17/Dec/2007

With no major new releases due until next year all the main contenders for the Christmas No1 spot are now turning the bend for the final lap. Sega’s ‘Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games’ is still out in front at the top of the All Formats Chart with one week to go until Christmas as Activision’s ‘Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’ and EA’s ‘FIFA 08’ close in – both up one place to No’s 2 and 3 respectively.

It’s very tight at the top with only 2,500 sales separating the Top 3. The favourite for the Christmas No1 position ‘Need for Speed: ProStreet’ takes a back seat this week, slipping 2 places to No4, followed closely by ‘The Simpsons Game’ at No5. It’s no change at No6 for ‘Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training’, while bundling helps pump up THQ’s ‘WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008’ which climbs 2 places to No7. Both Brain Training games make the All Formats Top 10 with the sequel up 2 places to No9. All 7 single format exclusive games in the All Formats Top 20 are either on DS or Wii and, with the exception of ‘Mario & Sonic’, they are also all published by Nintendo. ‘Mario & Sonic’ however is selling over twice as many units as the next best performing Wii game ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ despite a jump of 3 places for Nintendo’s title, up from No14 to No11. The continuation of many retailers’ policies of only selling Wii hardware as part of software bundles helps another Sega title move up the All Formats Chart with ‘The Golden Compass’ navigating its way from No16 to No12. Competitive pricing from a leading retailer on the Xbox 360 version of ‘Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga’ powers up the LucasArts game from No23 to No14.