UK Charts: Mario Kart Overcomes Resistance

Even amid all the new Christmas releases, the number one selling game in the UK last week was Mario Kart Wii. First released in April, the game has suffered from stock problems all year and was last at number one in August. Along with Wii Fit, the game recently reached sales of more than 1 million in the UK this year. Sales of Mario Kart Wii rose by 17 percent this week, with combined sales of the multiplatform Call of Duty: World at War falling by 30 percent. Still, Activision’s title managed to hold on to the top spot in the combined platform charts for the third week in a row. Most games saw a rise in sales this week, with slow starter Need for Speed: Undercover up 35 percent and Tomb Raider: Underworld increasing by 12 percent. FIFA 09 rose by 12 percent, while Brain Training (aka Brain Age) on Nintendo DS increased by 28 percent – giving the more than two-year-old game its highest chart position so far this year. The only new entry in the top ten was Sony’s Resistance 2 for the PlayStation 3. Although it entered at number six in the individual format charts, the game thus far has sold only around two-thirds that of the original title in the same timeframe. Outside of the top 10, the only new entry was Warner Bros.’s Guinness World Records: The Videogame for Wii at number 27. A trio of older Nintendo titles also re-entered the charts, with the DS version of Disney’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year at number 30, Ubisoft’s Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party on Wii at 34 and EA’s MySims Kingdom at number 40. New high-profile titles missing from the top 40 this week include Sega’s Sonic Unleashed, Activision’s Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Codemasters’ You’re in the Movies for Xbox 360. Overall in the top 40 there 14 titles for the Xbox 360, 10 for the Wii, eight for the Nintendo DS, seven for the PlayStation 3, one for the PC and none for the PSP.

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2008. ELSPA Ltd