UK Sales Chart, Week Ending March 19th

Gran Turismo 4 has retained its lead at the top of the UK sales chart, in what continues to be a busy retail period. Sony’s racing sim was almost pipped at the post by EA’s FIFA Street, though, which saw its sales increase by 51 percent from its debut last week, despite a critical mauling from the soccer-centric British press. Of the four new entries in the top ten, Ubisoft’s WWII tactical shooter Brothers In Arms has done well, while Championship Manager 5 – previously the best selling PC game of all time in the UK – has clearly been hurt by the success of Football Manager 2005, from the series’ originators Sports Interactive. Elsewhere, Resident Evil 4 has achieved perhaps the highest chart position that could be expected, considering the small GameCube user base in the UK and the busy nature of the week. Indeed, the game appears to have been under-stocked by many retailers who had previously all but given up on the GameCube. Nevertheless, Capcom’s critically lauded title has enjoyed the fifth best launch week of any GameCube title, and the best ever for a third party GC title in the UK. The final new entry in the top ten, Rugby 2005, seems oddly timed by the usually topical EA – coming a week after the end of the Six Nations rugby tournament, when an earlier release may have seen it perform even better. Given the large number of high profile new releases this week - including Fight Night: Round 2 at number eleven, Silent Hunter III at number twenty-nine and Mario Party 6 at number thirty-four – the number of Nintendo DS titles in the chart have greatly diminished from last week’s launch. Even so, Super Mario 64 DS remains in the top ten, with Wario Ware Touched! at number fourteen, Asphalt Urban GT at number twenty-one and Rayman DS at number twenty-five.

Official UK Leisure Software Charts (c) ELSPA compiled by Chart-Track