US console sales charts: June 18-24

[wraggster]

News from Gamespot

Last week was light on new releases, but one new high-profile game was put to the test. Electronic Arts' NFL Head Coach made its series debut on June 20 and is one of the first big-name sports strategy titles aimed at the American market.

For a football-starved country that devours EA's main pigskin franchise by the millions, sales prospects for NFL Head Coach were uncertain, as it focuses exclusively on coaching and management instead of Madden's on-the-field action. The game didn't quite get the Gatorade shower EA had hoped, but the PlayStation 2 version of the game landed in a respectable third place.

With the launch of the Nintendo DS Lite in the US earlier in the month, the dynamic DS duo of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day and New Super Mario Bros. swapped spots and landed in first and second, respectively. The highly rated Mario Kart DS kept its wheels turning in the top 10, power sliding into ninth, down two spots.

Football in the top 10 wasn't limited to the American variety--a flurry of FIFA soccer titles were also kickin' onto the list. Available now for $29.99, 2006 FIFA World Cup for the Xbox (fourth) and PlayStation 2 (fifth), as well as FIFA 06 for the Xbox (eighth), were helped along by surging interest in "The Beautiful Game."

The rest of the top-10 slots were older, budget-priced Xbox games. Star Wars: Battlefront II led the pack in the sixth slot, followed by Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse at seven and Ninja Gaiden Black at 10.

Noticeably missing from the list were any Xbox 360 games, thanks to a month that has so far seen only one new next-gen release (MotoGP 06 on June 16--Over G Fighters flew into stores today).

[Voltron]

Wow that little DS Lite is kicking ass huh? I didn't care for the original DS. But I want a DS Lite.