Kotaku.com has published a list of the top ten most-played Wii games in North America as of July 1st 2009. The results make interesting reading.

Kotaku’s info is compiled from freely available Nintendo Channel data tracking the playing habits of some two million Wii owners. The thing to emphasize here being that it’s based on actual games playing-time as opposed to games bought or rented. Here we go then:

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
3. Animal Crossing: City Folk
4. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
6. Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
7. Call of Duty: World at War
8. Rock Band 2
9. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
10. Rune Factory: Frontier

Notice anything about that list? Like how properly games-y it is? Wii Fit is conspicuously absent too. We guess that’s evidence, as if any were needed, of the game’s very occasional usage. Ours hasn’t been out of its box in months. It’s also interesting to note the prominence of RPGs such as Harvest Moon – this gentle farm ‘em up doesn’t figure at all in the UK Wii sales top 40.

Most of all, though – where, oh where is Mazza in all this? Sure, he’s one of the playable characters in Smash Bros. Brawl, but so is Link and he gets his own game in this top ten. So is nobody in the USA playing the still glorious Mario Kart Wii any more? Seems not...