Super Mario Galaxy moves 500K

As usual, November has been a huge month for game releases. However, not even the flood of new AAA games could keep the long-awaited Super Mario Galaxy from having the single best launch of a Wii game to date. According to the publisher's own figures, the spacefaring adventure sold more than 500,000 copies in the US during its first week on shelves.

Besides touting the sales figures, Nintendo also pointed to a GameRankings.com aggregate review score of 98 for Super Mario Galaxy, with the claim that the score is the best of all time. (GameSpot's own review was also extremely positive.) The information is actually out of date: As of this writing, Galaxy's review average has dropped slightly, putting it a fraction of a percentage point behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Skeptical gamers who want to check that claim out for themselves can try out Super Mario Galaxy during Nintendo's Mall Experience, a traveling assortment of Wii and DS kiosks highlighting the latest games for both systems. For a list of participating malls, check out the official Web site.