Maybe it's because kids, especially young kids, don't worry if something is cool or if they look dumb.  The lighter games tend to hold my attention longer than heavy subject matter and violence, my job is stressful enough (Excite Truck... did someone say Excite Truck? Yeah! Hell Yeah!).  But that doesn't mean I don't play those games at all... I am getting Metroid Prime 3 day one; Warhawk, Heavenly Sword and Haze are very likely too.

Kid Games? Family Games? I like to think of them more as family games, I enjoy those games and children are not welcome in my house... Some have greasy hands, I don't want them ruining the shine on my PS3.  Being pretty is all my PS3 is good for right now.

There's your problem. Mario Party is a horrible franchise to play by yourself, but it's at least twice as fun with two people, and it's exponential growth after that. CPU player time is wasted time, and most of the fun is to be had in pissing off your friends.

It's not about winning and it's not about story. It's about getting together and having fun. Who cares who wins? The leader changes every few turns, and several times I've seen the player in first and the player in last switch positions in the final rounds. Sure, the winner gets bragging rights, but then you get to hit him.

 I think you're getting me wrong... I don't play ANY violent video games, my video game library is all Mario and Zelda. So no problems of the cool kind here. It's just Mario Party, but as GotchayeX said, I should have played it at a party.

MP8... is it really a "casual" or more precisely a "new audience" title? i for one am absolutely hating it. i got it from a bundle pack since i couldn't find any standalone wii's, and my wife and i have played it... about 90 minutes total.

i like their minigames... but why do i have to UNLOCK them??? we utterly hate the boards. so totally utterly random how you win. skills is at most 20%.

so far we've unlocked... exactly 4 minigames. we've decided, that the next time if somebody comes over to my place, if they've got kids, we're just gotta give this game away.

I mean this out of genuine interest, not trying to make a point.  I am also not talking about violence in video games and kids... I don't have kids, I don't care to.  Shooting arrows in Zelda, was one of the most immersive violent things I have done in a VG, pointing and Wii-mote sound was really viceral.  So my question:

What is it that makes the violence of Zelda, different than the Violence of Metroid, to you? Or Golden Eye? Or a game like Heavenly Sword? Or any "violent game" you can relate to?  Is it blood?  Is it because of the time period?  I really don't understand how people differentiate. (Mind you, I am not talking about games with extreme gore or anything like that, just action fantasy violence of Zelda vs. something similar to the games I listed.)

I don't really enjoy MP8 that much - but I'll still play it, because its a game that everyone else enjoys. If there are 5 people here, I'll happily sit out and "guide" the game. I guess if I played it with 4 "gamers" (that knew the game, and had played it a bit) it would be ok.

The slow pace that some mentioned never bothered me, because when it's a party game your talking with people and so on, like when you go bowling and you forget it's your turn. The game isn't the end, or even a means to an end... it's just something to do to get the socializing going (the diversion to accomplish the precursor to the means to an end?).

 This is exactly right, Mario Party is about the social interaction, not the game itself. It is simple enough that non-gamers can join in and be a part of it. It is mild entertainment if you have some people around, as you can still converse (or drink) inbetween turns. It isn't the type of game you sit down to 'play' but the type of game you put on add some background noise (just like having music on at a party).

All the hate towards MP 8 comes from the guys I learned to ignore a long long time ago : reviewers.
The hate comes straight from review sites and grades given to this game, things that let hardcore gamers decide what is good or not. Fortunately, the rest of the market doesn't give a damn about reviews. Sometimes they should perhaps, that would prevent them from buying shovelware that even the casuals won't like.
MP8 is particularly interesting, because it just shows how flawed reviewers are, and how heinous some are.
Because the poor grades given to MP8 were mostly because of hate for the Wii and its games, and because the reviewers had played every MP since the first ones. Even worse, as for them, it was initially a GC game (no full 16:9 everywhere, the wiimote not used in every mini game, ...), it has no value.
Of course, all of that is irrelevant to most gamers that bought this game.

MP is a really good game, hell, when my step-brother lent me MP4 for GC, my wife was the one asking for me to play with her, as she enjoyed it so much.

And again, I'm amazed at the communication from Nintendo. Because now, my wife have learned about MP8 and Trauma Center: Second Opinion (it was out 2 days ago in Europe!), and she wants both (and would have bought them if they weren't 50€). No I'm wrong, she wants Big Brain Academy too! She actually wanted me to buy one yesterday (I forgot) so that we could play yesterday night. I never talked to her about any of these games!
So Nintendo's success is well deserved, and MP8 success too.

Does that trick of setting all four players to CPU and leaving them to unlock all the minigames still work?

I'll buy it if it does.