Saling The World: Mario Strikers Charges UK, Forza 2 Impresses in Japan

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 May 24th, 2007, feature Mario Strikers Charged Football debuting to brisk sales in Europe, while Forza Motorsport 2 spurs interest in the Xbox 360 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 Play (Nintendo), 2. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo), 3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 4. Rayman Raving Rabbids (Ubisoft), 5. WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 2. Wii de Yawaraka Atama Juku (Nintendo), 3. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo), 4. Hajimete no Wii (Nintendo), 5. Zelda no Densetsu: Twilight Princess (Nintendo). UK: 1. Mario Strikers Charged Football (Nintendo), 2. Wii Play (Nintendo), 3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 4. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Buena Vista), 5. Cooking Mama (505 Games). Mario Strikers Charged Football finds a receptive audience in Europe, beating out chart mainstays Wii Play and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in its first week of release. Given its popularity and a relative lack of high-profile competing titles set to see release in the near future, Charged seems likely to remain at or near the top of the charts for many weeks to come. Super Paper Mario, on the other hand, fares a little better in sales in the United States and Japan after a somewhat disappointing performance last week, but still has a ways to go before it recaptures the top spot in either region. Xbox 360 North America: 1. Gears of War (Microsoft), 2. Guitar Hero II Bundle (RedOctane), 3. Crackdown (Microsoft), 4. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft), 5. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Games). Japan: 1. Forza Motorsport 2 (Microsoft), 2. Armored Core 4 (From Software), 3. Test Drive Unlimited (Microsoft), 4. Atsumare! Pinata (Microsoft), 5. Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack 2006 (Square Enix). UK: 1. Gears of War (Microsoft), 2. Crackdown (Microsoft), 3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games), 4. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Games), 5. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Ubisoft). Forza Motorsport 2 makes an impressive debut as the week's second-best selling game across all platforms in Japan, with only TOEIC Test DS Training for the Nintendo DS selling more copies over the last week. Elsewhere in the world, preorder sales for next week's scheduled release of Forza Motorsport 2 outnumber weekly sales for all currently available Xbox 360 titles in the United States, and the game remains a hot preorder item in Europe as well. PlayStation 3 North America: 1. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEA), 2. MLB 07: The Show (SCEA), 3. NBA 2K7 (2K Sports), 4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda), 5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Buena Vista). Japan: 1. Gundam Musou (Bandai), 2. Formula One Championship Edition (SCEI), 3. Armored Core 4 (From Software), 4. Ridge Racer 7 (Namco), 5. Pro Yakyuu Spirits 4 (Konami). UK: 1. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEE), 2. MotorStorm (SCEE), 3. Spider-Man 3 (Activision), 4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Ubisoft), 5. Formula One Championship Edition (SCEE). PlayStation 3 software sales remain stagnant as a month-long drought of new titles continues to affect all regions. Oddly, Pro Yakyuu Spirits 4 falls to fifth place in Japanese sales this week, following several weeks of success at the top of the charts. The title has fallen and retaken the top spot once before, however, so it remains to be seen whether this will be the case once again in future weeks. PlayStation 2 North America: 1. Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix), 2. Odin Sphere (Atlus), 3. Bully (Rockstar), 4. Guitar Hero II Bundle (RedOctane), 5. God of War (SCEA). Japan: 1. Odin Sphere (Atlus), 2. Shining Wind (Sega), 3. Rozen Maiden ~Gebetgarten~ (Taito), 4. Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua], 5. Pachitte Chonmage Tatsujin 12: Pachinko Ultraman (Hack Berry). UK: 1. Buzz! Junior: RoboJam (SCEE), 2. Spider-Man 3 (Activision), 3. Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix), 4. SingStar Pop Hits (SCEE), 5. WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 (THQ). Though Odin Sphere is off to a strong sales start in its first week of release in the United States, the game faces competition from older titles recently discounted as a part of Amazon's Deal of the Day promotion. Both Final Fantasy XII and Bully rejoin the top five after receiving significant discounts, though both will drop sharply in popularity once the promotion ends, leaving Odin Sphere likely to lead in future weeks. It's a different story in Japan, though, where Odin Sphere barely edges out Shining Wind as the week's single best-selling PS2 title. PC North America: 1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard), 2. Starcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 3. World of Warcraft (Blizzard), 4. The Sims 2 (EA Games), 5. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (EA Games). Japan: 1. Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica 3 & 4 (Ocelot), 2. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Tecmo), 3. Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica -- 1 & 2 Box Edition (Ocelot), 4. Eternal Alice (QuinRose), 5. Sukatto Golf Pangya -- Marugoto Kit (Gamebot). UK: 1. Football Manager 2007 (Sega), 2. Medieval II: Total War (Sega), 3. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard), 4. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Codemasters), 5. World of Warcraft (Blizzard). Interest in Blizzard's 1999 compilation Starcraft Battle Chest has soared in the days following the announcement of the upcoming Starcraft 2, and has quickly lead to a shortage of supply at Amazon. The Diablo Battle Chest has also seen boosted sales, though Starcraft Battle Chest remains the more sought-after compilation by a wide margin. Amazon additionally reports a sudden rush of preorder sales for the upcoming PC title Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek in the United States this week, indicating that the game could eventually become just as popular among Amazon shoppers as last year's Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave. Nintendo DS North America: 1. Pokemon Diamond (Nintendo), 2. Pokemon Pearl (Nintendo), 3. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age (Nintendo), 5. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo). Japan: 1. TOEIC Test DS Training (IE Institute), 2. Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Nintendo), 3. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Motto Eigo Duke (Nintendo), 4. Eitango Target 1900 DS (IE Institute), 5. Hoshi no Kirby: Sanjou! Dorocche Dan (Nintendo). UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Cooking Mama (505 Games), 3. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends (Nintendo), 4. Big Brain Academy (Nintendo), 5. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo). It's business as usual for the Nintendo DS this week, with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, TOEIC Test DS Training and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training continuing to lead the charts in the U.S., Japan, and Europe. Ouendan 2 sees a small drop in sales after last week's chart-topping debut in Japan, succumbing to the might of several popular brain training and edutainment software titles. The game still remains a worthy competitor, however, and its sales strength could keep it in the top five for several weeks more. PlayStation Portable North America: 1. Star Wars Battlefront II (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 4. Daxter (SCEA), 5. MLB 07: The Show (SCEA). Japan: 1. Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou (Square Enix), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom), 3. Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 (SCEI), 4. Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition (Square Enix), 5. Talkman (SCEI). UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 2. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami), 3. Sega Mega Drive Collection (Sega), 4. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (SCEE), 5. Lumines II (Buena Vista). Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 performs about as well as could be expected from a newly-debuted PSP title this week, as it seems as though nothing will shake Final Fantasy Tactics and Monster Hunter Portable 2nd from their places atop Japan's chart. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops also manages respectable sales results in its first week of release in Europe, while Star Wars Battlefront II ekes out a rare first-place finish in the United States.