UK Top 40: LA Noire catches first place

By Tom Phillips Published 23 May, 2011

The Witcher 2 conjures fifth.

Epic crime caper L.A. Noire has locked up the top spot in the UK charts. It is the fastest-selling new video game IP ever in the UK.

The Witcher 2 meanwhile magicked itself into fifth place. That's despite it being a PC-only release and the chart not counting digital sales.

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean has done swimmingly, floating up to second. Last week's top dog Brink clings on to another high finish, landing in third.

The cult of Zumba Fitness continues as the dance fitness phenomenon steps into fourth. Crysis 2 is sixth, Portal 2 materialises in seventh and the end of the footie season sees FIFA 11 still kicking in eighth.

Mortal Kombat makes ninth, while the newly Buffy-enhanced Call of Duty: Black Ops re-animates tenth place.

That's it for new entries in the top 40, meaning no luck for No More Heroes remake Heroe's Paradise; and yet another Nintendo 3DS exclusive - Dead or Alive: Dimensions - is dead on arrival.

Chart-Track doesn't publish sales figures but noted L.A. Noire's numbers were "on a par" with last year's Rockstar release Red Dead Redemption.

There's good news also for Polish developer CD Projekt - its Witcher sequel is outselling the original by three-to-one.

This Week Last Week Title Platform(s)
1 New entry L.A. Noire PS3, Xbox 360
2 2 Lego Pirates of the Caribbean 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
3 1 Brink PC, PS3, Xbox 360
4 3 Zumba Fitness: Join the Party Wii, Xbox 360
5 New entry The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings PC
6 9 Crysis 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360
7 4 Portal 2 Mac, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
8 8 FIFA 11 DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
9 6 Mortal Kombat PS3, Xbox 360
10 5 Call of Duty: Black Ops DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
11 11 Just Dance 2 Wii
12 7 LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
13 31 Wii Sports Resort Wii
14 18 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood PC, PS3, Xbox 360
15 15 Red Dead Redemption PS3, Xbox 360
16 12 Operation Flashpoint: Red River PS3, Xbox 360
17 10 MX Vs ATV Alive PS3, Xbox 360
18 13 Wii Fit Plus Wii
19 23 Homefront PC, PS3, Xbox 360
20 16 Pokemon Black DS
21 26 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
22 36 Art Academy DS
23 Re-entry Mario Kart Wii Wii
24 20 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
25 14 Sniper: Ghost Warrior PC, PS3, Xbox 360
26 22 Michael Jackson: The Experience Wii, PS3, Xbox 360
27 Re-entry The Sims Medieval PC
28 21 Donkey Kong Country Returns Wii
29 19 Pokemon White DS
30 32 Kinect Sports Xbox 360
31 17 Shift 2: Unleashed PC, PS3, Xbox 360
32 25 Batman: Arkham Asylum PC, PS3, Xbox 360
33 33 Fight Night Champion PS3, Xbox 360
34 27 Football Manager 2011 PC, PSP
35 34 Just Cause 2 PS3, Xbox 360
36 30 The Sims 3 DS, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
37 Re-entry Battlefield: Bad Company 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360
38 Re-entry Dead Rising 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360
39 Re-entry Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3DS, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
40 29 Wii Party Wii

UKIE Games Charts compiled by GfK Chart-Track.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (40) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MadDave123 #1 1 year ago

    Wow! Witcher 2 in at 5th, well done. If that's based solely on Disc sales as well then even better.

  • andywilkie35 #2 1 year ago

    L.A. Noire - unbelievable game Jeff!

  • BloodSaint #3 1 year ago

    Awww why isnt witcher 2 at least 2nd or 3rd... I guess digital sales counted for a significant proportion of Withcer 2's sales. CD projekt is awesome they include so many good freebies with their game at normal price (premium edition). Also they are giving out all their dlcs for free :D Who wouldn't want to support such awesome developers like them!

  • Goodfella #4 1 year ago

    Wow, very impressive position for Witcher 2 for just disc sales. Well deserved.

    Excellent game is excellent.

