Saling The World: Civilization Revolution Makes Chart-Topping U.S. Debut

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 July 10th, 2008, find the just-released Civilization Revolution leading demand on the Xbox 360 in North America, while a debuting Persona 4 tops cross-platform 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. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Tales of Symphonia: Ratatosk no Kishi (Namco), 4. BioHazard 0 (Capcom), 5. Wii Sports (Nintendo). UK: 1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Big Beach Sports (THQ), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision). The peripheral-bundled Rock Band Special Edition moves up two chart spots in the United States this week, finishing third in Wii software sales thanks to a promotional discount in price at Amazon. Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit continue to lead overall sales despite Amazon's long-standing supply shortages. Japanese Wii sales find previous chart-topper Tales of Symphonia: Ratatosk no Kishi falling to third place following a rise in demand for Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii, while Capcom's Resident Evil series remake BioHazard 0 debuts to a fourth-place finish. Xbox 360 North America: 1. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (2K Games), 2. Unreal Tournament 3 (Midway), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 5. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games). Japan: 1. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai), 2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Bethesda), 3. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- Map Download Special Limited Edition (Activision), 5. Test Drive Unlimited -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Microsoft). UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Top Spin 3 (2K Sports), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 5. Rock Band (EA Games). A pair of recent releases head this week's Xbox 360 bestseller charts in North America. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution and Unreal Tournament 3 come out on top in their first week of release, achieving weekly sales that surpass the current performance of Grand Theft Auto IV and Rock Band. In Japan, recent favorite Gundam: Operation Troy drops out of the top five as rereleased and budget-priced versions of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Test Drive Unlimited finish among the week's top sellers. PlayStation 3 North America: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (2K Games), 3. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. The Orange Box (EA Games). Japan: 1. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai), 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- Map Download Special Limited Edition (Activision), 3. Initial D: Extreme Stage (Sega), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots -- Special Edition (Konami), 5. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Spike). UK: 1. Buzz! Quiz TV with Buzzers (SCEE), 2. Top Spin 3 (2K Games), 3. Burnout Paradise (EA Games), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar). Civilization Revolution also sees a strong debut week on the PS3, though Metal Gear Solid 4 ultimately wins out in this week's overall North American sales results for the platform. The Orange Box makes a surprise return to the U.S. top five this week, meanwhile, thanks to a price drop at Amazon. A discounted Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit heads Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sales in Japan, as a reissued Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also makes a top five finish on both platforms. The just-released Japanese version of Kane & Lynch premieres at fifth place in this week's results, while Buzz! Quiz TV takes top honors in its first week of European release. PlayStation 2 North America: 1. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Atlus), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 3. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami), 4. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Activision), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision). Japan: 1. Persona 4 (Atlus), 2. Aoishiro -- Limited Edition (Success), 3. Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12: CR Shinseiki Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (D3 Publisher), 4. Harukanaru Jikuu no Kade 4 (Koei), 5. Mana Khemia 2: Ochita Gakuen to Renkinjutsushi Tachi -- Limited Edition (Gust). UK: 1. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar), 5. Kung Fu Panda (Activision). An Amazon-sponsored "Deal of the Day" promotion places Atlus' four-year-old RPG release Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne at the top of this week's North American PS2 sales results. Despite its age, the title remains high in demand among fans of the Shin Megami Tensei series, and a recent reprinting has ignited new sales interest over the past few weeks. Shin Megami Tensei sees even greater exposure in Japan this week with the release of the highly anticipated Persona 4, which tops Japanese software sales across all platforms in its first week of release. A price-dropped limited edition of Aoishiro trails close behind at second place, while Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12 follows at third in regional sales. PC North America: 1. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice (Her Interactive), 2. Diablo Battle Chest (Blizzard), 3. The Orange Box (EA Games), 4. Spore Creature Creator (EA Games), 5. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (2K 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. Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection (Square Enix), 5. Hellgate: London (EA Games). UK: 1. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 2. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 3. Mass Effect (EA Games), 4. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Complete (2K Games), 5. World of Warcraft (Blizzard). Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice debuts this week to a first-place sales finish among all PC software in North America. Last week's Diablo III-boosted sales champion Diablo Battle Chest falls to second place, meanwhile, as demand for Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword builds in the wake of the release of the console-exclusive Civilization Revolution. Nintendo DS North America: 1. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision), 2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 3. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age (Nintendo), 5. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 2. Derby Stallion DS (Enterbrain), 3. Hanayori Danshi: Koi Seyo Onago (Konami), 4. DS Bimoji Training (Nintendo), 5. Gakken Chuugokugo Sanmai DS (Gakken). UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 3. Scrabble Interactive: 2007 Edition (Ubisoft), 4. My Health Coach (Ubisoft), 5. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo). Guitar Hero: On Tour tops North American Nintendo DS sales for the third week in a row, surpassing the weekly sales of many of Nintendo's most popular franchises. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift hovers just outside the region's top five, finishing at sixth place. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX and Derby Stallion DS reign atop Japanese sales for the third week running, meanwhile, as newcomers Hanayori Danshi: Koi Seyo Onago and Gakken Chuugokugo Sanmai DS make notable chart impressions in their first week of release. 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. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami), 5. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts). Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 2. God of War: Rakujitsu no Hisoukyoku (Capcom), 3. Super Robot Taisen A (Banpresto), 4. World Neverland 2-in-1 Portable (Fonfun), 5. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 3 (Konami). UK: 1. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 2. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 3. Secret Agent Clank (SCEE), 4. Virtua Tennis 3 (Sega), 5. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEE). PSP sales in North America see little change this week, with Crisis Core and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories once again leading the pack. Patapon is bumped out of the top five by a returning Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, while Lego Indiana Jones finishes at fifth place. The just-released Japanese version of God of War: Chains of Olympus joins this week's PSP chart at second place, ultimately coming up short against the long-running sales might of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 3 returns to the top five at fifth place, meanwhile, as Super Robot Taisen A climbs up to take third.