Just as suspected, the two big M rated titles released last month for the DS and Wii didn’t exactly fly off shelves. GTA: Chinatown Wars has managed 88,704 since its launch, nudging out Mad World at 66,000 units.

While this isn’t encouraging for third party companies looking to develop mature titles on Nintendo hardware, I don’t think it is as bad as it looks. Both companies are pleased in their own way, and the future may just hold a few surprises with these two. Click over for more.

I have a feeling that Chinatown Wars will continue to sell well for quite some time, especially as players see the game in action and realize how much fun it is (seriously, its in my DS right now, and am enjoying it more than the console iterations). The PSP GTA had a slow start as well, and with a larger user base and better game (in my opinion) this one could be making a dent for quite some time. The next 4 months’ sales will be much more telling.

Mad World, however, may need some help. I’m just not sure there is enough exposure for games like this. Unless a rockin’ ad campaign sweeps down from above, sales could trickle down further. That being said, it was released March 10, leaving it just a few weeks to sit on store shelves. Sega has called the number “very encouraging.” I guess as long as they are happy, gamers are happy, and the critics are happy, there isn’t much left right? I’ll be watching these two closely.

Gamasutra and Destructoid

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  Half of all M-rated DS sales accredited to Chinatown Wars

In a recent interview, vice president of marketing for Sega of America Sean Ratcliffe commented briefly on these two M-rated games recently released on the Wii. I’ve been very curious to see how the critically praised Mad World would hold up at retail, and it looks like it may not have the deadly mature-title-underperformance-on-the-Wii syndrome afterall. Speaking about both Ratcliffe said:

House of the Dead has done very well and has absolutely met our expectations. The first set of data for Mad World is very encouraging, as well… If it resonates with the audience, yes, we absolutely want to make that into a franchise. I think it’s unique, and there are many aspects of that game which are sort of pushing boundaries. And it’s just great fun.

Very good news indeed, especially after Overkill was reported as selling 45,000 units in February. If that’s what Sega was hoping for, more power to ‘em, but I’m still going to hope Mad World lands a little higher up the scale. I’m curious, how many of you picked up either of these titles?

Venture Beat

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Yes, Please! If the other footage didn’t justify the game being titled Mad World, this one certainly does. What do you get with a solid dose of gameplay, some sweet music, a touch of montage, and a pinch of slow motion? A hype train. All aboard.

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