Nintendo's console and mascot both sold incredibly well this holiday season, with the Wii setting a new record for consoles sold in a month, 3.81 million.  The New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a four player co-op title, was the leading seller for the month with 2.82 million copies sold.  

For the second time in a row, our family Thanksgiving meal was hosted at my house. Seven guests attended, three of which were gamers at heart, and three casual gamers. Since none of us are football fans in anything more than minimal capacity, the most obvious post-dinner activity is firing up a video game console and pile into the upstairs entertainment room.

The Mario Bros. series has remained incredibly popular through the years. But one thing that has been missing from most Mario Bros. games is co-op. The latest game in the series, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, goes back to Mario's roots in co-op, allowing four players to join together to beat Bowser.

Out today in North America is the New Super Mario Bros Wii for the..uh...Wii.  The four player co-op title is a game true to its roots, providing side scrolling platforming set in the Mushroom Kingdom.  We played the game at PAX this year and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I have to say, after watching the video posted below it's now on the must buy list.

After complaints that the previous 2D Mario Bros. title on the Wii was embarrassingly easy, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto kicked New Super Mario Bros. Wii up a notch or 3. Instead of the cake walk we had in 2D before, expect a solid challenge with New Super Mario Bros. Wii, even in co-op - maybe the Demo Play feature will come in handy after all.

As always, the holiday season is jam packed with great new releases.  For the Wii, one of the biggest co-op titles we're looking forward to is New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  A return to the classic platforming gameplay of the well received DS title, NSMB Wii features four player co-op.  Another feature of the game, somewhat mysterious, is "Demo Play".  Originally, indications indicated that "Demo Play" was "hold left on the D-Pad and the game plays itself for you".  Apparently, it's not quite that simple, according to SiliconEra.

Nintendo has officially announced that their wildly successful Wii console is now only $199.  The $50 price cut comes after a few weeks of rumors, and of course, denial from Nintendo.  Included in the press release is also word that the New Super Mario Bros Wii will ship on November 15th.  

Game: New Super Mario Bros Wii
Co-Op: Yes
Type of Co-Op: 4 player offline campaign
Publisher/Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release Date: Winter 2009
 

As you already know, New Super Mario Bros. Wii will feature 4 player co-op.  That's good.  Not so good is the confirmation that there will be no online co-op in the game.  According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the game is pushing the limits of the Wii's processing power already and online play wasn't feasible.  Disappointing news, for sure, but not really shocking.

Hot on the heels of our coverage of the new Mario game's announcement, we've got even more for you.  The E3 trailer for the game is embedded below, and in our Youtube channel (with lots of other E3 goodies, I must add), and we've got a gallery showing off some of the screen shots for the game, too.

A new Mario game being announced by Nintendo isn't exactly amazing news, but the latest Mario title is a little bit different, especially for co-op fans.  At their E3 press conference, Nintendo revealed New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  The game seems to be more closely related to New Super Mario Bros. for the DS than to Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii.