Wii Sports is best-selling game ever
Jock blockbuster topples Mario.
By Ben Silverman

Well, that didn't take long.
According to game-tracking website VGChartz, sales of Nintendo's pop-culture phenom Wii Sports have surpassed those of legendary platformer Super Mario Bros., making the breakout Wii title the best-selling video game of all time. And it only took two years and two months to do it.
The data is based on cumulative worldwide sales figures ending the week of December 27, 2008, which indicate that lifetime sales of Wii Sports have exceeded Mario's staggering 40.24 million units.
Shocked? Don't be. Unlike most video games that can be bought at retail, Wii Sports comes bundled with the Wii hardware in every territory other than Japan and Korea. In other words, if you bought a Wii, you bought Wii Sports whether you liked it or not (chances are, you liked it). With over 45 million Wiis sold worldwide to date, it's only logical that Wii Sports would start smashing records sooner or later.
And before you brand Wii Sports a false champion due to being bundled with hardware, consider that Super Mario Bros. was also sold as a bundle with the original Nintendo Entertainment System during its mid-80's heyday. Plus, Wii Sports has been a major hit even in non-bundled form, topping Wii sales charts in Japan at over 3.2 million copies sold in 2008 alone.
A new version of the game, Wii Sports: Resort, is due out later this year.

Super Mario Bros. is a fond memory of mine from the 80s. Just think that 40 million copies of that game cartridge were sold! Super Mario Bros. ranked #1 on two of my very popular video game lists. If you have not seen either of these before, please check them out:

Old School's Top Classic Arcade Games List
and
Old School's Top Classic Nintendo (NES) Games List

I have nothing against the Wii or any ill will towards Wii Sports for knocking my 80s favorite out of the top spot. In fact, I feel that Wii promotes more exercise and more family interaction than other video game systems. If a kid is going to sit in front of the TV playing video games, they might as well get a little exercise out of it. It also gives families and friends a way to interact and have fun together which is always a good thing.

I just wanted to take a moment to recognize the long reign that Super Mario Bros. enjoyed as the best selling video game. It was released for the NES back in 1985, so it has had the title for over 20 years. Records were meant to be broken, but it still saddens me just a little to know Super Mario is no longer at the top.

That will do it for this short issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading more of my 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. Hope you checked out the two top 10 lists I mentioned above, but if you want more of my Top 10 lists, please click there for a summary. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here was a cartoon about setting a computer password that made me chuckle...

Quote of the day: "If you're successful in what you do over a period of time, you'll start approaching records, but that's not what you're playing for. You're playing to challenge and be challenged." - Lou Brock, Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player