The unlikely duo set a new weekly sales record for a Wii game.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games screenshot

With only 8,000 units separating the top spot and fifth place it's one of the closest sales weeks in recent memory. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is up 39%, largely down to retailer bundles with the hard to obtain Wii console, and is easily the best selling Wii game over a seven-day period ever. The No.1 spot is the first for Sonic since 2005 and the first for Mario since 2002.

Only 330 units behind at No.2 is EA's Need for Speed: ProStreet, followed by Call of Duty 4 at No.3 (Xbox 360 version is up by 45%), The Simpsons Game at No.4 and FIFA 08 at No.5 (sales up by 18%).

Wii retailer bundles helped much more than Mario & Sonic, with Mario Party 8 up to No.10 from No.27, making it two Mario titles in the Top 10 - Super Mario Galaxy could only claim No.13. Bundling, along with hype over the movie, helped SEGA's The Golden Compass climb to No.16 with a 220% increase in sales.

Wii bundling continues to drive sales further down the chart: Ubisoft's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 enters the Top 40 for the first time at No.24 and The Sims 2: Pets re-enters at No.32. The Wii Zapper bundled Link's Crossbow Training is new at No.27, Sony's Uncharted manages only No.28 and Pokemon Revolution scrapes into the Top 40 at No.40.

With new releases almost dried up until next year, expect retailer promotions to have a larger effect on the chart next week than blockbuster game releases. Orange Box finally arrives in stores for PlayStation 3, while PSP gamers are in for a treat with the release of Beowulf, The Golden Compass and Wipeout Pulse.

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2001 ELSPA Ltd
Entertainment Software (All Prices) Week 49, 2007

1: MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
2: NEED FOR SPEED: PROSTREET
3: CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
4: THE SIMPSONS GAME
5: FIFA 08
6: DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING
7: ASSASSIN'S CREED
8: PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008
9: WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008
10: MARIO PARTY 8
11: MORE BRAIN TRAINING FROM DR KAWASHIMA
12: GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK
13: SUPER MARIO GALAXY
14: HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: SING IT!
15: COOKING MAMA
16: THE GOLDEN COMPASS
17: KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN
18: THE SIMS 2: CASTAWAY
19: BIG BRAIN ACADEMY: WII DEGREE
20: SIGHT TRAINING