UK CHARTS: Moshi Monsters beats MW3… on the DS

Trying to better Call of Duty at its own game is a pointless task, right? Trying to chart ahead of the new Call of Duty in its debut week is absurd.

Or maybe not.

For although Modern Warfare 3 may have re-written the UK record books, a quick look at the DS charts reveals a very different story.

There’s a new UK No.1 DS game this week, but it’s not Activision’s shooter. It’s Mind Candy’s debut Moshi Monsters console title, Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo.

In fact, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 could manage just 32nd in the DS charts in its first week. That puts it well behind the likes of Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension (seventh), Monster High: Goul Spirit (10th), Style Boutique (14th), 1001 Touch Games (17th) and May Mysteries: Secrets of Dragonville (20th).

In the Wii charts Modern Warfare 3 fared a little better, debuting in ninth. Just behind Namco Bandai’s Go Vacation.

Has there ever been a clearer illustration of the differing target markets of the Nintendo demographic and the broadening spectrum of the UK games industry?