Sales-tracking firm NPD today issued its list of the ten best selling PC games in the United States from August 31 to September 6, featuring the usual Blizzard and The Sims titles along with the magical debut of Spore and a resurgence in Crysis sales.

While some may not consider the appearance of Spore surprising, let alone magical, the game officially launched in the US on September 7--the day after the tracking period ended--suggesting that Spore managed to hit #2 without widespread availability.

1. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
2. Spore / EA Maxis / $49 (Average)
3. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
4. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
5. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
6. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
7. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $29 (Average)
8. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack Limited Collector's Edition / EA Maxis / $39 (Average)
9. Warcraft III Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
10. Crysis / Crytek / $33 (Average)

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54760

Crysis is doing great. Soon after it's release I pegged Crysis' sales to be around 2 millions Lifetime, but it is still selling at this pace and will increase with Crysis Warhead's launch. Plus it's on Steam now!

Now I think Crysis will eventually reach 2,5 millions sales or even 3 millions Lifetime. Not bad for a "flop" that only cost $22 millions.

And yes, Spore is magical.

But how do you know how many units they are selling?

wow all I see is the Sims and World of Warcraft on there, is it really good when the top sales are dominated by the expansion packs of two titles?
It almost seems like The Sims and WoW are having the same affects on PC gaming as the Wii has on console gaming, supporting and pushing the market towards the casual sector.
It looks like Spore will be joining the two big boys on top of the charts for a while too.

Although there are still a good amount of hardcore games coming out like
Starcraft II and Crysis is doing impressive too...

btw why don't they have the raw numbers of copies sold?

Eh!? WoW is psuhing the market towards the casuals? That is one of the most hardcore game you can find out in the market right now. That game was even too hardcore for me after several years.

This. MMORPGs have the most hardcore fanbase, easily.

I did a spit-take when I read that. MMORPGs like WoW are the definition of casual gaming, just because it takes hours to accomplish anything doesnt make it "hardcore". It is just a never ending grind. Most people I know who play WoW dont play any other game and have no idea how to play any other game because they are too busy getting to the next level or farming for the next good item.

Of course, there are a few people that take the game seriously and go on raids and PvP. But they are a very small percentage of the total playerbase. I am not sure about WoW, but Guild Wars which supposively had an inclination on the PvP had only a few thousand players participate in Tournaments and Guild Battles, and the game sold millions. And btw I dont consider arenas to be hardcore, considering that any idiot of appropriate level can join. Only matches in which both sides can pick their allies can be considered true PvP.

I would agree with this assessment. WoW appeals to the casual audience. I know personally quite a few gamers who don't play other games/consoles very much (if at all), yet play WoW.

It's actually quite a user friendly and easy to learn game. The bright colours and friendly looking characters also make it very appealing to a broad range of different people. I've talked to quite a few middle aged women/a retired school teacher/ a 50 year old mechanic and countless teenagers, children, and men/women in their 20's while playing it.

The fact that WoW attracts casuals is probably one of the main reasons why it's sales numbers are so high.

I wonder how much Spore sold in it's first week/month?
I want EA to show us some numbers.

CoD 4 is out of top 10.

Crysis numbers might get even bigger with Steam sales. I'm just waiting to check the retail price of Warhead here before buying the pack (there's no discount, so no hurry too).

It's amazing how the Creature Creator still sells. I dunno why would you still want it with the full game out there.

And considering Wow "casual", I think I won't hurt anyone's feelings saying that I've yet to see a shooter more casual than COD4, and I'm talking about the PC version without aim assist :P