Never doubt the power of the celebrity. Having failed so far to replicate the chart success of the likes of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training and Professor Layton, Nintendo’s critically loved rhythm action title Rhythm Paradise made a spectacular return to the ELSPA GfK-ChartTrack All Formats Top 40 this week thanks to a helping hand from Beyonce Knowles.
Rhythm Paradise debuted in the UK listings in tenth position in the week ending May 9th this year. It slipped two places the following week, nabbed 20th spot on its third week and then vanished from the All Formats completely the following week, never to return.
That is until this morning, where the latest charts show that it raced back up the table to claim 21st place thanks to a massive 96 per cent sales increase. So why the sudden retail rush? That’ll be thanks to Nintendo’s re-running of its TV ad featuring curvy R&B diva Beyonce Knowles.

Nintendo has pioneered the use of mainstream celebrities in its modern games advertising, employing the services of Nicole Kidman (Brain Training), Patrick Stuart (Brain Training), Jamie Redknapp (Mario Kart), Ian Wright (Mario Strikers) and Joe Calzaghe (Punch Out) amongst others.
Earlier this year EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich estimated that Nintendo had spent $6m on its Rhythm Paradise campaign – a number that’s likely more than the amount it cost to develop the game itself.

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