Mario Stops Short of Grand Theft

Gamers in the UK appear to be taking to Nintendo's DS with gusto.

The only DS game to have a better opening than New Super Mario Bros was the plumber's first game on the system, Super Mario 64 DS, and still his new game failed to topple Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories from the top of the weekly UK sales chart.

But take another look at the Top 10 (below) and count the DS-exclusive games. The UK may be far from the near-blanket DS domination seen in Japan, but four Top 10 games available only on the DS is great news for Nintendo.

Even better, the games that are holding strong are the new types of experiences the company is hoping will attract new players.

Football games are still popular on the charts, but there are signs that people have had their fill. Most of the football games on the chart are down this week, and with England once again falling to Portugal, an abrupt cure for the fever is looking likely.

Summer is, of course, beating us into submission, and that means game releases have slowed. Xbox 360 gamers were able to feed their new game lust by picking up Over G Fighters, and they did. The game narrowly missed making it into the Top 10 this week.

Below are the top 10 games in the UK for the week ending 1 July, as determined by Chart Track:

1. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar)
2. New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo)
3. FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 (EA)
4. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo)
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (Konami)
6. Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos)
7. Over the Hedge (Activision)
8. Hitman: Blood Money (Eidos)
9. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends (Nintendo)
10. Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games