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Saling The World: Diablo Battle Chest Sees Sales Jump Following Sequel Announcement
by Danny Cowan [PC, Console/PC, Mobile Console]
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July 7, 2008
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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 July 3rd, 2008, find the seven-year-old Diablo Battle Chest heading North American PC sales following Blizzard's recent announcement of the upcoming release of Diablo III. 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. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games).
Japan: 1. Tales of Symphonia: Ratatosk no Kishi (Namco), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Dairantou Smash Brothers X (Nintendo), 5. Wii Sports (Nintendo).
UK: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Big Beach Sports (THQ), 5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega).
Demand for Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit continues to outpace available supply in the United States, as both titles remain top cross-platform sellers despite rising prices from third-party sellers. Wii Play and Super Smash Bros. Brawl also continue to do well in weekly North American sales, while Rock Band falls to fifth place in this week's results.
In Japan, Namco's Tales of Symphonia: Ratatosk no Kishi leads Wii sales for the second week in a row, as The World of Golden Eggs and Super Mario Stadium drop out of the top five in favor of renewed interest in Dairantou Smash Brothers X and Wii Sports.
Xbox 360
North America: 1. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 2. Dark Sector (D3 Publisher), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 5. Turok (Touchstone).
Japan: 1. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 2. Gundam: Operation Troy (Bandai), 3. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai), 4. Frontlines: Fuel of War (THQ Japan), 5. The Idolm@ster -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Namco).
UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Beijing 2008 (Sega), 5. Rock Band (EA Games).
After an impressive sales showing in its debut week, Battlefield: Bad Company is trumped by Grand Theft Auto IV in its second week of release in the United States. Bad Company and GTAIV fall short of Assassin's Creed and Dark Sector, however, both of which mount a major sales comeback following steep drops in price at Amazon. Turok sees a similar discount, boosting it up to fifth place in this week's results.
Bad Company stays atop Japanese Xbox 360 software sales, meanwhile, as Gundam: Operation Troy and Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit remain fierce chart competitors.
PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA), 5. Turok (Touchstone).
Japan: 1. Initial D: Extreme Stage (Sega), 2. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots -- Special Edition (Konami), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami).
UK: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Battlefield: Bad Company -- Gold Edition (EA Games), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. Top Spin 3 (2K Games).
Assassin's Creed finds a big jump in U.S. sales on the PlayStation 3 this week thanks to recent Amazon-sponsored discounts, though Metal Gear Solid 4 still comes out on top in weekly numbers. Battlefield: Bad Company falls out of the PlayStation 3's top five in its second week of release in North America, meanwhile, though the title maintains a strong chart foothold in the UK.
Japan finds a new PS3 chart champion in Sega's arcade racer Initial D: Extreme Stage, which manages to outpace Metal Gear Solid 4's weekly sales numbers in its debut week. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit also finds increased Japanese sales this week, as Call of Duty 4 finishes fourth in regional results.
PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 2. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami), 3. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Activision), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision).
Japan: 1. Hanayoi Romanesque: Ai to Kanashimi -- Limited Edition (Marvelous), 2. Harukanaru Jikuu no Kade 4 (Koei), 3. Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12: CR Shinseiki Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (D3 Publisher), 4. Harukanaru Jikuu no Kade 4 -- Treasure Box (Koei), 5. The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match -- NeoGeo Ultimate Collection (SNK Playmore).
UK: 1. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 2. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 3. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. The Golden Compass (Sega).
The PlayStation 2 edition of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith premieres as the biggest-selling port of the title in North America this week, though it still lags a significant distance behind Rock Band and Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection in platform-specific sales. The anticipated title otherwise sees an unexpectedly lukewarm reception in its debut week, as none of the other available editions of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith manage a top five finish for their respective platforms.
In other regions, a discounted limited edition of Marvelous' Hanayoi Romanesque: Ai to Kanashimi leads Japanese PS2 sales this week, as Lego Indiana Jones stays on top in the UK.
PC
North America: 1. Diablo Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 3. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 4. Spore Creature Creator (EA Games), 5. The Orange Box (EA Games).
Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 2. Lineage: The Cross Rancor (E-Frontier), 3. Ragnarok Online Summer Package 2008 (E-Frontier), 4. Hellgate: London (EA Games), 5. Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection (Square Enix).
UK: 1. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 2. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 3. Mass Effect (EA Games), 4. Diablo II (Blizzard), 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision).
This week's announcement of the upcoming release of Diablo III has spurred new interest in the series, resulting in the Diablo Battle Chest compilation finishing as this week's best-selling PC software title in the United States. Blizzard's World of Warcraft Battle Chest also sees increased sales in the days following the announcement. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff eclipses Spore Creature Creator's weekly North American sales, meanwhile, as The Orange Box rounds out the regional top five.
Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision), 2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age (Nintendo).
Japan: 1. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 2. Derby Stallion DS (Enterbrain), 3. Nanashi no Game (Square Enix), 4. Hiiro no Kakera DS -- Limited Edition (Idea Factory), 5. DS Bimoji Training (Nintendo).
UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. My Health Coach (Ubisoft), 3. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 5. Scrabble Interactive: 2007 Edition (Ubisoft).
Last week's Nintendo DS sales champion Guitar Hero: On Tour holds on to the top spot in the United States this week. Its fellow recent debut Final Fantasy Tactics A2 isn't as lucky, however, as the title falls out of this week's top five despite a promising second-place finish in the week prior.
Elsewhere in the world, Daigasso! Band Brothers DX tops multiplatform sales in Japan for the second week in a row, while Enterbrain's Derby Stallion DS trails close behind. Square Enix's horror-themed adventure title Nanashi no Game makes a third place regional finish in its debut week, meanwhile, as Brain Training and My Health Coach lead in the UK.
PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 4. Patapon (SCEA), 5. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts).
Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 2. Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono (Acquire), 3. World Neverland 2-in-1 Portable (Fonfun), 4. Winning Post 6 2008 (Koei), 5. Super Robot Taisen A (Banpresto).
UK: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEE), 4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 5. Final Fantasy (Square Enix).
This week's North American PSP sales are once again headed by Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, though Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories finds a sudden sales jump to second place after finishing outside the regional top five for several weeks in a row. Patapon also makes an unexpected return to the top five this week, beating out the weekly sales of recent chart favorite Lego Indiana Jones.
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