2008 was a brilliant year for games, whichever way you care to cut it. So respeck is most certainly due to the title that has managed to finish on top of the pile - Mario Kart Wii.

According to figures compiled from NPD Group, Enterbrain and Chart-Track data Mario Kart Wii sold 8.94 million units around the world in 2008 - 1.94 million went to UK homes too. That incredible sale places the ace racer ahead of some pretty serious contenders, including Nintendo’s own Wii Fit which finished the year a close second at 8.31 million copies.

The bronze medal goes to another big-hitter, Grand Theft Auto IV, which shifted 7.29 million copies globally. Brit gamers accounted for 1.85 million of that total while our Xbox-avoiding Japanese counterparts snapped up a mere 256,000 copies. That does mean that GTAIV reached more than 1 in 4 Japanese gamers, though.

Which leaves Super Smash Bros: Brawl and Call of Duty: World at War scrabbling for fourth and fifth places. Nintendo’s comedy beat ‘em up wins out with 6.32 million, while CoD:WaW racked up a still cool 5.89 million - and that’s without the game getting a Japanese release.

All told, Nintendo for the win, eh!