US: New Super Mario tops Mass Effect 2

EA’s sustained marketing campaign for Mass Effect 2 pushed the long-awaited title sell 572,000 units for Xbox during January – an impressive result that couldn’t quite manage to topple Nintendo’s latest Wii mega-seller.

The Mass Effect 2 sales hoard come despite the BioWare title being released in the final four days of January in the US – a situation which meant that outselling chart-topper New Super Mario Bros Wii was fairly unlikely.

But the final figures, published by NPD, were closer than expected. Mass Effect sold 572,000 copies in January, while New Super Mario Bros Wii sold 656,000 units.

New Super Mario Bros Wii has proved itself on the marketplace for Nintendo – becoming a vital new addition to Nintendo’s fleet of ‘evergreen sellers’. The title was released in November last year, and EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich believes that the game will eventually outsell Modern Warfare 2.

Wii Fit Plus is of course Nintendo’s other long-term prospect. In Jan it came third, selling around 555,700 units.

Activision will be missing the headlines with Modern Warfare 2, despite the game shifting over half a million copies in January on both the 360 and PS3.

Last month, the Infinity Ward shooter sold 326,700 Xbox 360 copies and 259,000 PS3 editions, falling to fourth and seventh in NPD’s single-format charts.

Meanwhile, EA’s Army of Two: The 40th Day sold 246,500 units for the Xbox 360 during its debut month.

Full chart can be found below:

1. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii) – 656.7K
2. Mass Effect 2 (360) – 572.1K
3. Wii Fit w/Balance Board (Wii) – 555.7K
4. Modern Warfare 2 (360) – 326.7K
5. Mario Kart w/Wheel (Wii) – 310.9K
6. Sports Resort w/WMP (wii) – 297.6K
7. Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) – 259.0K
8. Army of Two: The 40th Day (360) – 246.5K
9. Just Dance (Wii) – 191.9K
10. Darksiders (360) – 171.2k