The hidden monster call Mario Party

1		Mario Party 8		Nintendo	20,675	7.53	4.66m
2		Mario Party		Nintendo	1,420	7.60	2.70m
3		Mario Party 4		Nintendo	1,198	6.20	2.44m
4		Mario Party 6		Nintendo	1,043	6.05	1.56m
5		Mario Party 2		Nintendo	1,400	7.36	2.50m
6		Mario Party DS		Nintendo	8,033	7.85	3.07m
7		Mario Party Advance		Nintendo	364	6.80	0.28m
8		Mario Party 7		Nintendo	1,290	5.71	1.49m
9		Mario Party 3		Nintendo	1,078	6.51	1.91m
10		Mario Party 5		Nintendo	1,059	6.33	2.05m

As you guys should have known, Mario Party 8 sold 4.66M copies, outselling all previous versions. The next best selling is original Mario Party, at 2.7M.

The reason for this, is very clear that Wii is the perfect console for casual gamers. While many people had talked about the big games - Galaxy, Brawl, MKWii, WiiFit, many had forgotten the many Mario Parties that will be released in Wii. Well, N64 had 3, Gamecube had 4, I won't be surprised if Wii have 4 or more.

Let's take a look at Mario Party 8 first. Gamespot gave it a 6.5 - http://www.gamespot.com/wii/puzzle/marioparty8/index.html while IGN gave a 5.2 mediocre! - http://wii.ign.com/articles/792/792495p1.html

Why was the review scores that low for a high selling game? One reason of course is that the reviewers are hardcore gamers, their expectation of games are different from casuals. The other reasons, IMO, are that the graphics are only as good as Gamecube games, it doesn't make much use of motion control and the game is too short, etc. Technical reasons.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Mario Party 8, and I had about 10 parties just playing this game alone. I don't mind the graphics and the music much. I am happy that the game is fun.

Now if you add Galaxy's graphic, Brawl's character specialisation and Mario Kart's tracks (as boards) to Mario Party 9, I bet the game could reach so much greater heights.

So while Brawl and MKWii can sell > 10M each, let's not ignore the other game franchise call Mario Party. It could be in the top 3 Mario games in Wii, beating out even Galaxy. Well, if Party 8 has tremendous legs, who knows it may outsell Galaxy.

Unbelievable, but possible.

Who like me want to see the success of Mario Party 9?

Monster is right, being probably the worst Mario Party game, 8 sold better than ever.

What 9 need isn't Galaxy graphics (although it wouldn't hurt), it's capable Wiimote control,

God, even a true Widescreen mode would help.

I think there's also the "problem" with the 8 number, as it's actually the first one made for the Wii, even though it has all of its flaws, and the reason you stated about the casual gamers AND the success of the wii.

and I would extend the "excuse" for the DS one too. there is not any other MP game for the DS... no wonder it's selling well with such a huge number of owners!

why would i want to see this game sell well i hope they sell like crap, but thats not going to happen.

Reviews weren't bad because the game is casual it was bad because the game is incredibly boring and does nothing special to take advantage of the wii or add new to the series.

And there are are a few more reasons this game sold well. It was a very dry summer for the wii and it was one of the only games to buy. It has mario in its name and has strong appeal to little kids who don't really judge games.

To all those who wish poor sales upon this game and bemoan what it's success means to the industry.

I've played it. It's fun. Grow up.

I must admit that Mario party 8 was a MAJOR disappointment.

we could not stop playing Mario party 4, 5, 6 or 7. We loved them all. The anticipation we had for Mario Party 8 was unbelievable, it was a terrible let down.

The only reason this was a popular seller is because there where millions of Wii owners with very few titles to choose from.

I will now be much more cautious (ie, not pre-order) with Mario Party 9.

For the record I was also very disapointed with Wario Ware for the wii, for the gamecube wario ware IS one of my favorite party games. On the wii the multiplayer modes are TERRIBLE. You play, then pass the baton.... yay.... all the multiplayer modes are like this. Not one of them makes use of having more than one wii mote.

It wouldn't bother me if it wasn't just about the worst reviewed out of all of the series. I am all for innovation and new kinds of gaming, but this isn't moving the industry forward if you ask me, at least from a quality standpoint.

 agreed for the most part. the game can still be very fun (if a little too long) 3 or 4 player.

there are some problems that date back to the first game in the series though. that's what most people are unhappy about.

It was a little boring to be honest...I don't mind a simple Mario Party game...but come on...they could have implemented some more interesting controls, and better graphics as well. I didn't bother buying it, but I might get 9 if it's any good.

Sure there's a truckload of Mario Party games, but they can be pretty fun for...parties.

I've rented MP8 and eventhough it's fun, I didn't find alot of improvements to purchase it. I already have 3 other Mario Party games. The way I see it, MP8, Loz TP and SPM were 3 games that were meant for the Gamecube but got hauled over to the Wii because of the gamecube's premature death.
So I can forgive MP8 for not having proper Wii controlls yet. Mario Party 9 will be the first real Wii Mario Party game, just like the next Zelda will be the 1st real Zelda.


I'm surprised Nintendo didn't throw a Pokemon Party at us instead of the many sequels yet. I guess it's bound to happen someday.