Mario Kart Wii was a popular title for the Brits and their neighbors, as sales data shows it to be the best-selling game in the UK under the category of "individual SKU" during 2008, topping a list that is comprised mainly of games available only on Nintendo gaming systems. Considering how many amazing games released over the course of this year, we believe this to be quite the achievementThe Wii is just so darn popular over there. So popular, in fact, that the top 5 best-selling games for the year were all on Nintendo platforms. Coming in at the second spot was Wii Fit, followed by Wii Play, Brain Training on DS, and our favorite game to poke fun at, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Full list is past the break.

According to Activision (and after all, they made Pitfall!), video games will "eclipse" all other forms of media. Head honcho Mike Griffith went on to say that "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors." I'm not sure how much I agree with that statement. Strictly in terms of cash flow, it's already happening. Gaming is a fairly pricey hobby, and it's been outpacing the other forms of media for several years (in terms of growth). Yet I have a difficult time imagining a time where video games are everyone's preferred form of escapism. Although their respective industries may see drastic changes with direct, indirect, or unrelated connections to gaming, music and film will always have a place. As much as I love gaming, it's not rare that I find myself preferring to zone out with TV or just listen to music and read instead of playing a video game. What I do see is a further merging of the three into ubiquitous, all-purpose media devices. Microsoft and Sony currently do this, and it's only a matter of time before Nintendo catches up. While most households currently don't rely on gaming consoles as their sole provider of film / TV and music, I imagine that this will change. Perhaps the mediums will start to bleed into one another. With Metal Gear Solid blurring the lines between game and film and Audiosurf doing the same for games and music, perhaps media will merge and propagate a completely new and unique form of entertainment. Interesting stuff. What was this Top 5 about, again? Oh, right: cut scenes. A lot of them stink. Here's the 5 worst ones.

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The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.

If someone suggested the notion of Link and Midna cosplay to you -- wolf Link, that is -- you'd probably think Midna would be the more lifelike one of the pair, yes? Not this time, buddy. No, while this little Midna is great, down to the details and the little legs, it's the wolf who really shines ... especially when you get to the video after the break.But we'll give you a hint: there's a person in there. Wolf Link is made of people.deviantARTist LilleahWest calls this pair of costumes a work in progress, but if it gets much more accurate, we're not sure we can handle it. Also? This wolfsuit was made in only twelve days. That's dedication.

This week, we've got fresh content for the Wii, on WiiWare, through the Virtual Console, and even with a couple of new retail releases. There's plenty to choose from, so stop wasting time here and jump past the break to check out the full list of gaming content available to Wii owners this week.This week's retail releases are:

• Deal or No Deal
• Neighborhood Games

This week's WiiWare releases are:

• Jungle Speed (Playful Entertainment Inc., 1-8 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
• Planet Pachinko (Allied Kingdoms Inc., 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)

This week's Virtual Console release is:

• Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)

Source - Download releasesSource - Retail releases