Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Wii Fit is selling like gangbusters in Britain, where it accounts for half of all Wii software sold in the last week, and has given Nintendo its first one-two finish in the All Formats Chart since 2003. And guess what? It's more or less the same story throughout the rest of Europe.

The Irish are shedding the Guinness pounds, the Germans are working off those brätwurst, and Sweden ... well, we don't really have a lazy, go-to food stereotype for the Swedes. Anyhow, the point is: they're all loving it, and if Wii Fit doesn't appear in a chart (see: Spain, Denmark), it's probably because a country hasn't got it yet, or the charts have fallen behind.

Mind you, don't expect any of this Nintendo dominance to last: next week's charts are guaranteed to be all about one game (yet we suspect Wii Fit might give you have better legs than GTA IV in the long-term). Lean past the break for this week's European charts.

Featuring charts from across the region, Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of Wii lovers.

While yours truly had trouble tracking down a copy of Mario Kart Wii on the high street (for our review), it appears plenty of others around Europe had no such problem.

Bar Denmark (where it has now dropped to fifth), the title sits at the top of every European chart, and we suspect it might even be influencing the sales of other games. Surely the rise of Mario Kart DS to 8th in Ireland, 8th in France, and 7th in Germany can't all be a mere coincidence? By our reckoning, Mario Kart Wii has ramped up Europe's interest in Mario Kart generally. Fortunately, Mario Kart DS is the bee's knees!

Finally, this week's overachiever award goes to Sega Superstars Tennis -- despite the Wii version's lack of online play, Sega's tennis/blue skies extravaganza climbed to fourth in the UK. Head beyond the break for more European chartage, and please accept our humble apologies for the lack of a Spanish top ten -- that should be back next week.

Midway has announced that Blitz: The League 2, sequel to their totally extreme football game, will release simultaneously on all three home consoles this fall (we're guessing it'll be right in time to get lost among all the holiday releases). What about the first game, which was supposed to be a Wii launch title? Saaaaaaaacked. Midway also announced a sequel to Game Party. They must have made back the twenty bucks they spent developing the first one.

No details have been revealed about either game -- Midway is planning to release more information about their entire lineup at E3. We at least know what to expect from Game Party 2: an average minigame collection that will generate inexplicably high sales.

Featuring charts from across the region, Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of Wii lovers.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue dominates Europe this week, and only plucky little Sweden (where the game lies second) prevented it from being top dog in every single European chart.

In many cases, however, it's being hotly pursued by Wii software. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is still holding its own (rising to 3rd in the UK, 4th in Ireland, and keeping fifth place in Spain), Mario & Sonic continues to grip to the higher positions like a particularly stubborn limpet, Germany is the usual Nintendo lovefest, and Sweden finally has a Wii game that isn't Guitar Hero III in its top ten. It's a good one, as well.

As far as new games go, there's just the one, with Dancing Stage Hottest Party strutting its stuff and grabbing its crotch at 7th in the Dutch charts. Finally, Game Party and Carnival: Funfair Games continue to plummet down the UK charts. Muahahaha.

Next week: some racing game.

Featuring charts from across the region, Another Week in Europe documents the buying habits and quirky tastes of a whole continent of Wii lovers.

UK consumers have looked high. They've looked low. And they've reached their verdict: there isn't a better pair of Wii games than Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and ... Game Party. As a polished, slick, licensed product, we can totally understand (and almost support) Mario & Sonic doing well (it came second to Army of Two), but Game Party? Could this be the same Game Party that averages a whopping 23% on GameRankings, and which achieved a heady top score of 32% from IGN? It is? Way to go, Britain!

Beyond the top ten, Carnival: Funfair Games makes it to 16th place (and there's more where that came from), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree sit in 31st and 37th spot respectively, and we weep into our keyboards for the future of the country.

Meanwhile, consumers in mainland Europe are also all over the plumber and the hedgehog, with the Wii version of Mario & Sonic registering top ten positions in the Netherlands and Spain, and sharing top spot in Ireland with the DS edition. Wii Play even makes an appearance in the Spanish and German charts, as it rolls cheerfully towards world domination.

Hit the break for a sprinkling of European charts!