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Saling The World: Osu! Tatakae! Odin Sphere
by Danny Cowan
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May 18, 2007
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Gamasutra's weekly column, "Saling The World", covers the top five sellers for every available platform in the United States, Japan, and Europe, providing an important update of sales patterns worldwide.
This week's charts, with data taken from May 17th, 2007, report a large slip in sales for former chart leaders Spider-Man 3 and Command & Conquer 3 in the U.S. and Europe, while Odin Sphere and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 clean up in Japan. Data for "Saling The World" comes courtesy of the public sales information on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.co.jp, with sales split out for each platform and territory, and pre-orders disregarded.
This results in a true sense of what games are selling worldwide on the real-time updated service, as follows:
Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Wii Play (Nintendo), 2. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo), 3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (EA Sports), 5. WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo).
Japan: 1. Wii de Yawaraka Atama Juku (Nintendo), 2. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 3. Hajimete no Wii (Nintendo), 4. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo), 5. Zelda no Densetsu: Twilight Princess (Nintendo).
UK: 1. Wii Play (Nintendo), 2. Cooking Mama (505 Games), 3. Eledees (Konami), 4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (EA Sports), 5. Excite Truck (Nintendo).
After spending a month at the top of the Wii sales charts in the United States, Super Paper Mario falls to second place for the first time since its debut. Wii Play, meanwhile, continues to be a hot item in both the U.S. and the UK, while Wii de Yawaraka Atama Juku and Wii Sports are the biggest sellers in Japan. Cooking Mama also makes a strong sales impression in its first week of release in Europe, leading to boosted interest in the previously released Nintendo DS version.
Xbox 360
North America: 1. Crackdown (Microsoft), 2. Guitar Hero II Bundle (RedOctane), 3. Gears of War (Microsoft), 4. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Games), 5. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts).
Japan: 1. Armored Core 4 (From Software), 2. Test Drive Unlimited (Microsoft), 3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft), 4. Riot Act (Microsoft), 5. Vampire Rain (AQ Interactive).
UK: 1. Crackdown (Microsoft), 2. Gears of War (Microsoft), 3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games), 4. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Games), 5. Spider-Man 3 (Activision).
Discounts in price play heavily into this week's Xbox 360 sales results. A reduction in price to $39.99 at Amazon has spurred Crackdown into first place in the United States this week, while Armored Core 4 leads Japanese sales thanks to a recent discount of 50% off of its initial retail price. Meanwhile, interest in Command & Conquer 3 appears to have fallen sharply in the title's second week of release, leading to unexpectedly slow sales in both the U.S. and the UK.
PlayStation 3
North America: 1. MLB 07: The Show (SCEA), 2. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEA), 3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda), 4. Spider-Man 3 Collector's Edition (Activision), 5. Spider-Man 3 (Activision).
Japan: 1. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 4 (Konami), 2. Gundam Musou (Bandai), 3. Power Smash 3 (Sega), 4. Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega), 5. Genji: Kamui Souran (SCEI).
UK: 1. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEE), 2. MotorStorm (SCEE), 3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda), 4. Spider-Man 3 (Activision), 5. Formula One Championship Edition (SCEE).
After an impressive first-place U.S. debut last week, Activision's Spider-Man 3 falls to the bottom of the top five this week, with both the regular and Collector's editions seeing significantly slower sales in the United States and overseas. Ports of Spider-Man 3 across other consoles also suffer in sales this week, though the lower-priced PlayStation 2 version still appears to be a popular choice. Though Spider-Man 3 may soon disappear from the PS3 and Xbox 360 charts completely, it appears likely to remain a top PS2 seller for some time to come.
PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Guitar Hero II Bundle (RedOctane), 2. God of War (SCEA), 3. Spider-Man 3 (Activision), 4. God of War II (SCEA), 5. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts).
Japan: 1. Odin Sphere (Atlus), 2. Shining Wind (Sega), 3. Rozen Maiden ~Gebetgarten~ (Taito), 4. Zero no Tsukaima (Marvelous), 5. Okami -- PlayStation 2 The Best (Capcom).
UK: 1. Spider-Man 3 (Activision), 2. Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix), 3. SingStar Pop Hits (SCEE), 4. Buzz! The Mega Quiz (SCEE), 5. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts).
Odin Sphere debuts to take first place in Japanese PS2 software sales this week, and is generating a high amount of interest in the United States in the days leading up to its release. Shining Wind is also seeing big sales in its first week of release, while the remainder of the Japanese chart is composed of re-releases and titles recently reduced in price.
PC
North America: 1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard), 2. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Games), 3. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Midway), 4. World of Warcraft (Blizzard), 5. SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition (EA Games).
Japan: 1. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Tecmo), 2. Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica -- 1 & 2 Box Edition (Ocelot), 3. Angel Love Online -- Starter Kit (Frontier Groove), 4. Sukatto Golf Pangya -- Marugoto Kit (Gamebot), 5. Final Fantasy XI: Hajimete no Final Fantasy XI (Square Enix).
UK: 1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard), 2. Football Manager 2007 (Sega), 3. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Codemasters), 4. World of Warcraft (Blizzard), 5. The Sims 2: Seasons (EA Games).
Despite flagging performance on the Xbox 360, Command & Conquer 3 continues to put up a fight on PCs, beating out proven sellers like The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar and World of Warcraft in the process. Shadows of Angmar continues to lead in Japan, however, where it has apparently found a dedicated audience. Sales remain likely to pick up in future weeks in the U.S. and Europe as well.
Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Pokemon Diamond (Nintendo), 2. Pokemon Pearl (Nintendo), 3. Brain Age (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. Big Brain Academy (Nintendo).
Japan: 1. Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Nintendo), 2. TOEIC Test DS Training (IE Institute), 3. Hoshi no Kirby: Sanjou! Dorocche Dan (Nintendo), 4. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Motto Eigo Duke (Nintendo), 5. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (Square Enix).
UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Cooking Mama (505 Games), 3. Big Brain Academy (Nintendo), 4. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends (Nintendo), 5. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends (Nintendo).
Anticipation ran high in the months leading up to the release of the rhythm game sequel Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Elite Beat Agents in the U.S.), resulting in the game becoming the single best-selling software title across all platforms in its first week of release. Even strong contenders like Odin Sphere and Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou fail to topple the might of Ouendan 2, and the title seems poised to remain atop the charts for weeks to come.
PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Star Wars Battlefront II (LucasArts), 4. Daxter (SCEA), 5. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo (SCEA).
Japan: 1. Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou (Square Enix), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom), 3. Princess Crown -- Atlus Best Collection (Atlus), 4. Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition (Square Enix), 5. TwinBee Portable (Konami).
UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Sega Mega Drive Collection (Sega), 4. LocoRoco (SCEE), 5. Lumines II (Buena Vista).
Even after a recent drop in price to $19.99, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories still faces difficulty in matching the popularity of Liberty City Stories in the United States. Europe continues to exhibit greater interest in Vice City Stories on a weekly basis, however. Japan, on the other hand, continues to see its biggest PSP sales in Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou and Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, with the recent release of Odin Sphere driving its spiritual predecessor Princess Crown to a third-place finish this week.
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