Saling The World: Mario Kart Wii, GTA IV Top U.S. Multiplatform Charts

Gamasutra's weekly column, "Saling The World", covers the top five real-time Amazon.com 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 1st, 2008, find Mario Kart Wii taking an early multiplatform sales lead in North America, with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of Grand Theft Auto IV trailing close behind. 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 Play (Nintendo), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 5. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Link no Bowgun Training + Wii Zapper (Nintendo), 3. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 4. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 5. Dairantou Smash Brothers X (Nintendo). UK: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami). Mario Kart Wii debuts as this week's biggest-selling game across all platforms at Amazon, outpacing the individual sales performances of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto IV. It's likely that the combined sales of both editions of GTAIV eclipse Mario Kart Wii's numbers for the week, however. Wii Play and Guitar Hero III see a boost in sales in North America this week, meanwhile, pushing up past former chart champion Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which falls to fourth place in this week's results. Xbox 360 North America: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV -- Special Edition (Rockstar), 3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- Game of the Year Edition (Activision), 4. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 5. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games). Japan: 1. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Ubisoft), 2. The Idolm@ster: Live for You! (Namco), 3. Frontlines: Fuel of War (THQ Japan), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. The Idolm@ster -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Namco). UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV -- Special Edition (Rockstar), 4. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Ubisoft), 5. The Orange Box (EA Games). Grand Theft Auto IV emerges as the top Xbox 360 software seller in North America and the UK. The Xbox 360 edition appears to be the stronger-selling version thus far in both regions, though GTAIV's PS3 port sees no shortage of sales demand. The Special Edition version of GTAIV is also a highly sought after item, boasting a second-place sales finish among Xbox 360 software in the United States. Amazon-sponsored discounts in price for Assassin's Creed and the Game of the Year Edition of Call of Duty 4 place both titles among this week's U.S. best sellers, while in Japan, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 achieves another first-place sales finish. PlayStation 3 North America: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV -- Special Edition (Rockstar), 3. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft), 4. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA), 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision). Japan: 1. Senjou no Valkyria -- Limited Box (Sega), 2. Armored Core: For Answer (From Software), 3. Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! (Sega), 4. Senjou no Valkyria (Sega), 5. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 5 (Konami). UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEE), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV -- Special Edition (Rockstar), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft). Grand Theft Auto IV surpasses last week's PS3 chart champion Gran Turismo 5 Prologue by a wide sales margin, as a price-dropped Assassin's Creed finds a boost that leaves Prologue at fourth place in North America. Senjou no Valkyria continues to top PS3 sales in Japan, meanwhile, as Armored Core: For Answer climbs up from fourth to second place in this week's results. PlayStation 2 North America: 1. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (Atlus), 2. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Atlus), 3. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games), 4. God of War II (SCEA), 5. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami). Japan: 1. Musou Orochi: Maou Sairin (Koei), 2. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 5 (Konami), 3. Mana-Khemia: Gakuen no Renkinjutsushi-tachi -- Gust Best Price (Gust), 4. Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch - Lost Colors (Bandai), 5. Okami -- PlayStation 2 The Best (Capcom). UK: 1. SingStar Summer Party (SCEE), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar), 4. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 5. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 (THQ). The recent debut and popularity of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES sparks new interest in Atlus' 2004 RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, which returns to Amazon's U.S. sales charts this week after a years-long absence. Long out of print and notorious for its rarity and inflated secondary market prices, Nocturne's recent reprinting met with fast sales and high demand. This sales rush completely exhausted Amazon's new stock within a matter of days, however, and it's unknown whether additional copies will become available for purchase at any future date. PC North America: 1. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 3. The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff (EA Games), 4. Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition (Ubisoft), 5. SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition (EA Games). Japan: 1. Chaos;Head (Nitro Plus), 2. Vocaloid 2 Character Vocal Series 01: Hatsune Miku (Crypton Future Media), 3. Clannad Full Voice (Key), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 5. Little Busters! (KEY). UK: 1. Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition (Ubisoft), 2. The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff (EA Games), 3. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard), 4. The Sims 2 (EA Games), 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision). While the upcoming Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures remains in high preorder demand, this week's North American PC sales at Amazon are headed by World of Warcraft: Battle Chest. Recently featured as an Amazon "Deal of the Day" item, Battle Chest witnessed a jump in sales that continues despite the sale price's recent expiration. The compilation is expected to disappear from the top five as post-Deal of the Day demand cools, however, leaving titles like Call of Duty 4 and The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff to lead in its place. Nintendo DS North America: 1. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 2. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo), 3. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age (Nintendo). Japan: 1. DS Bimoji Training (Nintendo), 2. Emblem of Gundam (Bandai), 3. VitaminX Evolution (D3 Publisher), 4. SimCity DS 2 (EA Games), 5. Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken (Namco). UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 3. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 4. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 5. Sight Training (Nintendo). This week's North American release of Mario Kart Wii has spurred new interest in Mario Kart DS, which rises to the top of the region's Nintendo DS sales chart. Last week's champion The World Ends With You is nowhere to be found among this week's top sellers, however, and neither edition of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon makes a top-five finish, despite a strong debut for both versions last week. The chart longevity of titles like Professor Layton and the Curious Village and the Brain Age series makes it difficult for newcomers to remain in the top five for long after their release, resulting in fairly predictable sales patterns from week to week. PlayStation Portable North America: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 3. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 4. SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 (SNK Playmore), 5. Patapon (SCEA). Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 2. Nippon no Asoko de (SCEI), 3. Maplus Portable Navi 2 (Edia), 4. Star Ocean: The Second Evolution (Square Enix), 5. Minna no Chizu 3 (Zenrin). UK: 1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 5. FIFA 08 (EA Sports). The upcoming shooter-turned-strategy RPG R-Type Command tops PSP software sales in North America this week, with preorder sales boosted by a significant degree thanks to the recent announcement of a limited edition figurine being included with all prerelease purchases. Though R-Type Command can be expected to place high in regional sales upon its release next week, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII continues to lead U.S. PSP sales in the meanwhile, with God of War: Chains of Olympus remaining at second place.