Need for Speed Hangs Tough on Charts

Another week on top for EA's seemingly untouchable (for the moment, at least) driving game.

With a new year should come a new batch of games populating the UK sales charts, but the dearth of new releases means we're left with the same stuff that has been dominating the top of the ranks for the last month or so.

EA's Need For Speed: Most Wanted came out on top again on the latest chart, making it seven No. 1s for the game. Except for a brief stumble at the end of last year, when movie tie-in King Kong slipped past for a week, Need For Speed: Most Wanted has been at the top of the charts since its release.

The latest rankings may give the impression that relatively little has changed in the UK, but behind the numbers is the spectre of enormously lower sales. Total sales for the week are about a third of what they were at their peak, in the week before Christmas.

The low sales have opened the door for a few dark horses, including a return to the Top 20 for the remarkably resilient Simpsons: Hit & Run and a surprise showing for Timesplitters: Future Perfect, developed by ex-Rare developers now at design house Free Radical.

Below are the top 10 games in the UK for the week ending 14 January, as determined by Chart Track:

1. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
2. The Sims 2 (EA)
3. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (Konami)
4. King Kong (Ubisoft)
5. FIFA 06 (EA)
6. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar)
7. Prince of Persia: Two Thrones (Ubisoft)
8. Football Manager 2006 (Sega)
9. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire (EA)
10. WWE: SmackDown! Vs RAW 2006 (THQ)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games