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UK sales charts, April 23-29: Football crazy
With World Cup season kicking off, the UK charts have gone sports mad, with three football titles in the top ten. EA's ll-new FIFA World Cup rockets in at number one, knocking Tomb Raider from its three-week reign. Another new entry in the top ten is NCsoft's Guild Wars: Factions, a sequel-cum-expansion to the popular fee-free MMO. Elsewhere in the charts 24: The Game sneaks in at number 31, with Trauma Center going straight to number 40. 1. FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 2. Tomb Raider: Legend 3. Football Manager 2006 4. Animal Crossing: Wild World 5. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 6. The Godfather 7. Guild Wars: Factions 8. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 9. FIFA Street 2 10. Buzz! The Big Quiz
iWork 06 "v2" updates
Updates for Keynote 3 and Pages 2 (iWork 06 versions) are available from Software Update. Oddly, they aren't point versions - they're "v2" of the updates Apple released just last week, and they're pretty large. Also, they both have the same description as last week's updates.Keynote: "This update to Keynote 3.0 addresses issues with three-dimensional charts and textures. It also addresses a number of other minor issues. This update should be installed on all computers that share your Keynote 3.0 files, so that textures display properly."Pages: "Pages 2.0.1 addresses issues with charts and image adjust. It also addresses a number of other minor issues."They're both available from Software Update. I'd offer links to Apple's downloads pages, but as of this writing they don't appear to be posted on Apple's site.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Japanese sales charts, April 17-23: Hello, Mother
Several new releases are sitting pretty in the Japanese charts this week, with newcomers holding the top three spots. Mother 3, described by Famitsu as the "Most Wanted" game in Japan back in March, unsurprisingly rocketed to the top with over 200,000 sales; a spinoff from the popular Dragon Quest VIII is in at number two, after selling 127,500 copies.The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 23:1. Mother 3 [GBA]2. Dragon Quest: Shounen Yangus no Fushigi na Daibouken [PS2] 3. Final Fantasy XI: Aht Urhgan no Hihou [PS2]4. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]5. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai [PSP]6. Okami [PS2]7. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]8. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]9. DS English Training [DS]10. Pokémon Ranger [DS] The corresponding hardware sales (cumulative sales for 2006 in brackets):
UK sales charts, April 16-22: Tomb Raider still on top
The sales figures are in, with last week's UK sales looking similar to the one before. Tomb Raider Legend is still number one, and Ice Age 2 is enjoying popularity both at the box office and in the games charts, though with 28,000 fewer sales. King Kong has dropped out of the top ten, with The Sims 2: Family Fun Pack jumping in to replace it, and the continued dominance of Crazy Frog Racer (29) over Guitar Hero (36) is depressing us.The ten bestselling games in the UK for the week ending April 22:1. Tomb Raider Legend2. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown3. Animal Crossing: Wild World4. Fifa Street 25. The Godfather6. The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff7. Football Manager 20068. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter9. Buzz! The Big Quiz10. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Japanese sales charts, April 9-16: Brains, brains, brains
The sales figures are in for Japan, ranking games of all formats for the week ending April 16. It's a very different picture to charts elsewhere, with brain-training games dominating the top spots (as they have done for weeks), two baseball games at 9 and 10, and the PS2 and DS running rampant. In fact, for anyone out there hoping, there are no Xbox or Xbox 360 titles in the top 50 at all.The ten bestselling games in Japan for the week ending April 16:1. Brain Age 2 (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS) [DS]2. Brain Age: Train your Brain in Minutes a Day (Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training) [DS]3. Animal Crossing: Wild World [DS]4. Legend of Starfy 4 [DS]5. Guilty Gear XX Slash [PS2]6. DS English Training [DS]7. Pokémon Ranger [DS]8. Final Fantasy XII [PS2]9. Pro Yakyu Netsu Star 2006 [PS2]10. Pro Yakyu Spirit 3 [PS2]
UK sales charts, April 9-15: Croft unchallenged
