Gamasutra's weekly column, "Saling The World", covers the top five sellers for every available platform in the United States, Japan, and Europe, providing an important update of sales patterns worldwide.

This week's charts, with data taken from December 21st, 2006, include extreme conditions, guitar simulators, and a dash of American McGee. Data for "Saling The World" comes courtesy of the public sales information on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.co.jp, with sales split out for each platform and territory, and pre-orders disregarded.

This results in a true sense of what games are selling worldwide on the real-time updated service, as follows:

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 2. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Sega), 3. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 4. Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Atlus), 5. Red Steel (Ubisoft).

Japan: 1. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 2. Hajimete no Wii (Nintendo), 3. Zelda no Densetsu: Tasogare no Himegimi (Nintendo), 4. Pokémon Battle Revolution (Nintendo), 5. Odoru Made in Wario (Nintendo).

UK: 1. Red Steel (Ubisoft), 2. Rayman Raving Rabbids (Ubisoft), 3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 4. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 5. Wii Play (Nintendo).

Sales for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess slip a little in Europe, with Ubisoft's Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids being the week's biggest sellers. This could be due to Zelda's frequent shortages in supply, however, and next week's results might tell a different story.


Xbox 360
North America: 1. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 2. Gears of War (Microsoft), 3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft), 4. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 5. Tony Hawk's Project 8 (Activision).

Japan: 1. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom), 2. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games), 3. Oneechanbara vorteX (D3 Publisher), 4. Blue Dragon (Microsoft), 5. Chikyuu Boueigun 3 (D3 Publisher).

UK: 1. Gears of War (Microsoft), 2. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft), 4. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft), 5. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts).

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition debuts to strong sales in Japan, with the title displacing former sales leaders Chikyuu Boueigun 3 and Oneechanbara vorteX. Former top seller Blue Dragon also continues to perform well, while in the United States, Call of Duty 3 outsells the popular Gears of War for the first time since its initial release.


PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Resistance: Fall of Man (SCEA), 2. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 3. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games), 4. Call of Duty 3 (Activision), 5. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Activision).

Japan: 1. Armored Core 4 (From Software), 2. Kidou Senshi Gundam: Target in Sight (Bandai), 3. Resistance: Jinrui Botsuraku no Hi (SCEI), 4. Ridge Racer 7 (Namco), 5. MotorStorm (SCEI).

As expected, the highly anticipated Armored Core 4 has little trouble in topping the Japanese PS3 software sales chart in its first week of release. The title should remain at or near the top of the region's list for weeks to come, given that few other upcoming PS3 titles are generating nearly as much interest or as many preorders.


PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 2. Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix), 3. Guitar Hero II (RedOctane), 4. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 5. Bully (Rockstar).

Japan: 1. Seiken Densetsu 4 (Square Enix), 2. Ryu ga Gotoku 2 (Sega), 3. Okami (Capcom), 4. Tennis no Oji-Sama: DokiDoki Survival - Sanroku no Mystic (Konami), 5. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. II Plus (Bandai).

UK: 1. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 2. Guitar Hero II (RedOctane), 3. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games), 4. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (Konami), 5. EyeToy Play 3 (SCEE).

Guitar Hero II has proven itself to be one of the holiday season's most popular PS2 games, with Amazon and many other retailers experiencing short supplies and high demand. Secondary market prices for the guitar controller bundle version currently top $150 at Amazon, with scant few copies available for purchase from affiliated sellers.


PC
North America: 1. The Sims 2: Pets (EA Games), 2. Crazy Machines: The Wacky Contraptions Game (Viva Media), 3. Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft), 4. Medieval II: Total War (Sega), 5. World of Warcraft (Blizzard).

Japan: 1. Ys Origin (Nihon Falcom), 2. Football Manager 2007 (Sega), 3. Civilization IV: Warlords (Cyber Front), 4. Heart no Kuni no Alice ~Wonderful Wonder World~ (QuinRose), 5. Sim City 4 Deluxe (EA Games).

UK: 1. The Sims 2: Pets (EA Games), 2. Medieval II: Total War (Sega), 3. Battlefield 2142 (EA Games), 4. The Sims 2 (EA Games), 5. Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft).

PC software sales in the United States and Europe exhibit little change this week, though Japan sees several new titles introduced to its usually stagnant charts. A newly translated version of the UK-born hit Football Manager 2007 is particularly successful in its first week of release, as is Nihon Falcom's Ys Origin.


Nintendo DS
North America: 1. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 2. Final Fantasy III (Square Enix), 3. Brain Age (Nintendo), 4. Big Brain Academy (Nintendo), 5. Horsez (Ubisoft).

Japan: 1. Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 (Plato), 2. Pocket Monsters Diamond (Nintendo), 3. Heisei Kyouiku Iinkai DS (Namco), 4. Pocket Monsters Pearl (Nintendo), 5. Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren DS (Sega).

UK: 1. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 3. Nintendogs: Chihuahua & Friends (Nintendo), 4. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo), 5. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo).

Japan's top-selling DS title for this week is Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06, an interesting release that utilizes the DS's touch screen to simulate the playing of a guitar. The game is currently sold exclusively through Amazon -- a fact that helps explain its popularity in this week's sales chart -- with a more widespread release slated for February.


PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami), 2. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 3. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 5. Star Wars Battlefront II (LucasArts).

Japan: 1. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami), 2. Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology (Namco), 3. Maplus: Portable Navi (Edia), 4. World Soccer Winning Eleven 10: Ubiquitous Evolution (Konami), 5. Planetarium Curator Ohira Takayuki Kanshuu: Home Star Portable (Sega).

UK: 1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (Rockstar), 2. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 3. Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (Konami), 4. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 5. Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City (EA Games).

After debuting to moderate sales numbers, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops jumps to first place in PSP software sales in the United States this week. The title also takes the top spot in Japan, where it was just recently released. With sales strong enough to top ever tough competition like Madden NFL 07 and Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology, Portable Ops should remain a popular choice among PSP owners in both regions throughout December.


Game Boy Advance
North America: 1. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (Nintendo), 2. Pokémon Emerald Version (Nintendo), 3. Pokémon FireRed Version (Nintendo), 4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Buena Vista), 5. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Final Fantasy VI Advance (Square Enix), 2. Rhythm Tengoku (Nintendo), 3. Pocket Monsters Emerald (Nintendo), 4. Pocket Monsters FireRed (Nintendo), 5. Final Fantasy V Advance (Square Enix)

UK: 1. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 2. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 3. Pokémon Emerald Version (Nintendo), 4. Dogz (Ubisoft), 5. Flushed Away (D3 Publisher).

No surprises here. Sales for GBA software through the holidays remain consistent in all regions, with licensed titles and Pokémon-related games being among the most popular. These results are not expected to change anytime in the near future.


Xbox
North America: 1. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 2. Eragon (Vivendi), 3. Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 4 (Konami), 4. Madden NFL 07 (EA Sports), 5. Thrillville (LucasArts).

Japan: 1. Halo (Microsoft), 2. Fable (Microsoft), 3. Dead or Alive Ultimate (Tecmo), 4. Halo 2 (Microsoft), 5. Sonic Riders (Sega).

UK: 1. FIFA 07 (EA Sports), 2. American McGee's Scrapland (Deep Silver), 3. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts), 4. Need for Speed Carbon (EA Games), 5. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords (LucasArts).

Bargain-conscious Xbox owners in the UK have a newfound interest in American McGee's Scrapland, which has recently been reduced in price to Ł1.97 at Amazon. These same gamers are also contributing to a surge in sales for Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords, which has also been discounted heavily.