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Saling The World: Final Fantasy IV Heads DS Charts In Debut Week
by Danny Cowan [PC, Console/PC, Mobile Console]
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July 25, 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 exclusively compiled real-time Amazon.com charts, with data taken from July 24th, 2008, see the just-released Final Fantasy IV surpassing long-time chart leader Guitar Hero: On Tour on the Nintendo DS in North America, as KORG DS-10 leads DS sales 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 Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo).
Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Boom Blox (EA Games), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Wario Land Shake (Nintendo), 5. Family Trainer (Bandai).
UK: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 5. Carnival Funfair Games (2K Games).
As aftermarket prices for Mario Kart Wii fall back to the $60 range, the title regains its former chart popularity in North America this week. It remains out of stock at Amazon and most other retailers, however. The remainder of this week's U.S. top five comes as equally little surprise, with Rock Band taking third while Wii Play and Super Smash Bros. Brawl again finish at fourth and fifth.
EA's Boom Blox appears to have become a surprise hit overseas, meanwhile, with the title climbing up over Mario Kart Wii and challenging Wii Fit for Japan's top Wii sales spot. Wario Land Shake debuts at fourth place in this week's Japanese charts, meanwhile, as Family Trainer finishes another week at fifth.
Xbox 360
North America: 1. NCAA Football 09 (EA Sports), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- Game of the Year (Activision), 5. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (2K Games).
Japan: 1. Bully (Bethesda), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Ninja Gaiden II (Tecmo), 4. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 5. The Idolm@ster -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Namco).
UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 3. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 4. Rock Band (EA Games), 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- Game of the Year (Activision).
NCAA Football 09 leads North American Xbox 360 software sales for the second week in a row, outpacing renewed competition from Grand Theft Auto IV and Halo 3. Amazon's preorder data shows that the upcoming Soul Calibur IV outranks many of this week's top sellers in presales alone, however, and stands likely to emerge as next week's multiregion chart champion.
Bully takes top honors in its first week of release in Japan, meanwhile, as a localized Guitar Hero III finishes at second place. Ninja Gaiden II and Battlefield: Bad Company catch up after a short chart absence, as The Idolm@ster manages a top five finish more than a year after its initial Japanese release.
PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA), 4. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 5. NCAA Football 09 (EA Sports).
Japan: 1. Siren: New Translation (SCEI), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots -- Special Edition (Konami), 3. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi -- Limited Edition (Aqua Plus), 4. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi (Aqua Plus), 5. Metal Gear Online (Konami).
UK: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Buzz! Quiz TV with Buzzers (SCEE), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Top Spin 3 (2K Games), 5. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA).
Soul Calibur IV also ranks as a top preorder item on the PlayStation 3 this week, earning preorder numbers that outpace the sales of all currently available software on the platform in the United States. The upcoming Madden NFL 09 is also showing increased chart activity this week. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV continue to lead among released titles, while the PS3 edition of NCAA Football 09 falls to fifth place in this week's platform sales.
This week's release of Siren: New Translation leads PlayStation 3 sales in Japan, as recent hits like Tears to Tiara and Metal Gear Online hold steady in their chart positions.
PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 2. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (LucasArts), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 (EA Games), 5. God of War II (SCEA).
Japan: 1. Persona 4 (Atlus), 2. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 (Konami), 3. Samurai Spirits Rokuban Shoubu (SNK Playmore), 4. Bully (Bethesda), 5. Sengoku Basara X (Capcom).
UK: 1. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 2. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Kung Fu Panda (Activision), 5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar).
A drop in price at Amazon brings Lego Indiana Jones back to the North American PS2 charts this week, where the title finishes at second place after a recent extended absence from the top five. The Special Edition of Rock Band continues to head sales, while the recent Rock Band Track Pack: Vol. 1 remains a strong seller in its second week of release.
Persona 4 continues to lead in Japan, meanwhile, though recent releases like Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 15 and Samurai Spirits Rokuban Shoubu provide ample competition. Rockstar's Bully also makes an impression on the PS2 in its Japanese debut week, while Sengoku Basara X takes fifth in this week's results.
PC
North America: 1. Warcraft III Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 3. Diablo Battle Chest (Blizzard), 4. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice (Her Interactive), 5. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard).
Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 2. Asaki Yumemishi (MIO), 3. Sou, Atashitachi wa Konna ni mo Rifujin na Sekai ni Ikiteru no Dara Yo 3 (Jitensha Sougyou), 4. Daikoukai Jidai Online: Cruz del Sur Treasure Pack -- Inca no Hihou (Koei), 5. Phantasy Star Universe (Sega).
UK: 1. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Complete (2K Games), 2. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 3. Mass Effect (EA Games), 4. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 5. Crysis (EA Games).
A recent Blizzard-themed sale at Amazon sparks renewed interest in many of the developer's most popular titles and compilations this week in North America. The Warcraft III Battle Chest tops sales among the week's discounts, followed by the World of Warcraft and Diablo collections. Last week's chart leader Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice is pushed to fourth place, as World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade rounds out the region's top five.
Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Final Fantasy IV (Square Enix), 2. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision), 3. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 4. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age (Nintendo).
Japan: 1. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 2. Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome (Square Enix), 3. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 4. DS Bimoji Training (Nintendo), 5. Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! DS Flame Rumble Hyper - Moeyo Mirai (Takara Tomy).
UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo).
Square Enix's debuting remake of Final Fantasy IV muscles its way to the peak of North America's Nintendo DS top five, unseating the platform's long-running chart champion Guitar Hero: On Tour in this week's results. On Tour remains a strong competitor at second place, though The World Ends with You seems to have disappeared from the top five after a promising return last week.
The Amazon-exclusive synthesizer software release KORG DS-10 tops sales in Japan in its first week of release, beating out last week's biggest seller Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome by a significant margin. Dragon Quest V likely continues to lead weekly DS sales at other retailers, however, while Daigasso! Band Brothers DX and DS Bimoji Training make strong showings as well.
PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. R-Type Command (Atlus), 2. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 5. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (Square Enix).
Japan: 1. Gundam Battle Universe (Bandai), 2. Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki the 3rd (Nihon Falcom), 3. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 4. Clannad (Prototype), 5. Maplus: Portable Navi (Edia).
UK: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 3. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami), 4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 5. Virtua Tennis 3 (Sega).
A steeply discounted R-Type Command tops North America's PSP results this week, as the title achieves sales not seen since its first week of release. Crisis Core and God of War: Chains of Olympus follow close behind, as last week's chart leader Final Fantasy Tactics drops to fifth place after returning to full price at Amazon.
Elsewhere, Nihon Falcom's debuting Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki the 3rd manages to surpass the weekly sales of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G in its first week of Japan, but ultimately fails to beat out Gundam Battle Universe as this week's top title.
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