Saling The World: In Search of Zelda

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 September 7th, 2006, includes newfound popularity for the Xbox 360 in Japan, and a demand for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess that far exceeds supply. 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. Rayman: Raving Rabbids (Ubisoft), 2. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Sega), 3. Red Steel (Ubisoft), 4. Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Atlus), 5. Excite Truck (Nintendo). The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would very likely be the #1 best seller among Wii software this week were it not for the fact that it's sold out at Amazon and many other retailers. Secondary market prices for the highly sought after title currently range between sixty and seventy dollars, with some sources pricing their copies at more than one hundred dollars each. Prices are expected to cool down once additional stock can be supplied, but in the meantime, Twilight Princess remains a tough find for new Wii owners. Xbox 360 North America: 1. Gears of War (Microsoft), 2. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft), 4. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 5. Burnout Revenge (EA Games). Japan: 1. Culdcept Saga (Bandai), 2. Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (Tecmo), 3. Rumble Roses XX (Konami), 4. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft), 5. Table Tennis (Rockstar). UK: 1. Gears of War (Microsoft), 2. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 3. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 4. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games), 5. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega). This week's release of Culdcept Saga and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 provided a significant boost in Xbox 360 hardware sales in Japan, where both titles pulled big preorder numbers for months prior to their release. Both games are expected to rank high in Japanese Xbox 360 software sales for several weeks to come, though upcoming releases like Super Robot Taisen XO, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, and Blue Dragon will make for ample competition. PlayStation 3 North America: 1. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEA), 2. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 3. Ridge Racer 7 (Namco Bandai Games), 4. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games), 5. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports). Japan: 1. Resistance: Jinrui Botsuraku no Hi (SCEI), 2. Kidou Senshi Gundam: Target in Sight (Bandai), 3. Ridge Racer 7 (Namco), 4. Genji: Kamui Souran (SCEI), 5. Miyazato San Kyoudai Naizou: Sega Golf Club (Sega). PlayStation 3 software sees none of the short supplies and aftermarket inflation currently affecting select Nintendo Wii titles; in fact, many independent sellers at Amazon are currently attempting to sell PS3 games at prices well below retail. Japan, meanwhile, appears to be most interested in future PS3 releases, as preorders for the upcoming Armored Core 4 outnumber sales for all of the region's currently available PS3 titles. PlayStation 2 North America: 1. Guitar Hero II (RedOctane), 2. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 3. Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix), 4. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 5. Cars (THQ). Japan: 1. J-League Winning Eleven 10 + Europa League 06-07 (Konami), 2. Sengoku Musou 2: Empires (Koei), 3. Ryuu ga Gotoku (Sega), 4. Tenshou Gakuen Gekkou Hasumi (Asmik Ace), 5. Minna no Tennis (SCEI). UK: 1. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 2. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 3. Canis Canem Edit (Rockstar), 4. WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 (THQ), 5. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games). In a surprise move, Guitar Hero II surpasses Final Fantasy XII in PS2 software sales in the United States this week. Both titles have battled fiercely for the top sales spot since their debut, but this week represents the first time Guitar Hero II has emerged as the victor. Whether the title will still rank in at #1 in future weeks remains to be seen. PC North America: 1. The Sims 2: Pets (EA Games), 2. Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft), 3. Medieval II: Total War (Sega), 4. Crazy Machines: The Wacky Contraptions Game (Viva Media), 5. The Sims 2: Holiday Edition (EA Games). Japan: 1. Ragnarok Online Anniversary Package (Gungho Online Entertainment), 2. Ys Origin (Nihon Falcom), 3. Battlefield 2142 (EA Games), 4. Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack 2006 (Square Enix), 5. Phantasy Star Universe (Sega). UK: 1. The Sims 2: Pets (EA Games), 2. Medieval II: Total War (Sega), 3. The Sims 2 (EA Games), 4. Football Manager 2007 (Sega), 5. Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (Namco Bandai Games). Few differences can be found between this week's and last week's top PC titles. The Sims 2 and its expansions continue to sell well in Europe and the United States, while Japan appears to be on an MMORPG kick with the popularity of games like Ragnarok Online Anniversary Package, Final Fantasy XI, and Phantasy Star Universe. Nintendo DS North America: 1. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 2. Brain Age (Nintendo), 3. Pokémon Ranger (Nintendo), 4. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends (Nintendo), 5. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Nippon Joushikiryoku Kenteikau Kanshuu: Imasara Jin ni wa Kikienai - Otona no Joushikiryoku Training DS (Nintendo), 2. Oshare Majo Love and Berry (DS Collection) (Sega), 3. Zaidan Houjin Nippon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Kyoukai Koushiki Soft: 200 Mannin no KanKen: Tokoton Kanji Nou (IE Institute), 4. Jump Ultimate Stars (Nintendo), 5. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo). UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo), 3. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (Nintendo). While few surprises can be found in the United States' and Europe's DS software sales this week, Japan sees a couple of new titles intrude upon an otherwise mundane list. Both Oshare Majo Love and Berry and Jump Superstars sequel Jump Ultimate Stars place high in their first week of release, and could prove to be just as popular for a long time to come. PlayStation Portable North America: 1. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Daxter (SCEA), 4. Medal of Honor: Heroes (EA Games), 5. Star Wars Battlefront II (LucasArts). Japan: 1. Riviera: Yakusoku no Chi (Sting), 2. Ridge Racers 2 (Namco), 3. SD Gundam G Generation Portable (Bandai), 4. Planetarium Curator Ohira Takayuki Kanshuu: Home Star Portable (Sega), 5. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (Namco). UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 2. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 3. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 4. Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City (EA Games), 5. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar). Riviera: Yakusoku no Chi is the only new title to enter the PSP's bestseller charts this week for all regions. Otherwise, all featured titles should seem very familiar, with a few minor placement shufflings being the only difference between this week's and last week's lists. Game Boy Advance North America: 1. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (Nintendo), 2. Cars (THQ), 3. Pokémon Emerald Version (Nintendo), 4. Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista), 5. Pokémon Leaf Green Version (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Final Fantasy V Advance (Square Enix), 2. Pocket Monsters Emerald (Nintendo), 3. Pocket Monsters FireRed (Nintendo), 4. Rhythm Tengoku (Nintendo), 5. Pocket Monsters Leaf Green (Nintendo). UK: 1. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (Nintendo), 2. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 3. Bratz: Forever Diamondz (THQ), 4. Madagascar (Activision), 5. SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (THQ). While Final Fantasy V Advance may have fallen out of the top five in the United States, it remains a strong seller in Japan in the week leading up to the release of Final Fantasy VI Advance. Both titles should perform well throughout the remainder of 2006, as few competing titles remain to be released for the GBA in any region. Xbox North America: 1. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 2. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 3. Halo 2 (Microsoft), 4. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 5. Avatar: The Last Airbender (THQ). Japan: 1. Atari Anthology (Microsoft), 2. Halo (Microsoft), 3. Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (Tecmo), 4. Halo 2 (Microsoft), 5. Fable (Microsoft). UK: 1. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 2. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games), 3. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 4. Peter Jackson's King Kong (Ubisoft), 5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - Sith Lords (Activision). As was the fate with Nintendo's GameCube, the original Xbox now sees little variation in its software sales from week to week. Madden and LEGO Star Wars continue to move the biggest numbers in the United States, while Europe now largely concerns itself with recently discounted titles like King Kong and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II.