Before I started thinking about this idea, I was easily frustrated by new gamers who couldn’t seem to grasp controls that are second nature to me. I have a friend whose family has never owned a single dedicated gaming system, handheld or otherwise. Even so, how hard can it possibly be to hold a Wii remote sideways and control the on-screen Mario with the directional pad and jump button? Even my little sister can’t do that effectively.

Naturally, this brought me to recognize that there is a skill for gaming! It can be practiced and honed just like any other skill. (more…)

Our friends over at Nintendo of Canada managed to snag some time with Mario himself to record a few New Super Mario Bros. and holiday themed voicemail greetings. While you can pick one of the three greetings to use on your phone’s voicemail system, it looks like one of the messages might be used by some video game retailer to remind gamers about New Super Mario Bros. Wii‘s imminent launch.

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Kotaku unearthed something interesting today: Vail Christian High School in Colorado has been using Mario Kart to teach students the dangers of driving while distracted.  Students are challenged to play Mario Kart Wii while sending and receiving text messages. “I ran into a lot of things and it was very stressful,” said 13 year old Alli O’Brian, “”I don’t think I’ll text.”  The Colorado school also has a “drunk driving go-kart,” that has been tweaked to simulate driving under the influence.  It’s all part of the Distracted and Drowsy Driving Project, Vail Christian High School’s entry to a contest in honor of National Youth Traffic Safety Month – the School who develops the best safety program will be awarded $10,000.

Combine the all software sales in Japan, the U.S. and the U.K., and Mario Kart Wii comes out on top with 8.94 million sold, beating Wii Fit in second and the much ballyhooed Grand Theft Auto IV in third with a completely respectable 7.29 million.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl takes fourth with 6.32 million, and the number of core gamers on the Wii rises ever higher.

Any reason why Mario Kart Wii shouldn’t be given 2008 game of the year honors?

Edge, using a series of super secret formulas, back channels and NPD Group moles, has assembled a list of the best-selling video games from the past 12 months.

Dominating the top ten are several EA franchise titles, a Russian guy down on his luck in Liberty City, as well as a number of Nintendo first party titles that include Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and everybody’s favorite floor-level drink coaster, Wii Fit.

Guitar Hero sneaks into the top 10 too, but it’s somewhat of a stretch: Edge has grouped everything that had the GH brand into one entry. I’d be more interested to see how each system panned out individually.