There is a new game at the top of this week's Wii charts...
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9th Dec, 2008 Just what in the hell is going on with Mario and Peach? It was so simple back in the old NES days of Super Mario Bros. She got herself kidnapped, he went after her with the help of Luigi, and all ended happily ever after. Or so we thought. The thing is that it didn't really. It's become ever more apparent that since that first rescue things have only ever got messier, dirtier and more manipulative in their relationship. Far from the innocent damsel and hero set-up that appeared ... » Read More

Nintendo platform titles dominate the end of year German and Spanish charts.

Wii and DS games take ten out of 20 places across the two top tens for the week ended December 30, while only one PS3 game charts and Xbox 360 titles fail to get a look in.

Standout performers making the top tens in both Germany and Spain include Super Mario Galaxy, Brain Training titles, SingStar titles, Phantom Hourglass and FIFA 08.

Germany

01. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
02. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
03. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima (DS)
04. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
05. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
06. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
07. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS2)
08. SingStar Apres Ski (PS2)
09. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
10. FIFA 08 (PS2)

Spain

01. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima (DS)
02. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
03. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
04. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
05. WWE Smackdown! Vs RAW 2008 (PS2)
06. Assassin's Creed (PS3)
07. SingStar Latino (PS2)
08. Imagine: Being Mum (DS)
09. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
10. FIFA 08 (PS2)
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1UP Staff, 12/23/2007:

"We really should hate attending the Jump Festa videogame and comic show. But the promise of Square Enix titles making their playable debut is way too much to pass up."

"At this year's event, open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, Square Enix was once again the main attraction for the videogame crowd. With the promise of playable debuts for the Final Fantasy fighting game for PSP, Final Fantasy: Dissidia, the new DS Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and the new mobile Final Fantasy IV spinoff, Final Fantasy IV: The After."

"This year's showcase had Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XIII sandwiching short clips of the Parasite Eve mobile sequel and the Blu-ray version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children."

In addition, Sega, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Nintendo, and Microsoft all have booths at the Jump Festa this year. 1UP's report briefly covers all of them.
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The Simpsons Game for PlayStation 2 has finally managed to take out the top spot in the Australian game charts -- seven weeks after its initial release -- according to data trackers GfK Australia. The DS version of the game also made it into the top 10, taking out the seventh spot.

Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii -- last week's number one -- fell down to number two during the week of December 10-December 16. Drawn to Life for the Nintendo DS has reappeared in the overall charts at number three after a brief hiatus. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 climbed up from the previous week to number five, while Activision's other chart topper -- Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock -- is nowhere to be seen. Halo 3 for the 360 has reappeared at number nine, while Nintendo's Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree bundle ended the week at number 10.
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Nintendo's DS Brain Training games have topped the charts in both Spain and Germany.

Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training is at number one in Spain, with sequel More Brain Training taking the coveted spot in Germany.

Neither the Spanish or German top ten has any PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 games, with Wii, PlayStation 2 and DS the dominant formats.

The top ten for each country follows:

Spain, week ended December 9

1. More Brain Training (DS)

2. WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2008 (PS2)

3. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)

4. Imagina Ser Mama (DS)

5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS)

6. Imagina Ser Disenadora De Moda (DS)

7. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

8. Mario Party (DS)

9. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)

10. WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2008 (PSP)

Germany, week ended December 2

1. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)

2. More Brain Training (DS)

3. High School Musical - Sing It (PS2)

4. Need for Speed Pro Street (PS2)

5. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

6. FIFA 08 (PS2)

7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)

8. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)

9. Wii Play (Wii)

10. Need for Speed Pro Street (PC)
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Can Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games fight off the competition for the top spot...
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This week's top rental charts from U.S. game rental company GameFly, representing the most requested games for the week ending December 3rd, highlight both to-be-released and already released games in a unique demand-specific chart.

