My dad's work office had a party/game stations thing today with mostly board games, and my dad volunteered my Wii and Mario Kart to be a playable stations, and put me in charge. I basically got to watch 20-60 year olds race in Mario Kart. They were all required to play, so no one was left out.

Here are some observations that I mentally jotted down:

• The younger you were, the more likely you were better. Not always true, though.
• Males were more likely to try the game, while females ended up enjoying the game more.
• One person complained about the over sensitivity. I tested it, and they just sucked.
• Luigi Circuit was a favorite for its simplicity.
• Most people had trouble grasping the concept of items.
• The places where people have the most fun are in the middle. In front they concentrate too much, and in last they give up all hope.
• Favorite Item to use was actually not the Bullet Bill, but the Star.
• Least favorite Item to get hit by was the Blooper.
• Items did not play a major role in determining most of the races. If you were good, it showed. If you were bad, it showed.
• The group that had the most fun were people in their late 30's-early 40's. Surprising that it wasn't the early 20's-30's interns.
• The group that had the least amount of fun were the 50-60 year olds.
• There was a sign-off card with a list of stations, and I found myself signing the last spot more often then I expected.
• If they drive in real life as they did in Mario Kart, I'm terrified.
• Someone else brought Wii Sports Resort (Sword Game) for another station. That appeared to be more popular for its more basic gameplay. (People still liked Mario Kart a lot, though)

If you have any other questions or comments on my observations, reply in the thread.

It amazes me that there are people who don't get this about MKWii.

Haha favorite part was about the controls being sensitive.  Not that... they just suck haha.

I guess sometimes it is just hard for me to understand how games like Mario Kart which are so simple to me can be pretty difficult for people who have never played games before.  Guess I should know that after playing a sport for 13 years.  As gamers we should all be a little more understanding in that part because what we think may be easy, probably isn't easy for newer gamers.  Guess that is a nice little reminder when we are all using them as a punching bag as of late.  

You noticed the younger men were better. Chances are the younger men grew up gaming. At least every adult under 50 I know grew up playing space invaders and Pong.

Oh c'mon, it's not because two person (including you) says this that it's true.

It's like the items in Brawl. If you are good, you will still win even if the items are used against you. And use of items are a vital skill required in the game if you are "good" and the "bad" people don't properly use items as much as the "good" people.

I made my parents and uncles play it once, same reactions as yours

When my cousin first played MKWii... well, I hope he doesn't oversteer like that in real life

still sounds like a success even if some people didn't like it.

I concur, I've got basicly anal-raped by incoming items in MKWii, yet I still win almost every race! Same goes for Smash Bros. as RCT said.