The UK sales charts for last week are in, with Tomb Raider: Legend remaining calmly at the top. Movie tie-in Ice Age 2 has been boosted up to number two, but anyone avidly following the chart battle between Guitar Hero and Crazy Frog Racer will be disappointed to know that Guitar Hero has fallen to 35th while the Crazy Frog is ding-ding-dinging along at number 28, thanks to its budget price and better placement on the shelves. The ten bestselling games in the UK for the week ending April 15: 1. Tomb Raider Legend 2. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 3. Fifa Street 2 4. The Godfather 5. Football Manager 2006 6. Animal Crossing: Wild World 7. Buzz! The Big Quiz 8. King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie 9. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 10. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
MMO Account Statistics
Though this site isn't specific to World of Warcraft, MMOGCHART.COM provides some interesting information on the subscriber levels of various MMO's currently on the market as well as the number of people actively playing MMO's. The site has recently gotten its first update of the year, with promises of more updates to come. It doesn't tell us more than we already know - that World of Warcraft is immensely popular - but it does help to put it in perspective. With the next two MMO's below WoW catering to more of the Asian market (NCSoft's Lineage and Lineage 2), it looks like North American competition in the MMO market is pretty scarce.
Japanese hardware sales: Lite still on top
A mysterious envelope arrived at my door this morning. It was mysterious in the sense that, unlike all my other mail, a mechanical ticking sound couldn't be heard coming from its manilla innards. I carefully opened it, expecting a mysterious white powder to scatter onto my hands, but instead, I was rewarded with a neatly printed copy of the Japanese hardware sales charts for the week ranging from 3 April to 9 April. The ranking, according to number of units sold, is a follows: DS Lite: 154,731 Phat DS: 49,825 PSP: 30,565 PS2: 28,896 GBA SP: 5,211 Game Boy Micro: 3,103 Xbox 360: 1,940 Gamecube: 1,224 GBA: 110 Xbox: 46 The Lite continues to be unstoppable, stomping on all those other devices that might stand in its way. At this point, the only chance the other platforms have at toppling Nintendo's beautiful behemoth is if they combine into a giant, all-purpose machine, complete with two touch screens, cutting-edge 3D graphics, nine analogue sticks, a microphone and interchangeable faceplates. It would also have to play Nintendogs.Previous Japanese hardware charts: The Lite fantastic (27 March - 2 April) Lite on its feet (20 March - 26 March) Lite get! (13 March - 19 March)
UK sales charts, April 3-8: Lara on top
Tomb Raider: Legend marks its UK release by soaring straight to the top of the charts; the other much-touted arrival on European shores, Guitar Hero, has a slightly less impressive debut at 28, just one place ahead of Crazy Frog Racer. The video game adaptation of Narnia is also a new member of the top ten, going straight in at number nine.The ten bestselling games in the UK for the week ending April 8:1. Tomb Raider: Legend2. The Godfather3. Fifa Street 24. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown5. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter6. Animal Crossing: Wild World7. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion8. Buzz! The Big Quiz9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe10. Championship Manager 2006
Innovation falls flat in UK charts
Despite a pleasant atmosphere of European expectation at the start of February, we're halfway through and the charts look as mundane as ever. The Guardian Gamesblog's Greg took a look at this week's UK charts--notable absentees include Psychonauts and We ♥ Katamari. Ouch.Greg, and blog commenters, ponder the cause of these games' failures--from crazy cartoony packaging to gamers' inability to actually find the titles in shops. It seems most likely that the European release delay is responsible, though; after receiving rave reviews and building up buzz months ago, these titles are all-but-forgotten now.
iTunes Music Store global charts available
Are you curious about the top album on iTunes in Japan? The most popular single in the UK? Switzerland? Then check out this page on Apple's site, which tracks the top tunes in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Japan and fifteen other countries. It could be a fun way to discover some new music.[Via The Digital Music Weblog]
