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 8th, 2009, find titles like
Wii Fit, My Fitness Coach, and
Active Life Outdoor Challenge leading resolution-minded sales in North America, while
Gundam Musou 2 and
Dissidia: Final Fantasy head the charts 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. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. My Fitness Coach (Ubisoft), 5. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Namco Bandai).
Japan: 1. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Namco), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Shape Boxing Wii de Enjoy Diet! (Rocket Company), 5. Wii Sports (Nintendo).
UK: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Play (Nintendo), 3. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 4. Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party (Ubisoft), 5. Carnival: Fun Fair Games (2K Games).
The health and fitness genre leads post-holiday demand in North America, as Nintendo Wii owners appear eager to get in shape for the new year.
Wii Fit remains the platform's top seller, though Namco Bandai's exercise mat-bundled
Active Life Outdoor Challenge and Ubisoft's recently released
My Fitness Coach make strong showings this week as well.
The fitness trend also hits Japan, where
Wii Fit and
Shape Boxing finish among the week's top titles. The drum controller-bundled
Taiko no Tatsujin Wii takes top honors, while
Wii Sports hangs on at fifth place.
Xbox 360
North America: 1. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision), 2. Gears of War 2 (Microsoft), 3. Left 4 Dead (EA Games), 4. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 5. Fallout 3 -- Collector's Edition (Bethesda).
Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Fallout 3 (Bethesda), 3. Gundam Musou 2 (Bandai), 4. Saints Row 2 (THQ Japan), 5. Civilization Revolution (Cyber Front).
UK: 1. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 2. Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft), 3. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision), 4. Gears of War 2 (Microsoft), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar).
Even after seeing brisk sales over the holidays,
Call of Duty: World at War and
Gears of War 2 remain the Xbox 360's top overall software sellers in North America. Demand for
Left 4 Dead is on the rise, as the Collector's Edition of
Fallout 3 creeps into the regional top five following a discount in price at Amazon.
Elsewhere,
Tales of Vesperia takes over in Japan, leaving
Fallout 3 and
Gundam Musou 2 in its wake.
FIFA 09 finishes first in Europe, meanwhile, as
Far Cry 2 jumps up to take second place.
PlayStation 3
North America: 1. LittleBigPlanet (SCEA), 2. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 5. Resistance 2 (SCEA).
Japan: 1. Gundam Musou 2 (Bandai), 2. Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! -- PlayStation 3 The Best (Sega), 3. Shirokishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou (SCEI), 4. Civilization Revolution (Cyber Front), 5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2009 (Konami).
UK: 1. LittleBigPlanet (SCEE), 2. Mirror's Edge (EA Games), 3. Fallout 3 (Bethesda), 4. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 5. Prince of Persia (Ubisoft).
New post-Christmas PlayStation 3 owners turn their attention to 2008's biggest hits in this week's sales results, with
Grand Theft Auto IV and
Metal Gear Solid 4 returning to the North American top five for the first time in several months.
LittleBigPlanet remains the PS3's biggest seller, while
Call of Duty: World at War finishes at second place.
Gundam Musou 2 remains the top platform seller in Japan, while a rereleased
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! moves up a spot to take second place. The just-released
Shirokishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou (
White Knight Chronicles) drops to third place in this week's findings, as
World Soccer Winning Eleven rounds out the top five.
PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (Atlus), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games), 3. Rock Band 2 (MTV Games), 4. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES -- Special Edition (Atlus), 5. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami).
Japan: 1. Gundam Musou 2 (Bandai), 2. Fate/Unlimited Codes -- SP-BOX (Capcom), 3. Hokuouki (Idea Factory), 4. Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom), 5. Persona 4 (Atlus).
UK: 1. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 2. SingStar: Boy Bands vs. Girl Bands (SCEE), 3. SingStar Legends (SCEE), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. Quantum of Solace (Activision).
Persona 4 returns as this week's top PS2 seller in North America, with sales driven by universally positive review scores and word-of-mouth. The discounted special edition of
Persona 3 FES also sees a boost in popularity this week, while the recently released standalone edition of
Rock Band 2 trails close behind its instrument-bundled predecessor.
Gundam Musou 2 remains a popular pick in Japan, where it overtakes
Fate/Unlimited Codes for the first time since its initial release. Idea Factory's
Hokuouki also showcases impressive chart staying power this week, as does the six-month-old Japanese edition of
Persona 4.
PC
North America: 1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Blizzard), 2. Left 4 Dead (EA Games), 3. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 4. The Sims 2: Double Deluxe (EA Games), 5. Spore (EA Games).
Japan: 1. Left 4 Dead (Zoo), 2. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 4.0 Premium Package (E Frontier), 3. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana'diel Collection (Square Enix), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Cyber Front), 5. Clannad Full Voice (KEY).
UK: 1. Football Manager 2009 (Sega), 2. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (EA Games), 3. Left 4 Dead (EA Games), 4. Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition (Activision), 5. Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft).
Though
Spore remained popular among Amazon customers throughout the holiday season, the title has since dropped to fifth place in North America's PC sales charts.
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King takes the top spot in its stead, while the
World of Warcraft Battle Chest compilation finishes third. Elsewhere,
Left 4 Dead leads PC software sales in Japan, as
Football Manager 2009 stays on top in the UK.
Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 3. Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (Disney), 4. Personal Trainer: Cooking (Nintendo), 5. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (Nintendo).
Japan: 1. Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode (Nintendo), 2. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 3. Tongari Boushi no Mahou no 365 Nichi (Konami), 4. Pocket Monsters Platinum (Nintendo), 5. Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! (Konami).
UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Puzzler Collection (Ubisoft), 3. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 4. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 5. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts).
Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force falls to third place in this week's North American ranking, while
Mario Kart DS and
New Super Mario Bros. head overall sales.
Personal Trainer: Cooking remains a popular pick at Amazon, while
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir returns to the top five after a brief chart absence.
Konami's
Tongari Boushi no Mahou no 365 Nichi makes a comeback in this week's Japanese charts, finishing third overall.
Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode leads overall platform sales, while
Rhythm Tengoku Gold rejoins the top five at second place.
PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 4. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 5. Daxter (SCEA).
Japan: 1. Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Square Enix), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G -- PSP the Best (Capcom), 3. Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki Set (Nihon Falcom), 4. Musou Orochi: Maou Sairin (Koei), 5. Maplus: Portable Navi 2 (Edia).
UK: 1. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 2. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 3. Need for Speed: Undercover (EA Games), 4. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami).
God of War: Chains of Olympus returns to the top of the PSP charts in North America this week, with
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories finishing close behind at second place.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII takes third, while
Daxter rounds out the top five at fifth place.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy spends another week at the top of the charts in Japan, as
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G makes another top five finish more than ten months after its initial release.
