NPD: Americans Going Mad for Madden

Around 2 million copies sold right off the bat. Meanwhile, the Wii and Xbox 360 pull further away from PS3. Full charts inside.

For a while, 2K's horror-shooter BioShock was the game you just couldn't escape. There was articles everywhere about it, with people gushing over its intricate story and interesting gameplay. Amid the din, though, Americans, were out spending their money on EA's latest Madden game.

According to the latest sales figures from research firm NPD Group, courtesy of Wired, Madden NFL 08 for the Xbox 360 was the best selling game in August in the US. And it wasn't just the Xbox 360 version that did well.

Scan through the Top 20 list below and you'll see a sea of Madden. The game took up six positions on the chart, selling around two million copies. Even the version for the first Xbox managed to make the Top 20, beating out the cut-down version of the game on the Wii.

BioShock did well too. Spurred on by good word of mouth and glowing reviews, the game sold around half a million copies, putting in at No. 3.

There's a glut of Wii games on the chart, as usual, a pack again lead by Wii Play, which comes with an extra Wii remote. Samus's latest adventure, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, was the best-selling of the new bunch of Wii games.

In hardware, Nintendo is still king, with its dynamic duo of Wii and DS continuing their impressive run. The PlayStation 3 is started to sag somewhat, being outsold 2-to-1 by the Xbox 360.

Below are the latest software and hardware rankings for the US:

Software

1. Madden NFL 08 (360) - 896,600
2. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 643,600
3. BioShock (360) - 490,600
4. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 336,200
5. Wii Play with remote (Wii) - 256,800
6. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) - 218,100
7. Mario Strikers: Charged (Wii) - 147,400
8. Guitar Hero II with guitar (PS2) - 145,400
9. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 138,300
10. Guitar Hero Encore: Rock The '80s (PS2) - 127,100
11. Madden NFL 08 (Xbox)
12. Madden NFL 08 (Wii)
13. Brain Age 2: More Brain Training In Minutes A Day (DS)
14. Two Worlds (360)
15. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
16. High School Musical: Makin' The Cut (DS)
17. Guitar Hero II with guitar (360)
18. Madden NFL 08 (PSP)
19. Pokémon Pearl (DS)
20. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (360)

Hardware

1. Wii - 403,600
2. DS - 383,300
3. Xbox 360 - 276,700
4. PlayStation 2 - 202,000
5. PSP - 151,200
6. PlayStation 3 - 130,600

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo