Uncharted Stumbles as Mario & Sonic Sprints Ahead

Slow start for Sony's new PS3 game. Meanwhile Mass Effect sinks further still.

Maybe it's because the game is not part of a franchise, or maybe it's because there weren't enough ads, or it could even be that people haven't noticed the glowing reviews. Whatever the reason, Sony's latest PlayStation 3 exclusive, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, has fallen flat in its opening weekend.

Created by Naughty Dog, the studio that created Jak & Daxter and Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted debuted on the latest UK weekly sales chart at No. 28, just behind a new Wii game, Link's Crossbow Training, which introduces Nintendo's new accessory the Wii Zapper.

Will Uncharted find its audience this week, or will it sink, as another high profile game, Mass Effect for the Xbox 360, seems to be doing.

Mass Effect, the long awaited next game from RPG powerhouse BioWare barely missed the Top 10 at its release in late November but the two weeks since haven't gone well, and the game, now at 37, is close to dropping off the chart completely.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is having the opposite response. After a relatively slow start, the pair of mascots are now screaming ahead, moving to the top of the chart. According to research firm Chart Track, the game had the best one-week sales yet of any Wii game.

The Top 20 games across all formats for the week ending 8 December, as determined by Chart Track, are below:

1. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo)
2. Need for Speed: ProStreet (EA)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
4. The Simpsons Game (EA)
5. FIFA 08 (EA)
6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo)
7. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)
9. WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2008 (THQ)
10. Mario Party 8 (Nintendo)
11. More Brain Training From Dr Kawashima (Nintendo)
12. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision)
13. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo)
14. High School Musical: Sing It! (Disney)
15. Cooking Mama (505)
16. The Golden Compass (Sega)
17. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Eidos)
18. The Sims 2: Castaway (EA)
19. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Nintendo)
20. Sight Training (Nintendo)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo