US console charts: August 28-September 4

When Saints Row was first shown off at the unveiling of the Xbox 360 during an MTV special, its resemblance to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series was more than apparent. As further details and screenshots of the game came to light, the word "resemblance" was replaced with "carbon copy." And now that THQ's gangsta-themed sandbox game is out, critics have even said the game looks like a "Grand Theft Auto rip-off," while reviewing the game positively.

Well, if you're THQ, there's one place you really want Saints Row to mimic Rockstar's best-selling franchise--in the sales charts. That's exactly what the game did on Best Buy's sales charts for the week of August 28 to September 4. The Xbox 360 game took the top slot in its first week in retail, pushing even the almighty Madden NFL franchise down from its usual throne.

Madden wasn't standing idly on the sidelines, though. The pigskin sim held four of the top-10 rungs, down from its dominating seven from the previous week. The Xbox version came in second, followed by the PlayStation 2 (fourth), Xbox 360 (eighth), and PlayStation Portable (10th) editions. Madden's collegiate cousin, NCAA Football 07, showed its longevity, as the PS2 version of the game rushed into sixth.

New Super Mario Bros. recovered from its tackling and double-jumped back into familiar territory in third, up from 10th the previous week. Where there's Mario, there's Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day--the edutainment title held fast in ninth. Another Nintendo icon, Fox McCloud, made his debut on the DS last week and landed in fifth with Star Fox Command.

Rounding out the top-10 list was another debut, From Software's Enchanted Arms for the Xbox 360, which took seventh.