Saling The World: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii Top Holiday Demand

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 December 18th, 2008, find Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit leading multiplatform sales in North America as suppliers struggle to keep up with holiday demand. 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. Wii Music (Nintendo), 4. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Namco Bandai), 5. Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip (Ubisoft). Japan: 1. Machi e Ikouyo: Doubutsu no Mori (Nintendo), 2. Machi e Ikouyo: Doubutsu no Mori WiiSpeak Bundle (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 5. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Namco). UK: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party (Ubisoft), 3. Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip (Ubisoft), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. Wii Fit (Nintendo). A restocked Mario Kart Wii takes the top sales position among Wii software in North America this week. Wii Fit also sees a sales rebound following a brief window of availability at Amazon, though the title has since sold through all available supplies. Given the high level of demand for Wii Fit, another shipment of stock is not likely to arrive until next year. Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit see a successful week in Japan as well, though Machi e Ikouyo: Doubutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing: City Folk) reigns at first place. Taiko no Tatsujin Wii doesn't fare as well as expected, however, due to all available supply being quickly exhausted at Amazon.co.jp shortly after the title's release. Xbox 360 North America: 1. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision), 2. Gears of War 2 (Microsoft), 3. Prince of Persia (Ubisoft), 4. Fallout 3 (Bethesda), 5. Left 4 Dead (EA Games). Japan: 1. Fable II (Microsoft), 2. Fallout 3 (Bethesda), 3. Gundam Musou 2 (Bandai), 4. Prince of Persia (Ubisoft), 5. Tales of Vesperia (Namco). UK: 1. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision), 2. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 3. Gears of War 2 (Microsoft), 4. Prince of Persia (Ubisoft), 5. Quantum of Solace (Activision). Demand for Call of Duty: World at War increases as Christmas draws near, as last week's North American sales winner Gears of War 2 falls to second place in regional results. Prince of Persia finds new popularity as well, thanks to a recent "Deal of the Day" promotional drop in price at Amazon. Elsewhere, Fable II makes a strong showing in its first week of release in Japan, beating out Fallout 3 and the debuting Gundam Musou 2 as this week's top seller. PlayStation 3 North America: 1. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (SCEA), 2. Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Ubisoft), 3. Prince of Persia (Ubisoft), 4. LittleBigPlanet (SCEA), 5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Ubisoft). Japan: 1. Gundam Musou 2 (Bandai), 2. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2009 (Konami), 3. Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! -- PlayStation 3 The Best (Sega), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots -- Special Edition (Konami), 5. Grand Theft Auto IV (Capcom). UK: 1. LittleBigPlanet (SCEE), 2. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision), 3. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (SCEE), 4. Need for Speed: Undercover (EA Games), 5. FIFA 09 (EA Sports). A PS3-specific day-long sale at Amazon brings several long-absent titles back to North America's top sellers chart this week. MotorStorm: Pacific Rift fares the best, finishing as this week's best-selling PS3 title overall, while Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and Prince of Persia trail close behind. Gundam Musou 2 comes out on top on the PlayStation 3 in its Japanese debut week. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2009 moves up a spot in regional sales, as last week's sales champion Metal Gear Solid 4 finishes at fourth place. PlayStation 2 North America: 1. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games), 2. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 3. Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (Square Enix), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Sonic Unleashed (Sega). Japan: 1. Fate/Unlimited Codes -- SP-BOX (Capcom), 2. Gundam Musou 2 (Bandai), 3. Fate/Unlimited Codes (Capcom), 4. beatmania IIDX 15 DJ Troopers (Konami), 5. Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series Vol. 13: Shinseiki Evangelion - Yakusoku no Toki (D3 Publisher). UK: 1. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 2. SingStar: ABBA (SCEE), 3. SingStar: Boy Bands vs. Girl Bands (SCEE), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Need for Speed Undercover (EA Games). Last week's acclaimed RPG premiere Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 drops out of North America's PS2 top five this week, replaced by a returning Sonic Unleashed. The peripheral-bundled Rock Band Special Edition continues to lead platform sales, meanwhile, as preorder demand swells to meet the impending PS2 release of Rock Band 2. Capcom's 3D fighter Fate/Unlimited Codes tops the charts in Japan in its premiere week, with Gundam Musou 2 placing second. beatmania IIDX 15 DJ Troopers also manages a top five finish in its first week of release, as does the Evangelion-themed Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series Vol. 13. PC North America: 1. Spore (EA Games), 2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Blizzard), 3. World of Goo (Brighter Minds), 4. Fallout 3 (Bethesda), 5. Left 4 Dead (EA Games). Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 4.0 Premium Package (E Frontier), 2. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana'diel Collection (Square Enix), 3. Crimson Empire: Circumstances to Serve a Noble (QuinRose), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Cyber Front), 5. Left 4 Dead (Zoo). UK: 1. Football Manager 2009 (Sega), 2. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision), 3. Left 4 Dead (EA Games), 4. Spore (EA Games), 5. Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft). Fallout 3 drops to fourth place in this week's North American PC software sales chart following an impressive first-place finish in the week prior. Spore moves up to take the top spot, with World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King settling for second place. 2D Boy's acclaimed puzzler World of Goo also makes an appearance in this week's top five, likely bolstered by its multiple nominations for numerous end-of-year awards. Nintendo DS North America: 1. Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (Disney), 2. Personal Trainer: Cooking (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Hoshi no Kirby: Ultra Super Deluxe (Nintendo), 2. Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode (Nintendo), 3. Ragnarok Online DS (GungHo Works), 4. Pocket Monsters Platinum (Nintendo), 5. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis (Konami). UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. Puzzler Collection (Ubisoft). Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force leads North America's Nintendo DS software sales this week, repeating the success it found in its first week of release. Personal Trainer: Cooking moves up a spot in regional sales, while the rest of the week's results feature predictable winners in Mario Kart DS, Brain Age, and New Super Mario Bros. Ragnarok Online DS leads in sales numbers among this week's premiering Nintendo DS titles in Japan. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis makes an impression at fifth place, while Hoshi no Kirby: Ultra Super Deluxe and Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode continue to lead overall results. PlayStation Portable North America: 1. Madden NFL 09 (EA Sports), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 4. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 5. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA). Japan: 1. Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Square Enix), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G -- PSP the Best (Capcom), 3. Dissidia: Final Fantasy -- Special Edition (Square Enix), 4. Eiyuu Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki Set (Nihon Falcom), 5. Musou Orochi: Maou Sairin (Koei). UK: 1. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 2. Football Manager Handheld 2009 (Sega), 3. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami). Holiday demand brings Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII back to North America's PSP charts this week, though the top three sellers remain unchanged from last week's results. In Japan, Square Enix's 3D fighter Dissidia: Final Fantasy takes first place in its debut week, while FIFA 09 returns to the top of the UK's charts.