"GTA: IV," "Wii Play" neck-and-neck for 2008 gaming crown

Who gets the prize for last year's top video game? Well, I just got year-end numbers for U.S. game sales in 2008, and unfortunately, they're maddeningly inconclusive. That said, both Nintendo (in general) and Niko Bellic (specifically) are looking pretty happy right now.

So, without further ado, here's your list of 2008's top games (straight from the ace gaming analysts at NPD Group):

1. Wii Play with Remote, 5.28 million units
2. Wii Mario Kart with Wheel, 5.00 million units
3. Wii Fit with Balance Board, 4.53 million units
4. Wii Super Smash Bros: Brawl, 4.17 million units
5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360), 3.29 million units
6. Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360), 2.75 million units
7. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360), 2.31 million units
8. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3), 1.89 million units
9. Madden NFL '09 (Xbox 360), 1.87 million units
10. Mario Kart (Nintendo DS), 1.65 million units

OK, so looks like Wii Play was the big winner, smoking all comers with a whopping 5.28 million units sold, right?

Well, not so fast. As both Kotaku and MTV Multiplayer point out, each of the 10 titles listed above is broken down by platform—hence, two entries for GTA: IV. Combine the Grand Theft Auto numbers and you get 5.18 million units … and all of a sudden, Niko is nipping at Wii Play's heels.

And another thing: NPD's top 10 list doesn't include PC games (those numbers are coming later, apparently). So if the PC version of GTA IV—on sale since Nov. 18, perfectly primed for the holiday shopping season—sold more than 100,000 units (and I'd eat my hat if it didn't), well ... we'll have a new winner.

And let's not forget a PC-only title that will almost certainly land somewhere in the top 10: "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King."

Caveats aside, there are still some conclusions we can draw from this (admittedly incomplete) list of 2008 bestsellers.

It's all about Nintendo: Five of the 10 slots are taken by either the Wii or the DS, accounting for 20.6 million of the 32.7 million units sold by the top 10, or about 61 percent of the pie. Impressive.

Niko beats the Balance Board: There was some chatter earlier in the year that Wii Fit might pull an upset over GTA IV in 2008, but the numbers speak for themselves. That said, 4.53 million units for Fit ain't too shabby.

Strong showing for "Call of Duty: World at War": Despite some early snipes from reviewers that the latest CoD epic was just a rehash of 2007's "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare," "World at War" is a hit—and like many others, I loved the game, whipping through the single-player campaign in record time. My favorite new weapon? The flamethrower, of course (my wife was appalled, though).

PS3 still struggling: Despite showing signs of strength thanks to mid-year price cuts, the PlayStation 3 only got one title in the top 10: Grand Theft Auto IV, accounting for barely 6 percent of sales among the bestsellers (compared to 31 percent for the Xbox 360). Also, what happened to "Metal Gear Solid 4"? I'd assumed that Solid Snake would sneak his way onto the top 10, but the silver-haired warrior was a no-show.