Nintendo Land

The UK charts haven't often brought good cheer for Nintendo in the past year, though the latest results do bring a chink of light, if not a full blown revolution worthy of celebration. We're seeing upward momentum for one surprising game in particular, which suggests that the past seven days saw a modest spike in hardware sales.

To tackle them in order, Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS has climbed three places to 15th in the all-format charts, with both entries - particularly the Wii U version - showing decent legs. Then we have Mario Kart 8, which has risen 13 places up to 26th in all-formats. That's likely down to bundle sales or promotions, but the rise of Nintendo Land can be reliably tied to improved hardware sales, with it appearing in 28th place somewhat out of nowhere; it's been sold at budget prices standalone for over a year, so sales of the software alone are rather unlikely to have prompted this surge. Finally for Wii U we have Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, somewhat defying the odds and holding out in the top 40 by plucking 38th place.

There are only two 3DS games in the top 40, both of which are often counted together away from the quirks of UK chart results - Pokémon Alpha Sapphire claimed 35th place with Pokémon Omega Ruby in 37th.

The story this week is all about those decent Wii U results, though, with Mario Kart 8 and even Nintendo Land rising above Super Smash Bros. for Wii U in the single-format results, suggesting that last week saw a little improvement in the hardware's fortunes. It's certainly not enough to break out the bunting, but it's something.

[source chart-track.co.uk]