What didn't perform too well? The long-awaited sequel NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, which, according to Media Create, charted at #27 in its first week. Poor Sega. I almost feel bad for them! I'll try to maintain a straight face while you check out the top ten for the week of December 10th to 16th. More after the jump.

01. Mario Party DS (DS) - 180,000 / 826,000
02. Wii Fit (Wii) - 124,000 / 535,000
03. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3) - 116,000 / NEW
04. Professor Layton and The Devil's Box (DS) - 74,000 / 444,000
05. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 74,000 / 550,000
06. Dragon Quest IV (DS) - 73,000 / 868,000
07. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 64,000 / 212,000
08. Wii Sports (Wii) - 55,000 / 2,341,000
09. Wii Play (Wii) - 55,000 / 1,921,000
10. Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: The Labyrinth of Forgotten Time (Wii) - 41,000 / NEW

11. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (PS2)
12. Mario Party 8 (Wii)
13. Power Pro Kun Pocket 10 (DS)
14. Kirarin Revolution Tsukutte Misechao! Kime*Kira Stage (DS)
15. Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (DS)
16. Mario Kart DS (DS)
17. Taiko Drum Master DS (DS)
18. Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon: Shadow Expedition Party (DS)
19. Hot Shots Golf Portable 2 (PSP)
20. SD Gundam G Generation Spirits (PS2)
21. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
22. WarioWare Smooth Moves (Wii)
23. Tales of Innocence (DS)
24. Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (Xbox 360)
25. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (PS3)
26. Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes (PS2)
27. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii)
28. Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi: Mina San Kyu (DS)
29. Nep League DS (DS)
30. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

Looks like Mario Party DS will easily pass the 1 million sold mark by the end of the year, with Wii Play passing 2 million as well. Go mini-games!

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

For the week of December 3rd through the 9th, the sales charts stacked up like so.

01. Wii Fit (Wii) - 150,000 / 411,000
02. Mario Party DS (DS) - 107,000 / 646,000
03. Tales of Innocence (DS) - 104,000 / NEW
04. Hot Shots Golf Portable 2 (PSP) - 87,000 / NEW
05. Professor Layton and the Devil's Box (DS) - 76,000 / 370,000
06. Dragon Quest IV (DS) - 63,000 / 795,000
07. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) - 55,000 / NEW
08. Power Pro Kun Pocket 10 (DS) - 54,000 / NEW
09. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 45,000 / 476,000
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) - 45,000 / 148,000

11. SD Gundam G Generation Spirits (PS2)
12. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (PS2)
13. Gintama: Gin-Oh Quest (DS)
14. Wii Sports (Wii)
15. Wii Play (Wii)
16. Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes (PS2)
17. Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida (PSP)
18. Nep League DS (DS)
19. Silent Hill Origins (PSP)
20. Mario Party 8 (Wii)
21. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 (PS3)
22. Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (DS)
23. Mario Kart DS (DS)
24. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
25. MySims (DS)
26. Yakuza 2 (PS2)
27. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
28. Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon: Shadow Expedition Party (DS)
29. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (PSP)
30. Haneru no Tobira DS: Tanshuku Tetsudou no Yoru (DS)

Media Create Weekly Sales [Gpara]

Sales sexiness continues after the top ten.

01. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 112,724 / 616,000
02. SD Gundam G Generation Cross Drive (DS) - 48,321 / 186,000
03. Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber (DS) - 47,730 / 93,000
04. Wii Sports (Wii) - 35,430 / 2,035,000
05. Wii Play (Wii) - 32,939 / 1,639,000
06. My Housekeeping Diary (DS) - 32,714 / 122,000
07. J.League Winning Eleven 2007: Club Championship (PS2) - 32,210 / 227,000
08. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - 31,897 / 756,000
09. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 29,979 / 4,729,000
10. Hot Shots Golf 5 (PS3) - 28,044 / 278,000

11. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS)
12. Mario Kart DS (DS)
13. More Brain Age (DS)
14. Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System (PS2)
15. It's A Wonderful World (DS)
16. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 14 (PS2)
17. Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
18. Brain Age (DS)
19. Itadaki Street DS (DS)
20. Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii)
21. Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 5 (DS)
22. More English Training (DS)
23. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
24. Face Training DS (DS)
25. Zettai Onkan Otoda Master (DS)
26. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP)
27. Pokémon Pearl (DS)
28. English Training (DS)
29. Yoshi's Island DS (DS)
30. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Wii (Wii)

Media Create Weekly Sales

The rest of the top 30 is after the jump!

