Saling The World: Mario, Lara, Sims Drive Sales Worldwide

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 June 7th, 2007, feature the continuing leadership of Tomb Raider: Anniversary in Europe, while The Sims 2 sees another worldwide surge in popularity with H&M Stuff. 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 Party 8 (Nintendo), 2. Wii Play (Nintendo), 3. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo), 4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 5. WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo). Japan: 1. BioHazard 4 (Capcom), 2. Bokujou Monogatari: Yasuragi no Ki (Marvelous), 3. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 4. Zelda no Densetsu: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 5. Hajimete no Wii (Nintendo). UK: 1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 2. Mario Strikers Charged Football (Nintendo), 3. Wii Play (Nintendo), 4. Cooking Mama (505 Games), 5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney). Mario Party 8 maintains its status as the single best-selling title across all platforms in the United States this week, while upcoming releases like Resident Evil 4 and Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree showcase a growing amount of preorder strength prior to release. In Japan, Bokujou Monogatari: Yasuragi no Ki (Harvest Moon Wii) debuts to a surprising second place finish, beating out longtime favorites like Wii Sports and Hajimete no Wii, though BioHazard 4 once again leads overall. Whether Bokujou Monogatari will keep this position in future weeks is doubtful, though a second place debut for such a niche release is an impressive feat nonetheless. Xbox 360 North America: 1. Forza Motorsport 2 (Microsoft), 2. Gears of War (Microsoft), 3. Guitar Hero II Bundle (RedOctane), 4. Final Fantasy XI (Square Enix), 5. Shadowrun (Microsoft). Japan: 1. Riot Act (Microsoft), 2. Forza Motorsport 2 (Microsoft), 3. Test Drive Unlimited (Microsoft), 4. The IdolM@ster (Namco), 5. Gears of War (Microsoft). UK: 1. Forza Motorsport 2 (Microsoft), 2. Forza Motorsport 2: Limited Edition (Microsoft), 3. Gears of War (Microsoft), 4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games), 5. Crackdown (Microsoft). Forza Motorsport 2 grabs a first-place finish in weekly Xbox 360 software sales following a strong debut in the UK, and continues to rest atop the charts in the United States as well. Final Fantasy XI, meanwhile, sees boosted sales in North America thanks to a dramatic drop in price as a part of Amazon's Deal of the Day promotion, while the recently-released Shadowrun barely manages to remain in the top five after a somewhat mediocre debut last week. PlayStation 3 North America: 1. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEA), 2. MLB 07: The Show (SCEA), 3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda), 4. MotorStorm (SCEA), 5. Call of Duty 3 (Activision). Japan: 1. Formula One Championship Edition (SCEI), 2. Gundam Musou (Bandai), 3. Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega), 4. MotorStorm (SCEI), 5. Ridge Racer 7 (Namco). UK: 1. MotorStorm (SCEE), 2. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEE), 3. Formula One Championship Edition (SCEE), 4. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda), 5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney). This week's PlayStation 3 sales results once again provide few details worth noting, as the exact same titles that have been featured over the last several weeks once again make an appearance in every region. Next week will likely produce more of the same, though the upcoming Ninja Gaiden Sigma promises to create significant shakeups in the near future. PlayStation 2 North America: 1. Guitar Hero II Bundle (RedOctane), 2. God of War II (SCEA), 3. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Eidos), 4. Odin Sphere (Atlus), 5. God of War (SCEA). Japan: 1. Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryoku Series Vol. 10 (D3 Publisher), 2. Magicians Academy (Enterbrain), 3. Anubis: Zone of the Enders Special Edition -- Konami Dendou Selection (Konami), 4. Wizardry X 2: Mugen no Gakuto (MichaelSoft), 5. Odin Sphere (Atlus). UK: 1. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Eidos), 2. SingStar Pop Hits (SCEE), 3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney), 4. WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007 (THQ), 5. Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix). Despite high levels of anticipation and a low initial retail price, Tomb Raider: Anniversary only manages a modest third place finish in PS2 sales in its debut week in the United States. Anniversary's continuing strength in Europe (where it continues to outsell all other titles across all platforms) indicates that future weeks could bring better U.S. results, however. Japan, on the other hand, sees an unusual bestseller lineup this week, with older releases like Anubis: Zone of the Enders and Wizardry X 2 exhibiting boosted sales for reasons that are not entirely clear. PC North America: 1. The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff (EA Games), 2. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Eidos), 3. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard), 4. The Sims 2 (EA Games), 5. The Sims 2: Seasons (EA Games). Japan: 1. Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica 3 & 4 (Ocelot), 2. Lineage: The Cross Rancor Episode VI (NC Japan), 3. BioHazard 4 (Capcom), 4. Heart no Kuni no Alice ~Wonderful Wonder World~ (QuinRose), 5. Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack 2006 (Square Enix). UK: 1. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Eidos), 2. The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff (EA Games), 3. Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft), 4. Hospital Tycoon (Codemasters), 5. Medieval II: Total War (Sega). Demand for The Sims 2-related expansion packs has waned little in the year and a half since the game's original release, as H&M Fashion Stuff achieves an impressive first-place finish in the United States in its debut week. The Sims 2 and the Seasons expansion pack additionally pull in improved sales as a result, while Tomb Raider: Anniversary also produces impressive results in the U.S. and Europe. Nintendo DS North America: 1. Pokemon Diamond (Nintendo), 2. Pokemon Pearl (Nintendo), 3. Nintendo DS Browser (Nintendo), 4. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age (Nintendo). Japan: 1. Miru Chikara o Jissen de Kitaeru: DS Ganryoku Training (Nintendo), 2. Yamakawa Shuppansha Kanshuu: Shousetsu Nihonshi DS (Namco), 3. Chuugaku Eitango Target 1800 DS (IE Institute), 4. TOEIC Test DS Training (IE Institute), 5. Eigo ga Nigate na Otona no DS Training: Motto Eigo Duke (Nintendo). UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Cooking Mama (505 Games), 3. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 4. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends (Nintendo), 5. Big Brain Academy (Nintendo). While Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remain entrenched at the top of the DS sales charts in North America, the just-released Nintendo DS Browser accessory has proven to be popular enough to beat out previous leaders New Super Mario Bros. and Brain Age in weekly sales. Japan sees a leader in Miru Chikara o Jissen de Kitaeru for the second week in a row, though Yamakawa Shuppansha Kanshuu: Shousetsu Nihonshi DS is proving to be a worthy competitor. PlayStation Portable North America: 1. Star Wars Battlefront II (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. Daxter (SCEA), 4. MLB 07: The Show (SCEA), 5. Crush (Sega). Japan: 1. Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition (Square Enix), 2. Final Fantasy Tactics: Shishi Sensou (Square Enix), 3. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom), 4. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 2 (Bandai), 5. Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition (Square Enix). UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (EA Sports), 5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Disney). An extremely positive critical reception and strong buzz from a number of sources have driven the just-released niche title Crush into the top five PSP sellers for the week in the United States. Little else has changed otherwise in the U.S. and the UK, though Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition and Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 2 are shaking things up in Japan.