies	1003	6724
12	10	Photo Dojo	825	5108
13		Zen Pinball 3D	649	649
14	12	3D Classics: Xevious [CN]	610	2358
15	11	Super Mario Land	610	10895
16	15	Bloons TD	603	1351
17	3	Metroid II: Return of Samus	425	1162
18	16	Cave Story	418	4171
19	23	Mario Clock	416	2035
20	8	3D Classics: Excitebike**	406	20133

*Game is available for free until February 2012.
**Game was available for free during June 2011.
[CN] Game was available for free via Club Nintendo for one month.

No surprise, Zelda sits at the top, being the only free game on the listing. In hindsight, making it a Free App might have been better, but it could very well appear as a paid download soon. In fact, in February the game is expected to end its free existence in the eShop. It will not decline off the top spot for a couple months, I suspect, unless it is entirely gone from the eShop, which I equally doubt. In case that is to happen, though, I will gather data for it before the end of its availability.

Only one new game appeared in the Top 20, and that was Zen Pinball 3D at 13. Mutant Mudds and Samurai Sword Destiny are in the Top 30, though (24 and 26, respectively). As for last-month debuts, Pushmo was the highest at number 2, followed by VVVVVV and Mighty Switch Force! Club Nintendo shot Kirby's Dream Land up ten places, and Dr. Mario Express was just outside of the Top 20. Overall, five games in the Top 20 were available for free at some point, which makes sense considering that these are ratings and not true sales.

Other debuts not in the Top 20 include the only new Virtual Console title, Lock 'N Chase, at 98, and the most-rated debut DSiWare title, 3 Heroes: Crystal Soul, at 120. Out of the 175 titles in the listing thus far, 45 received more than a 100 ratings, 16 of which had more than 500, 11 of which had more than a thousand, and only two had multiples of that.

Only 7 of the games in the Top 20 are DSiWare releases, showing signs that the Virtual Console and original Download Software are becoming increasingly prominent in the sales of the eShop. The big question is how much longer will DSiWare see releases; my answer is probably in the next two years.

Now, as for February, what should we expect? Well, Nintendo's next game Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword begins the month, and more demos should appear, although that has little bearing on this information. As for other notables, Nintendo will most likely add more Virtual Console games this month as the bigger third-party Q1 releases emerge this month. We'll just have to wait and see if that's the case!