Saints Row Blesses UK Chart

The new GTA-alike from THQ endears itself to the British public, marking the return of new games to the rankings.

What Saints Row lacks in originality, it appears to be making up for in punctuality. The Grand Theft Auto-'em-up beat Rockstar's bellwether to the Xbox 360 by well over a year, and it's reaping the rewards through a strong opening in the UK.

The debut of Saints Row also marks the beginning of a busy time for the Xbox 360, which is all the more crucial considering the looming PlayStation 3. Just being on the console isn't enough, though, as Ninety-Nine Nights discovered. The much-touted game carrying Tetsuya Mizuguchi's name snagged a Top 10 spot last week but found its luck change this time.

Not so for Cars, which is riding its movie origins hard. The Sims 2 is also still doing well, with the new expansion pack edging ahead of its originator.

It was a gloomy start for Gangs of London, Sony's PSP game plucked from The Getaway's universe. It opened at No. 23, but even that slow start was better than that of Sega's Let's Make a Soccer Team (No. 31).

Below are the top 10 games in the UK for the week ending 2 September, as determined by Chart Track:

1. Saints Row (THQ)
2. Cars (THQ)
3. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar)
4. New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo)
5. The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff (EA)
6. The Sims 2 (EA)
7. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo)
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (Konami)
9. Reservoir Dogs (Eidos)
10. Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games