Saling The World: U.S. Wii Owners Shift Attention to Budget Releases

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 January 17th, 2008, feature Rock Band leading PS2 sales in North America, while Wii owners turn their attention to budget-priced titles like Luxor and Winter Sports. 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. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 2. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo), 3. Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge (Conspiracy), 4. Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge (MumboJumbo), 5. Carnival Games (2K Games).

Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 3. Caduceus: New Blood (Atlus), 4. Nodame Cantabile: Dream * Orchestra (Bandai Namco), 5. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo).

UK: 1. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 2. Big Brain Academy for Wii (Nintendo), 3. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts), 4. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Capcom), 5. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo).

This week's North American Wii chart features a few surprises, with a briefly restocked Guitar Hero III taking top honors prior to selling out completely at Amazon once again. Conspiracy's Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge (pictured) continues to rank high in weekly sales after its chart debut last week, while the budget-priced puzzler port Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge sees impressive sales in its first week of release. The recently released Japanese version of Trauma Center: New Blood (Caduceus: New Blood) is also performing well, though Super Mario Galaxy continues to fall in weekly sales popularity in Japan.


Xbox 360
North America: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 3. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 4. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

Japan: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. Armored Core 4 -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (From Software), 3. Dead Rising / Gears of War -- Xbox 360 Platinum Double Pack (Capcom/Microsoft), 4. The [email protected] -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Namco), 5. FIFA 08 World Class Soccer (EA Sports).

UK: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 5. Mass Effect (Microsoft).

With Rock Band's availability issues apparently resolved and Amazon's stock of the accessory-bundled Special Edition remaining consistent from week to week, North America's weekly Xbox 360 sales chart falls into a predictable groove. Call of Duty 4 takes another decisive victory this week, as Assassin's Creed, Halo 3, and Guitar Hero III battle for the region's remaining chart positions.


PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (SCEA), 3. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 4. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 5. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (SCEA).

Japan: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. Uncharted: El Dorado no Hihou (SCEI), 3. Armored Core 4 -- The Best Collection (From Software), 4. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEI), 5. Shin Sangoku Musou 5 (Koei).

UK: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami), 3. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 4. Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction (SCEE), 5. FIFA 08 (EA Sports).

A sudden jump in sales brings Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to a second-place finish among North American PlayStation 3 software this week. Demand remains steady for Assassin's Creed and Rock Band, as Ratchet & Clank Future crawls back into the top five after a short absence. Japan's chart also sees a burst of activity for Uncharted, while a revival of interest for Armored Core 4 continues, thanks to a recent budget rerelease.


PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision), 3. Guitar Hero II Bundle (Activision), 4. SingStar Pop (SCEA), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).

Japan: 1. School Days LxH (Interchannel), 2. Super Robot Taisen OG Gaiden (Bandai), 3. Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] (Kadokawa Shoten), 4. Ryu ga Gotoku 2 -- PlayStation 2 The Best (Sega), 5. Okami -- PlayStation 2 The Best (Capcom).

UK: 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 2. Ben 10: Protector of Earth (D3 Publisher), 3. Guitar Hero (RedOctane), 4. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 (THQ), 5. FIFA 08 (EA Sports).

The previously difficult-to-find PlayStation 2 version of the bundled Rock Band has received additional stock at Amazon this week. Rock Band takes a decisive sales victory over all competing PS2 titles as a result, including both editions of its top-selling competitor Guitar Hero III. Demand for Guitar Hero III still runs high, however, with sales for the standalone version receiving an additional boost thanks to a recent discount in price at Amazon. In Japan, the newly released School Days LxH steals the region's top sales position from the long-reigning Super Robot Taisen OG Gaiden, and rereleases of Ryu ga Gotoku 2 and Okami round out the region's top PS2 sellers.


PC
North America: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. Crysis (EA Games), 3. World of Warcraft (Blizzard), 4. Rail Simulator (EA Games), 5. World in Conflict (Sierra).

Japan: 1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 2. RPG Tsukuru VX (Enterbrain), 3. Civilization IV: Complete Japanese Edition (Cyber Front), 4. Civilization IV Deluxe Pack (Cyber Front), 5. Vocaloid 2 Character Vocal Series 02: Kagamine Rin/Len (Cripton Future Media).

UK: 1. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 3. Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Deluxe Edition (Microsoft), 4. Crysis (EA Games), 5. The Sims 2 (EA Games).

Last week's PC sales leader World of Warcraft Battlechest is nowhere to be found among this week's top North American sellers, while Call of Duty 4 retakes a first-place victory. Crysis finishes at its highest sales position since the week of its release, meanwhile, as newcomer Rail Simulator finishes fourth in its debut week.


Nintendo DS
North America: 1. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 2. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Mario Party DS (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Rune Factory 2 -- Special Edition (Marvelous), 2. Mario & Sonic at Bejing Olympics (Nintendo), 3. Final Fantasy IV (Square Enix), 4. Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi (Square Enix), 5. Layton Kyouju to Fushigi na Machi (Level 5).

UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima (Nintendo), 3. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 4. Sight Training (Nintendo), 5. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo).

The long-absent and hard-to-find Mario Party DS makes a return to North America's DS sales chart this week, though Amazon reports that its new supply of stock has again been exhausted. Mario Party DS has been a rare sight among Amazon's top sellers thanks to its lack of supply and high level of demand, and it's unknown when additional stock will become available. Meanwhile, the upcoming Advance Wars: Days of Ruin has seen big preorder numbers in the week leading up to its release, and could prove to be a strong chart contender following its release on the 21st.


PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (Konami), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami), 4. Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports), 5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar).

Japan: 1. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku -- Limited Edition (Bandai), 2. Maplus: Portable Navi 2 (Edia), 3. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku (Bandai), 4. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom), 5. Star Ocean 1: First Departure (Square Enix).

UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 2. Worms Open Warfare 2 (THQ), 3. The Simpsons Game (EA Games), 4. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 5. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar).

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is back at a lowered price point at Amazon, and sales once again spike as a result. A similar extended discount placed the title at the top of North America's chart for several weeks in a row late last year, and Castlevania could become a familiar chart sight if the sale continues. The limited edition of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku returns to the top of Japan's chart, meanwhile, after being overtaken by Maplus: Portable Navi 2 in the week prior.