CHART | ALPHA
OUR MONTHLY RANKING OF THE WORLD’S STUDIOS BASED ON UK GAMES SALES
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
EA CANADA LAST MONTH
4 FIFA 08 PROPAGANDA GAMES
LAST MONTH
10 Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga EA BLACK BOX
LAST MONTH
6 Need For Speed: Pro Street PIVOTAL GAMES
LAST MONTH
9 Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 BIZARRE CREATIONS
LAST MONTH
11 WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 UBISOFT (FRANCE)
LAST MONTH
Wii, PS2, PC
Wii
PS2, PS3, XB360, Wii, PSP, DS
NEW ENTRY
DOWN
INDEPENDENT
NO MOVE
Chart
Comment They say that a change is as good as a rest, but given that we’ve still months to wait for our summer holidays and there’s little change in our chart, it looks like we’re not getting either for a while. Actually, maybe the awful weather is just (quite literally) clouding our judgement – while three of the top five might be old favourites, there’s two new entries for whom such a high place isn’t a regular fixture. Capcom’s much hyped Devil May Cry 4 has performed well at retail for what could be claimed as quite a ‘hardcore’ title – but we can point to both a deliberately more accessible difficulty level and, most crucially, an Xbox 360 release as two factors that have substantially affected the title’s performance. As mentioned elsewhere this issue in our Develop 100 commentary, Capcom has truly learnt the lesson of appealing to both Eastern and Western audiences, and the effort it’s put into developing its cross-platform MT Framework despite the Xbox 360’s terrible Japanese performance is without a doubt paying off. But let’s not forget the other plucky top five entrant, the UK’s very own Criterion. A late January release conspired to halt the
“The effort Capcom has put into developing its crossplatform MT Framework is clearly paying off…” studio’s climb to the rafters, placing it in eighth position, but a longer stay in retail has seen the title perform as expected for such a big franchise. All that prime-time advertising can’t have hurt, either. Also worthy of mention are the new entries this month, two of which – Pivotal and Mere Mortals – are UK-based (and the latter is even an independent). Highest new entry is Candian studio Propaganda Games, whose Disney-backed reboot of the Turok franchise has caused it to come in at number seven. On second thoughts, that’s quite a bit of change. Doesn’t make the long wait ‘til summer any more palatable, though.
Ed Fear ed.fear@intentmedia.co.uk
Wii, DS
DS
CHART DATA EXCLUSIVELY SUPPLIED BY
13 The Simpsons Game INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS
LAST MONTH
XB360, PS3, PC
UP
18 Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 AMAZE ENTERTAINMENT
LAST MONTH
PS2, PS3, XB360, DS, PC
37 Sonic and the Secret Rings YUKE'S
LAST MONTH
XB360, PS3, PC
- PDC World Champ. Darts 08 SONIC TEAM
LAST MONTH
PS2, PS3, Wii, XB360, PSP, PC
64 The Club MERE MORTALS
LAST MONTH
Wii, DS, XB360, PS3
- Conflict: Denied Ops KONAMI DIGITAL ENT.
LAST MONTH
DS, PS2, PSP, Wii
7 The Sims 2: Castaway TRAVELLER'S TALES
LAST MONTH
XB360, PS3
3 Assassin's Creed MAXIS
LAST MONTH
XB360, PS3
- Turok UBISOFT (MONTREAL)
LAST MONTH
PS2, PS3, PSP, XB360, Wii, PC
CHART KEY
19 Super Paper Mario
Wii
ChartTrack charttrack.co.uk
ELSPA elspa.com APRIL 2008 | 29