That's true, I just meant that the DS game has sold a lot more than all the other entries in the franchise except Mario Kart Wii, and it has done that without a bundled accessory. Even if you compare Mario Kart DS to the GBA game Super Circuit, it has sold nearly 3 times as much. And the GBA had a very large instal base as well, so I just think there has been something that has greatly increased the Mario Kart franchises popularity in general. That combined with some things specific to Mario Kart Wii (like the Wheel), are what accounts for the huge sales I think.

i think mario kart ds became popular because it was the first handheld mario kart to be easy to play in multiplayer. with the gba one, you needed to pay extra for this link-up cable, and every player had to have a copy of the game. now, the ds has built in wi-fi, and people can play without a copy of the game (albiet with less options). this was the most played game in my highschool band, there would usually be a group of players in the morning racing before classes started.

that could make up for lack of an acessory.

An hour left to get your votes in, and the results will be posted a little after that.

The poll is disabled and I’ve posted the results in the original post as well as below.  I do want to say that this poll got about 25% more participation and the thread has gotten almost as many views and comments as yesterdays Game of the Day, even before the results were posted.  So I will post another new game of the day tomorrow and hope to keep the momentum going instead of doing the posts sporadically like I originally planned. With that said here are the results.

 As you can see “it appeals to the Wii’s expanded audience” was the most popular choice by far. Three of the other choices; “it’s a better games…”, “the Wii Remote fits the game…”, and “larger userbase” were grouped closely together, with “Success of the DS games” lagging well behind in last.

My take: I’m usually hesitant to put to much weight on an increase in user base on the change of sales, but there is no denying the impact this time.  With total sales of the Gamecube at 21.5 million it would be basically impossible to have a game that sol 17.3 million and counting sales. In fact, currently the increase in sales of Mario Kart Wii over Double Dash are very similar to the increase in sales of the Wii over the Gamecube.

 That said the increase in Userbase can’t be the only reason, because other franchises like Mario and Smash Bros. haven’t seen a similar increase. So of the remaining four choices, I think three played a significant part in the increase in sales Mario Kart Wii has seen.

  I do think Mario Kart Wii has worked successful as a “bridge” title, one that appeals to long time Nintendo fans as well as those new to game, who were brought in through games like Wii Sports.

  I also think the Wii Remote fitting the game/Wii Wheel bundle, has helped significantly. As Demotruk said, the Wii Wheel and using the Wii Remote as a steering wheel made the game look more fun and accessible to people watching others play. This played a big part in the word of mouth/viral sales the game has seen.

  Finally I do believe the success of the DS game before the release of Mario Kart Wii elevated the franchise to new popularity, which caused the release of Mario Kart Wii to be highly anticipated. Obviously that can’t explain all of the success of Mario Kart Wii, as Mario Kart Wii has actually surpassed the DS version in sales, in a fraction of the time.

 So that means I don’t think that “it’s a better game” has much to do with sales.  While I personally enjoyed the game more, I don’t think it’s slightly heightened quality is what explains the huge increase in sales.  Also Mario Kart Double Dash sold in line with other entries in the franchise and also enjoyed long legs, usually an indicator the game is getting positive reactions.

 So there’s my two cents, do you agree/disagree?  Are you surprised by how much the “expanded audience” option won by?  Any other  reactions to the results? Let us know.