Sales figures straight from the ape's mouth

It hasn't been out for long when compared to the other big sellers of last year, but that hasn't stopped Donkey Kong Country Returns from flying off the shelves.

The return of the Donkey Kong franchise by way of Retro Studios has been selling like hot cakes ripe bananas since its North American release last November. Since then, combined global sales since the game's debut month have surpassed the 4.2 million mark, with 750,000 copies sold in Japan alone since its December release and the remaining 3,470,000 units from around the world.

Donkey Kong Country Returns was ranked 14th on the list of best-selling U.S. multi-platform software of 2010 by market research group NPD despite its relatively recent release. There were otherwise a total of four Wii games that made it into the top ten: New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Just Dance 2, Wii Fit Plus, and Super Mario Galaxy 2; taking 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th respectively. The only DS title that secured a position in the top ten was Pokémon SoulSilver in 10th place. The game also came in at #14 in the Japanese chart, but didn't finish so well in Europe in comparison, as the highest position it reached was in the German chart where it was ranked 19th.

Kong is one of 29 first-party Wii titles to sell over a million copies over the console's lifespan, with 70 third-party titles surpassing the million mark. Nintendo is experiencing sales at what it describes as a "smooth pace," and expects the potential evergreen title to continue to do well for a long period of time, especially in the U.S. where it's been performing the strongest out of the three major markets.

Are you one of the 4 million? If not, perhaps you ought to read our Donkey Kong Country Returns review and see why this is a title that deserves a spot in your collection.

[source nintendo.co.jp, via nintendo.co.jp]