Dogs Howl as Footie Tops Charts

Despite furry paws and wet snouts, Nintendo's pups miss the coveted top spot.

Nintendo's dreams of taking the top of the charts were dashed by the failure of latest It Game Nintendogs to sit atop the UK rankings.

It wasn't all bad news for Nintendo, but the reality of the smaller installed base of the DS came to the fore, allowing only one flavour of the game to make the top 10. While their combined sales would only have put them at No. 3, all three versions of the game did manage to make it into the top 20 individually. The game has also seen solid sales over time in the US and Japan, so it will be interesting to see whether the pattern is followed in the UK.

Raining on Nintendo's parade was EA, which took all three top spots and had four games in the top 10. FIFA 06 looks to be settling in for a lengthy stay at the top while Burnout Revenge stayed the course, coming in third behind Tiger Woods' latest golf game.

God games are back on the charts too, as Peter Molyneux and Ron Millar's sequel to the well-received Black & White flirted with the top five.

Below are the top 10 games in the UK for the week ending 8 October, as determined by Chart Track:

1. FIFA 06 (EA)
2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 (EA)
3. Burnout Revenge (EA)
4. Conflict: Global Storm (Eidos)
5. Far Cry: Instincts (Ubisoft)
6. Black & White 2 (EA)
7. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Midway)
8. Spartan: Total Warrior (Sega)
9. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends (Midway)
10. Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion (Sega)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games