Hardware-Fueled Jump for Nintendo Stars

Nintendo games benefit from DS and Wii stock boost.

Around the world, athletes are preparing to come together at this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, but one plumber and his spiky friend have got a head-start on the competition.

Sega's mascot mash-up Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was the best selling game in the UK last week, easily fending off Activision shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Nintendo is lapping up the rewards as stock starts to trickle back into stores after a record-breaking Christmas period. Research firm Chart Track says that 85 per cent of all sales of games in the Top 10 last week came from titles only available on the Wii or the DS.

Four of the top five individual format games this week are exclusive to Nintendo systems, including Super Mario Galaxy, which has consistently placed in the Top 10.

Expect a shake up on the charts this weekend, though, as EA roars into 2008 with the first big game of the year, Burnout Paradise, which is released across Europe on Friday.

Below are the Top 20 games across all formats for the week ending 19 January, as determined by Chart Track:

1. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega)
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
3. The Simpsons Game (EA)
4. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo)
5. More Brain Training From Dr Kawashima (Nintendo)
6. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
7. FIFA 08 (EA)
8. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo)
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision)
10. Wii Play with remote (Nintendo)
11. Need for Speed: ProStreet (EA)
12. Cooking Mama (505)
13. New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo)
14. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)
15. WWE SmackDown vs Raw 2008 (THQ)
16. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
17. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Nintendo)
18. The Golden Compass (Sega)
19. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (EA)
20. Ghost Squad (Sega)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo