Top games sales in January

Wired's gaming blog Games | Life posted January 2009's Top 10 Game Sales By Platform. Let's see how the music titles stack up:

Guitar Hero World Tour on the Wii was the 7th best-seller overall, and #4 in the Wii top ten. The Xbox 360 version of GHWT was 18th overall, just behind the 360 version of Rock Band 2 at #17.

In the Xbox 360 top ten, RB2 comes in 7th ahead of GHWT at #8. On the PlayStation 3, GHWT is 5th and RB2 is 10th.

More interestingly, on the PlayStation 2 -- lest we forget, far and away the best-selling gaming console evah -- music games absolutely dominate.

1. PS2 GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2. PS2 MADDEN NFL 09 ELECTRONIC ARTS
3. PS2 GUITAR HERO AEROSMITH* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
4. PS2 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
5. PS2 KINGDOM HEARTS RE: CHAIN OF MEMORIES SQUARE ENIX INC
6. PS2 WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2009 THQ
7. PS2 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
8. PS2 ROCK BAND 2 MTV GAMES/ELECTRONIC ARTS
9. PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
10. PS2 ROCK BAND* MTV GAMES/ELECTRONIC ARTS

Not only do rhythm games take four out of the ten spots, but at least four other titles (Madden, WWE Smackdown, NBA2K9 and GTA:SA) are all known for soundtracks with strong exposure effects for featured artists. It's expected that the next-gen consoles will get most of the spotlight, but the PS2 has by far the higher user base -- 140m PS2s sold worldwide compared to 44m Wiis and 28m Xbox 360s, sayeth Wikipedia -- and continues to sell well. The PS2 chart is a stronger indication of music games' overall popularity than the other top tens.

Chopin up the classics

Here's a new concept: an RPG based on the life of classical composer Frédéric Chopin and featuring his music. Eternal Sonata, released by Bandai-Namco and available for PS and Xbox systems, is described below by a reviewer from the Minneapolis Music Examiner. (Hey, how about an RPG where you get to play Prince, rather than just a prince?).

In the game, two different worlds exist. The first is that in which the adventure takes place, and the other being our own world, over the night of the 16th-17th of October, 1849 (the night that Chopin passed away). Though it is commonly accepted that Chopin died of tuberculosis, the game describes him as having a troubled dream (in which he abides in the fantasy realm) that he eventually decides is his true reality, and so leaves his body in the real world behind.

Music in the form of original compositions and some of Chopin’s piano pieces performed by Stanislav Bunin permeate the game. You can collect score pieces and perform them with other characters in the game, as well as finding and unlocking some of Chopin’s greatest musical compositions. There are also cut scenes between chapters in the game that flash to images of early 19th century France and Chopin’s life. At times, these feel almost like history lessons in addition to providing more depth to the story. The cut scenes are surprisingly informative, supplying a good amount of information about Chopin’s patriotism, his life in France, compositions, romance, and illness.