Somewhere Mario is holed up counting his money. And his creators at Nintendo have jumped from the underdog of the video game industry to the front-runner of innovation and, more importantly to its shareholders, increased its financial wealth.

In March, Nintendo Wii sales, according to a study by the NPD Group, made up 33 percent of the money spent in the video game industry. That includes a stellar release for Super Smash Bros Brawl, which sold 2.7 million copies in a non-holiday month.

According to the NPD study of March hardware sales, the Nintendo Wii topped the charts with 721,000 units sold, the Nintendo DS sold 698,000 units. These numbers put Nintendo at the top of the video game hardware market for the first time since the Super Nintendo system.

The Xbox 360 sold 262,000 units in March. But it was a stronger month for Xbox 360 games. Out of the top 10 games sold for March, four of them were for the Xbox 360.

Despite their console's position in the charts, Sony actually had a good month. Sony's portable hardware came in third place with 297,000. And the PS3 sold 257,000 units, only 5,000 units fewer than Microsoft's Xbox 360. With upcoming releases on the horizon, Sony is positioned to increase its sales. Upcoming releases from Nintendo include Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, SOCOM: Confrontation, and Metal Gear Solid 4.

While financial experts are talking about the U.S. teetering on the brink of recession, these numbers are even more impressive. It may indicate that Americans are looking for more family entertainment at home to get away from spending their money on gas. While that is complete speculation, one thing seems obvious: gaming appears safe in recession.

Rock Band set to rock even more

The hit full-band karoake game "Rock Band" was originally launched in November 2007. Xbox owners have been able to download single song sets since then, but this week MTV and Microsoft announced that the full albums will be available. The Xbox Marketplace is already rocking with the first album: 'Screaming for Vengeance' by Judas Priest. Others mentioned as upcoming albums include the Pixies' "Doolittle" and The Cars' self-titled album.

In order to purchase the full album, you must have an Xbox Live account. The Judas Priest album will cost you 1200 Microsoft points for the full album or 160 per individual track.

Motley Crue also made Xbox history this week by releasing a brand new single as a playable track. "Saints of Los Angeles" is available for a limited time for only 80 Microsoft points.