Super Mario Galaxy has already had the critics in a froth of over-exuberance and is certainly one of the highlights of 2007. If not the closest thing to gaming perfection seen this year, or maybe even ever…
If it sounds like we’ve been at the double espressos again, we’re only stating our own earnest excitement at next week’s release, buoyed up by the fact that the game has just gone down an absolute flipping storm in Japan.
The latest Media Create figures show Mario Galaxy selling over 250,000 copies in its first week – that’s more than three times as many as the number two title on the charts. But that’s not the only shock to report:
1. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 251,000
2. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (Xbox 360) - 77,000
3. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS) - 51,000
4. Super Robot Wars Scramble Commander The 2nd (PS2) - 21,000
5. DS Bungaku Zenshuu (DS) - 18,000
6. DS Nishimura Kyotaro Suspense Shin Tantei Series: (DS) - 18,000
7. Wii Sports (Wii) - 16,000
8. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS) - 15,000
9. World Soccer Winning Eleven DS Goal x Goal! (DS) - 15,000
10. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (DS) - 14,000
Yep, the second biggest selling game in Japan at the moment is Ace Combat 6 – gasp, an Xbox 360 game! It’s the only one, though, and it is part of a series that has done very well on other consoles. Otherwise the rest of the chart is dominated by DS, which is an odd state of affairs considering the many other next-gen riches out there. Oh hang on, they’re all on 360 aren’t they…
Anyway, putting things into a bit of context for a moment, Mario Galaxy’s performance may be impressive but it still has a long way to go to beat the cumulative sales of other titles in the top ten – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon has done over half a million so far and Flash Focus, Nintendo’s quirky sight-training game, has managed 676,000. However they’re all dwarfed by Wii Sports, which currently stands at a staggering 2,182,000.
Will Super Mario Galaxy have the stuff to attain such lofty heights? Guess we’ll see over the following months. Meantime roll on next Friday!