This week's top five all-platform requests show little movement once again, after last week saw the list barely ruffled. Assassin's Creed still takes the top spot for a third week with Mass Effect in second for its second week in a row.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which spent the last two weeks at number four, slips a bit to the fourth spot to make room for Kane and Lynch: Dead Men to move up one spot into the fourth spot, but that's the only movement -- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune stays at number five, where it entered last week.
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Kotaku's Brian Crecente has a leaked copy of the National Institute on Media and the Family's annual Media Wise Video Game Report Card, set to be officially released tomorrow. This year's report card is broken into five parts:

¿ The MediaWise Video Game Report Card
¿ The Buying Guide
¿ The ESRB Rating System and Ratings Education Efforts
¿ The Retailer Ratings Education and Enforcement Surveys
¿ Annual MediaWise-Harris Interactive Poll of Kids and Parents

Kotaku gives a quick summary for each part.
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Sega sent out an email today, confirming the release dates for a number of their upcoming games. Among others, relase dates for such highly anticipated games like The Club (Feb 8th '08), Condemned 2 (Feb '08) and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nov 23rd '07) were confirmed.
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Yes The Two Most famous video game icons and there crew go head-head in the greatest Olympic Video Game Ever! Mario the plumber, Nintendos long time mascot and his crew...Luigi, Bowser, Ect. Face up Against Sonic the Hedgehog, Segas Mascot, and his crew Knuckles and Tails..Face off in over 20 real Olympic Games. Taking place in the 2008 Olympics in Bejing, Long time rivals Sonic and Mario have a final standoff in this fun filled game for the Nintendo Wii.

More Information After The Jump
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NeoGAF member egmfan89 has posted score from latest EGM magazine:

"Mario and sonic olympics: 6,7,6
Geometry wars galaxies: 8.5,7, 8.5
Fire Emblem: 9,9, 8.5
Need For speed pro street: 8.5, 7.5, 7
Tony hawk: 5.5, 6.5, 7.5
Manhunt 2: 4, 5, 7
CoD 4: 9.5, 8.5, 9.5
Blacksite Area 51: 6, 5, 6
Kane and Lynch: 7.5, 7, 7
Uncharted: 3 8.5s"
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SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii home video game system has shipped to stores across North America. This historic title, one of the most highly anticipated games of all time, marks the first time Sonic and Mario will appear together in any game. Packed with excitement, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games brings together the unique Wii interactive system and challenging Olympic events for the ultimate face-off of gaming legends.
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Publisher says upcoming Mario & Sonic title could become Christmas number one

Sega believes that its marketing campaign for Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games could help it scoop the Christmas number one.

Speaking to MCV, Sega product manager Phil Lamb said: "This will be a leading title at Christmas. We have fully set our sights on it being the number one Wii title but are confident that this title has the potential to also achieve the top slot in the All Formats chart too."
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In light of Nintendo's announcement that Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been delayed until 2008, IGN's GamerMetrics analyzed the implications that this delay will have on the holiday sales of other upcoming games available for the Nintendo Wii.

According to GamerMetrics analyst Nick Williams, the resulting findings put Super Mario Galaxy at the top of the most anticipated games list. Rounding out the top three are Capcom's Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.
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"SEGA has announced that Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii has gone gold and will ship to retail in North America on November 6th - two weeks earlier than originally anticipated. The Nintendo DS version will be available during the first part of 2008."
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SEGA confirmed four unique Dream events in their new Mario & Sonic at the Olympics game, Dream Race, Dream Platforming, Dream Table Tennis and Dream Fencing.

Also they have confirmed the fact that Mii's will be playable characters!!
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From MCVUK:

"Sega's Sonic & Mario at the Olympic games has been given a firm release date of November 23rd in Europe."

"The publisher has revealed further details of the playable events in the game, which include fencing, hammer, skeet, shooting, pole vault, gymnastics, triple jump and more ¿ as well as the obligatory 100m, 400m and relays of both events."
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Sept 26, 2007 Weve known for a while that Mario and Sonic at the Olympics would feature such classics as the high jump, the javelin throw, and at least one aquatics event; and just yesterday we got the full scoop on all 16 playable characters. What we didnt know until today was where the Wii fit into this crazy cross-over game, and what Olympic events we could play. Mario and Sonic at the Olympics will feature each of the following events for both single- and multiplayer: Fencing – ... » Read More

Sixteen characters, eight from the world of Mario and eight from Sonic, will participate in 20 authentic games when Mario & Sonic at the Olympics releases on November 20. The IOC-licensed events that take full advantage of the Wii motion control include:

Fencing ¿ Individual epée
Archery
Shooting ¿ Skeet
Gymnastics - Trampoline
Gymnastics - Vault
Field - High Jump
Field - Pole Vault
Field - Long Jump
Field - Triple Jump
Field ¿ Javelin Throw
Field - Hammer Throw
Rowing ¿ Single Sculls
Table Tennis - Singles
Aquatics ¿ 100m Freestyle
Aquatics ¿ 4x100m Freestyle
Track ¿ 110m and 400m Hurdles
Track ¿ 4x100m Relay
Track ¿100m and 400m
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