UK Charts: Mario Kart Still On Pole As World At War Hits 1 Million

Nintendo’s Mario Kart Wii has held onto the number one spot for a second consecutive week, the eight month old game sending a blue shell straight into the path of the season’s more recent titles. Helped by renewed TV adverting Mario Kart Wii saw sales increase by 15 percent, as Brain Training (aka Brain Age) moved up one place to number two. With supply still a lingering problem, Wii Fit saw its sales fluctuate once again, up four places to number four with a 43 percent increase in sales. Wii Play also increased by 5 percent, despite falling one place to number five. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends on Nintendo DS jumped 10 places to number 12, as it also enjoyed a renewed advertising campaign. Activision has little to be discouraged about though, with Call of Duty: World at Warat number one in the combined sales charts, despite a fall in sales of 15 percent. The game has now sold over 1 million units in the UK alone, across all formats. It also managed the feat in just four weeks – compared to eight weeks for Call of Duty 4. Although there are again no new entries in the top 10 there were a number of re-entries for Xbox 360 titles benefiting from new unofficial retailer promotions. Both Bethesda’s Fallout 3 (at number eight) and Microsoft’s Fable II (at number nine) are now being sold at half price at many stores, causing a jump in sales of 60 percent and 81 percent, respectively. The highest new entry of the week is Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City (aka Animal Crossing: City Folk) for the Wii at number 13. Although a relatively slow start for one of the season’s biggest releases Nintendo titles generally see a sharp spike in sales in their second week. Other Xbox 360 titles re-entering the charts this week include Ubisoft’s Far Cry 2 at number 29, while Lips appears for the first time in the top 40 since its launch three weeks ago. Fellow karaoke game Singstar Abba, on PlayStation 2, also makes its first appearance in the charts, at number 40. Additional re-entries this week include Nintendo’s Cooking Guide (aka Personal Trainer: Cooking) on Nintendo DS at number 31, Ubisoft’s Imagine: Teacher on DS at number 35, the same company’s Shaun White Snowboarding on Wii at number 36 and the PlayStation 3 version of Fallout 3 at number 38. In the last week of major release before Christmas the final victim of the rush of new titles is Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia. The game appears nowhere in the individual format top 40, but debuts at number 30 in the combined charts. Overall in the top 40 there are 13 titles for the Xbox 360, 10 for the Wii, eight for the Nintendo DS, seven for the PlayStation 3, one each for the PC and PlayStation 2, and none for the PSP.

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