01. SD Gundam G Generation Cross Drive (DS) - 149,000 / NEW
02. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 102,000 / 504,000
03. Final Fantasy XII - International Zodiac Job System (PS2) - 66,000 / NEW
04. J. League Winning Eleven 2007: Club Championship (PS2) - 54,000 / 217,000
05. Donkey Kong Jungle Climber (DS) - UNKNOWN/ NEW
06. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) 27,000 / 734,000
07. Wii Sports (Wii) - 34,000/ 2,005,000
08. Wii Play (Wii) - UNKNOWN
09. Wild Arms XF (PSP) - UNKNOWN / NEW
10. Flash Focus: Vision Training In Minutes A Day (DS) - UNKNOWN

11. Hot Shots Golf 5 (PS3)
12. Mario Kart DS (DS)
13. My Housekeeping Diary (DS)
14. More Brain Age (DS)
15. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
16. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 14 (PS2)
17. It's A Wonderful World (DS)
18. Itadaki Street DS (DS)
19. Hiiro no Kakera 2 (PS2)
20. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP)
21. Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
22. Face Training DS (DS)
23. Wantame Fortune Telling Channel (DS)
24. Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 5 (DS)
25. Taiko Drum Master DS (DS)
26. Pokémon Pearl (DS)
27. Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii)
28. Brain Age (DS)
29. More English Training (DS)
30. Mobile Suit Gundam MS Front 0079 (Wii)

Japanese Software Sales [Dengeki Online]

Here are the Media Create sales figures for the week of July 30th through August 5th.

01. J. League Winning Eleven 2007: Club Championship (PS2) - 150,000 / NEW
02. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 135,000 / 400,000
03. Hot Shots Golf 5 (PS3) - 64,000 / 216,000
04. It's A Wonderful World (DS) - 33,000 / 110,000
05. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - 29,000 / 697,000
06. Wii Sports (Wii) - 28,000 / 1,971,000
07. Wii Play (Wii) - 27,000 / 1,579,000
08. Face Training DS (DS) - 22,000 / NEW
09. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 21,000 / 4,677,000
10. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS) - 21,000 / 476,000

11. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 14 (PS2)
12. Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii)
13. More Brain Age (DS)
14. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP)
15. Endless Ocean (Wii)
16. Mario Kart DS (DS)
17. Itadaki Street DS (DS)
18. Mobile Suit Gundam MS Front 0079 (Wii)
19. Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
20. Brain Age (DS)
21. Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 5 (DS)
22. Taiko Drum Master DS (DS)
23. More English Training (DS)
24. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
25. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Wii (Wii)
26. English Training (DS)
27. Kanji Brain Test 2M (DS)
28. Pokémon Pearl (DS)
29. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (PSP)
30. Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol (DS)

A rather uneventful showing for Endless Ocean (aka Forever Blue) for the Wii. It's got a long way to go before it reaches my estimate of 1 trillion copies sold in Japan.

Coscto Wii/Mario Party 8 bundles [GoNintendo]

01. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 265,000 / NEW
02. Everybody's Golf 5 (PS3) - 152,000 / NEW
03. Taiko Drum Master DS (DS) - 94,000 / NEW
04. It's A Wonderful World (DS) - 77,000 / NEW
05. Mobile Suit Gundam MS Front 0079 (Wii) - 46,000 / NEW
06. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP) - 45,000 / NEW
07. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360) - 40,000 / NEW
08. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - 37,000 / 668,000
09. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 14 (PS2) - 34,000 / 187,000
10. Wii Sports (Wii) - 32,000 / 1,943,000

11. Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii)
12. Flash Focus: Vision Training In Minutes A Day (DS)
13. Wii Play (Wii)
14. Metal Gear 20th Anniversary Collection (PS2)
15. Sanyo Pachinko Paradise 14 (PS2)
16. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
17. More Brain Age (DS)
18. Wangan Midnight (PS3)
19. King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation A (PS2)
20. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Wii (Wii)
21. Mario Kart DS (DS)
22. Itadaki Street DS (DS)
23. Ikkitousen Shining Dragon (PS2)
24. Daito Giken Koushiki Pachi-Slot Simulator: Shake II (PS2)
25. Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 5 (DS)
26. Brain Age (DS)
27. More English Training (DS)
28. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
29. Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
30. Chibi Robo Park Patrol (DS)

Here are the top 8 games sold in the US for the month of June, with the rest of the top 20 following.

1. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 426,600
2. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) - 293,200
3. Pokémon Diamond (DS) - 288,400
4. Pokémon Pearl (DS) - 214,700
5. Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360) - 197,400
6. Guitar Hero II w/ Guitar (PS2) - 197,350
7. Guitar Hero II w/Guitar (Xbox 360) - 177,600
8. Pokémon Battle Revolution (Wii) - 157,900

9. Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
10. The Darkness (Xbox 360)
11. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 (PS2)
12. Transformers: The Game (PS2)
13. Tenchu Z (Xbox 360)
14. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
15. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PS2)
16. Super Paper Mario (Wii)
17. Transformers: The Game (Xbox 360)
18. MLB '07: The Show (PS2)
19. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
20. Dirt (Xbox 360)

Gamers purchased a whopping $543 million worth of software in June, up 22% over June '06, resulting in year-to-date sales of $2.9 billion. Most impressive, you money spending freaks.

Bake a cake and kiss some of your treasured porcelain dolls on the mantel near the television goodbye because today is the day that Mario Party 8 comes out. In celebration of such an occassion, I thought I would post the commercial so you could see for yourself the kind of damage you and your friends can potentially inflict in your living room, with multiple players. Jumping rope and paddling a boat sounds like a fun group activity on the Wii, but get too close to one of your friends and I am telling you some one is going to end up at the emergency room. If you're inviting people over to play, I suggest you get their blood types before they arrive and giving out goodie bags filled with gauze. Kim Phu

Mario Party 8 TV Ad [Codename Revolution]

Did You Know?

Nintendo's Mario Party 8 Brings the Carnival to Town

Nintendo is bringing the carnival to town, and this time the party is
going to get players up and moving. Mario Party(R) 8 is the first Mario Party
game for Wii(TM) from Nintendo, and the first in the series to incorporate
motion controls.

In this carnival-themed excursion, players might use the Wii Remote(TM) to
punch the air to chip away at a statue, point it at the screen to shoot at
targets or balance it like a tightrope walker's pole. The amazing functions of
the Wii Remote add a new level of hilarious competition. This new Mario Party
installment includes new boards, characters, moves and minigames.

Since the original Mario Party debuted in 1999 on Nintendo(R) 64, the
franchise has been a perpetual fan favorite, selling nearly 6.5 million in the
United States alone. It's the video game version of a board game, where each
player takes a turn moving spaces. Then everyone competes in a fast-paced
minigame at the end of the round. Its controls are fun and easy enough that
every member of the family can join in. Mario Party 8 lets players get into
the action like never before, and is a great follow-up for gamers and families
who had fun competing in Wii Sports(TM).

Mario Party 8, Rated E for Everyone, launches May 29. For more information
about Mario Party 8, please visit http://www.MarioParty.com.

As I depart the Big Apple (where I've been reporting from all weekend) I leave you with this list of games coming out this week. Mario Party looks like it might be some fun with the addition of the Wii remote mechanic and I'd like to see how the 2d to 3d Crush is for the PSP. Other than that, I can satisfy myself with finishing up Silent Hill 2 which for some reason I decided to haul out of the mothballs. Anyone going to round out a holiday weekend by picking one or two of these up? Flynn De Marco

• Mario Party 8 (WII) It's the video game that's a board game with mini-games.
• Halo 2 (PC)
  Now with less ass.
• Forza Motorsport 2 (X360)
  The Xbox 360 gets it's dose of Forza racing.
• Shadowrun (X360, PC)
  Magic and guns, 360s and PCs join together for a new multiplayer experience
• Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (WII)
  Nintendo brings Mortal Kombat to their console marking the beginning of the Wii bloodletting game parade.
• Crush (PSP)
  It's like Super Paper Mario on the PSP just without the paper or the Mario. The super remains to be seen.
• Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm (PS2)
  A little 2D old school PRG action. I really, really hope this has that silver ball that puts spikes in your brain.
• Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia (X360, PC)
  Fight for control of the suburbs against monster hordes. No, not soccer moms, actual monsters.

Cubed3 got their paws on a bunch of new Mario Party 8 screens for the Wii. Here's just a taste. Make sure to hit up their site for the full run of images. Looks like it could be quite a lot of fun, blending the best of motion control with Nintendo's sense of gameplay and mini-games. Brian Crecente

Mario Party 8 Screens Blowout [Cubed3]

The March issue of Nintendo Dream has a bunch of Mario Party 8 images and Wii-mote game play descriptions. Even if you don't read Japanese, they're pretty self-explanatory. So Kotaku-land, what do you think?

Hit the jump for another gallery of straight up screens. Brian Ashcraft