Saling The World: Madden NFL 09 Leads U.S. Sales on 360 and PS3

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 August 14th, 2008, see Madden NFL 09 outselling all Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 competition in its first week of release in North America, as Tales of Vesperia meets with an enthusiastic reception 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. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 5. Madden NFL 09 All-Play (EA Sports). Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Zero: Gesshoku no Kamen (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 5. Dairantou Smash Brothers X (Nintendo). UK: 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 5. Carnival Funfair Games (2K Games). Wii Fit is back on top in North America after seeing its sales bested by Mario Kart Wii in the weeks prior. Wii Play and Super Smash Bros. Brawl also see another big sales week, while the Wii-exclusive All-Play edition of Madden NFL 09 debuts at fifth place. Wii Fit also leads in Japan, trumping Fatal Frame sequel Zero: Gesshoku no Kamen in its third week of release. Europe's chart shows a discounted Guitar Hero III leading regional Wii sales, with Wii Fit and Wii Play following at second and third place. Xbox 360 North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- Game of the Year Edition (Activision), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Madden NFL 09: 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition (EA Sports), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar). Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Soulcalibur IV (Namco), 3. Dead Rising -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Capcom), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. The Idolm@ster -- Xbox 360 Platinum Collection (Namco). UK: 1. Beijing 2008 (Sega), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 5. Soulcalibur IV (Namco Bandai). The recently released Soulcalibur IV is nowhere to be seen among this week's top Xbox 360 sellers in the United States, despite a first-place sales victory in its first week of release. The title still continues to perform well in Japan, however, and manages an impressive showing in Europe as well. The Game of the Year Edition of Call of Duty 4 makes an appearance in North America's weekly chart thanks to a recent sale at Amazon, meanwhile, as Madden NFL 09 premieres as the week's overall best U.S. seller. In Japan, Namco's Tales of Vesperia emerges as the platform's new chart leader, reportedly achieving first-week sales of more than 100,000 units. PlayStation 3 North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 4. Soulcalibur IV (Namco Bandai), 5. Madden NFL 09: 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition (EA Sports). Japan: 1. Soulcalibur IV (Namco), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots -- Special Edition (Konami), 3. Siren: New Translation (SCEI), 4. Senjou no Valkyria (Sega), 5. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi -- Limited Edition (Aqua Plus). UK: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Beijing 2008 (Sega), 3. Soulcalibur IV (Namco Bandai), 4. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 5. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (SCEA). Madden NFL 09 also sweeps this week's sales results on the PlayStation 3, debuting as the platform's top seller in North America and the UK. Cross-platform sales numbers for the title thus far appear to be leaning in favor of the Xbox 360 edition, though the PS3 version ranks in at a close second in both regions. Soulcalibur IV still rates as Japan's top PS3 seller in its third week of release, as Metal Gear Solid 4 trumps the weekly sales numbers of Siren: New Translation. In the UK, Beijing 2008 meets with brisk sales upon its recent release, with fellow debut Madden NFL 09 premiering at fourth place. PlayStation 2 North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 3. God of War II (SCEA), 4. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami), 5. Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports). Japan: 1. Persona 4 (Atlus), 2. Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Parareru -- Limited Edition (GN Software), 3. Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Parareru (GN Software), 4. Battle of Sunrise -- Limited Edition (Sunrise), 5. Sengoku Basara X (Capcom). UK: 1. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar), 3. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 4. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 5. Need for Speed: ProStreet (EA Games). The PS2 port of Madden NFL 09 finishes as one of this week's biggest multiplatform sellers in North America, ranking just behind the Wii All-Play edition in terms of popularity. Madden NFL 08 also finds a surge of popularity this week, thanks to a steep discount in price at Amazon. The PC-ported adventure title Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Parareru sees a fast-selling premiere week in Japan, though neither the regular nor the limited edition of the title can surpass Persona 4 in weekly sales numbers. PC North America: 1. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. Spore Creature Creator (EA Games), 3. The Orange Box (EA Games), 4. Baldur's Gate II: The Collection (Vivendi), 5. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (2K Games). Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 2. Phantasy Star Universe: Illuminus no Yabou (Sega), 3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision), 4. Little Busters (KEY), 5. SimCity 4 Deluxe (EA Games). UK: 1. Sid Meier's Civilization IV Complete (2K Games), 2. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 3. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 4. Spore Creature Creator (EA Games), 5. World of Warcraft (Blizzard). World of Warcraft Battle Chest climbs to the top of this week's PC sales results in North America, pushing Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice out of the top five for the first time since its initial release. Preorder sales for Spore are also on the rise this week, while an Amazon discount for the Spore Creature Creator places it back among the retailer's top sellers in the U.S. and Europe. Nintendo DS North America: 1. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 2. Brain Age (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo), 5. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision). Japan: 1. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 2. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 3. Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu No Hanayome (Square Enix), 4. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 5. Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken (Nintendo). UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 4. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 5. Puzzler Collection (Ubisoft). Guitar Hero: On Tour returns to North America's Nintendo DS chart this week after a short absence, replacing Square Enix's recent hit Final Fantasy IV among the week's top sellers. Japan finds Rhythm Tengoku Gold and KORG DS-10 leading Nintendo DS sales for the third week running, while Brain Training and 42 All-Time Classics see continued success in Europe. PlayStation Portable North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 2. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 4. Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai), 5. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar). Japan: 1. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 3. Crazy Taxi: Double Punch (Sega), 4. Gundam Battle Universe (Bandai), 5. Memories Off: Sore Kara -- Limited Edition (5pb). UK: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (Activision), 3. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 4. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami), 5. Final Fantasy (Square Enix). Madden NFL 09 premieres as this week's best-selling PSP title in the United States, dethroning Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII after a long reign at the top. Given the long-running popularity of last year's PSP edition, Madden NFL 09 could find itself among North America's weekly top sellers for months to come. Phantasy Star Portable remains Japan's top PSP seller this week, though Crazy Taxi: Double Punch and Memories Off: Sore Kara provide new chart competition after seeing successful debuts last week.