Kids down under are getting into the game more than ever, according to Oz Toys, the joint venture between market research firm GfK and The NPD Group. The Australian video games and accessories market grew 47.8% in 2008 to US$1.4 billion, with family entertainment being the fastest growing genre, up 137% for the year.

Unit sales also saw a marked gain, selling 26.7 million, up 43.1% over the previous year, and software dollar sales up to 48.5%.

Thanks to strong growth in software (console, portable and PC games) and hardware categories, the country’s games market saw a 48.5% spike from 2007, with Wii Fit topping the software charts, selling more than 373,000 units. Hardware, meanwhile, was up 50% in unit sales over 2007, with Nintendo repping more than 66% of hardware sales in 2008, thanks to the strength of the Wii and DS.