Gamertell

Nintendo has announced that Mario Party 8 is the fastest selling title on the Wii, with 550,000 copies sold in the US since it’s launch on May 29, 2007. The first Wii-specific title in the Mario Party franchise may have received a lukewarm critical reception but that hasn’t stopped it from flying off the store shelves.

The game itself is a mini-game centric party title, featuring characters from the Mario series. Though many have felt that the series has become increasingly gimmicky with each installment, Mario Party 8’s Wii-based controls are a natural fit for simple, twitch gameplay found in the minigames.

The news appears to be par for the course for the Wii, which is still selling like crazy according to recent sales figures, no doubt due to Nintendo’s successful courting of non-traditional gamers. It’s no surprise that Mario Party 8 has flown off store shelves as it has when the majority of the Wii’s top ten sellers are casual or mini-game collections (such as Wii Play). Still, it’s unfortunate that the Wii continues to perpetuate its reputation as a casual machine. Those looking for a hardcore game on the Wii are limited to Zelda and the occasional old school Virtual Console release.

Read [Opposable Thumbs] Site [Nintendo]