Who would have thought that Rockstar's mighty Grand Theft Auto IV would have been outsold at retail in 2008 by the family-friendly Mario Kart Wii? Well, according to MCV, that's exactly what happened.

This factoid comes in via way of Top Global Markets' findings (a monthly report which rolls up The NPD Group, Enterbrain, Inc and GfK Chart-Track Limited data) and states that Mario Kart Wii sold 8.94 million units worldwide, putting GTA4 in third place behind Wii Fit at 7.29 million unit sales globally.

Bryn says: As much as I love me some Mario Kart Wii, I was pretty surprised to read this news this morning. I mean, given the sheer size and scope of Grand Theft Auto IV's release last year, I automatically assumed that it would trounce all other releases in terms of sales. But it starts to make sense when you consider the sheer numbers of the Wii's titanic worldwide user base.

I'm still amazed that Wii Fit was the number two seller of 2008, especially considering the higher-than-normal price tag. The power of the Wii cannot be underestimated, but I'm hoping that 2009 is the year that I get four or five solid "hardcore" reasons to blow the dust of my Wii. New Wave Race, anyone?