"Super Mario Galaxy" Sells More Than 500K Copies in First Week

Super Mario Galaxy, the latest incarnation of the Mario franchise, has been critically acclaimed, and really hyped (check out how many TV ads you've seen recently --- a lot).

Sales seem to reflect consumers want in on the fun, as Super Mario Galaxy sold, according to Nintendo's sales figures, 500,000 copies in its first week of release in the U.S. This is also the best-selling first week for any Wii title.

However, despite the critical acclaim, in Japan the title strangely only sold 251,000 units in the first week.

In the U.K., the title has also become the fastest-selling Wii game in the UK after its first week on sale.

In the self-congratulatory (though well-deserved) press release, George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications said,

"Super Mario Galaxy had the strongest one-week debut of any Wii game to date and has also become the best-selling Mario title ever in its first week, with U.S. sales of more than 500,000, based on internal sales figures. It makes an easy gift choice as the holiday shopping season kicks off."

So, despite the fact that the consoles themselves are still hard to find, Wii want to play!