  • asphaltcowboy #5 1 year ago

    Not surprised to see LA Noire topping the charts, during the weekend I think at least 50% of my friends list was playing it at any one time. More surprised by the fact that Brink held onto 3rd and didn't drop like a stone as predicted. Hopefully people will continue to hold on to it til the anti-lag patch this week!

  • BigDannyH #6 1 year ago

    Great to see an original IP, especially one that deviates from the combat heavy mainstream, sell so well.

    Only played until the first interrogation, which was the massive highlight of the first "level", but I'm liking what I see. I was a little surprised to hear the F-bomb dropped in the interrogation. Maybe more so as it wasn't out of place and didn't sound childish as swearing often does in games.

  • Goodfella #7 1 year ago

    What fucking mongoloid has negged the three comments praising Witcher 2?

    Edit: Balance is restored, thank you who ever 'plussed' them again. :)
    Edited by Goodfella at 23/05/11 @ 10:12

  • PixelPirate #8 1 year ago


    Only played until the first interrogation, which was the massive highlight of the first "level", but I'm liking what I see. I was a little surprised to hear the F-bomb dropped in the interrogation. Maybe more so as it wasn't out of place and didn't sound childish as swearing often does in games.

    F*ck yeah.

  • geox30 #9 1 year ago

    Every pc gamer should support the Witcher even more.It deserves twice the asking price and it's a good opportunity to prove that piracy does not kill pc gaming,bad ports and ridiculous prices does...
    Edited by geox30 at 23/05/11 @ 10:10

  • Flabio #10 1 year ago

    So, is the 3DS installed base so low that a decentish game can't break the top 40? You do need about 400,000 or so for the top end of the chart, but by the time you're down below 30 it's nearer the thousands.

    Needs a real marketing kick. The current campaign which just shows people cooing over it saying 'you have to see it to get it' really isn't working for them.

    Not entirely sure how you do advertise the thing better though...

  • AMD500 #11 1 year ago

    Well deserved for L.A Noire. Great game.

  • WukWhiteWolf #12 1 year ago

    Is it just me or does every bigger PC-Only Game sells like crazy, while ports only few. Maybe the industry will finally see that PC piracy isnīt the problem, the lack of well optimized and well ported games are. Go PCs and PC Exclusives :D

  • Wash #13 1 year ago

    Witcher 2 deserved it more than LA Noire, a good game with few too many issues for me (360 version).

    LA Noire can be janky, non-sensical and technically flawed, like someone mashed an old PC P&C ala Police Quest with GTA3, wonky gun play and all. Still dripping with atmosphere and dem faces :o, gone is the pixel hunt of yore, and brought forward is the rumble hunt and a chance look at the same random bottle model every case.



  • Arsecake_Baker #14 1 year ago

    Refardless of opinion, imagine what would have happened if Witcher 2 had also been released on console!

    Well done CDproject, very well deserved.......Bioware et al take note!

  • NimbusTLD #15 1 year ago

    Buffy enhanced CoD:BlOps?? Did I miss something? Now has it got everything you need: vampires and explosions????

  • lucky_jim #16 1 year ago

    Bit of a random place to ask this, but does anyone know for certain whether The Witcher 2 is going to get a console release? I'm seriously considering installing Windows on my new Mac just to play it, but I'd prefer not to (I'm presuming there isn't a native Mac version here?).

  • login_name #17 1 year ago

    Good to see The Witcher 2 up there, even excluding digital sales. Impressive and fully deserved. Awesome game.

    Edit: @Wash - I agree about LA Noire. Got up to The Fallen Idol and that was enough. It's a very average game, at best, sold purely on its facial animation. I believe it gets better after that case but unfortunately the illusion has well and truly been broken.
    Edited by login_name at 23/05/11 @ 10:39

  • Darren #18 1 year ago

    L.A. Noire is a fantastic game that I'm thoroughly enjoying but, IMHO, the game that deserves this week's top spot (and, hell, places 2 to 5 as well!!!) is the jaw-dropping Witcher 2, possibly the best game I've played on any format in years. I'm just blow away by it and in some ways it is unfortunate that it came out the same week as L.A. Noire because it has taken the shine of that otherwise incredible game ever-so-slightly. I'm not saying it isn't a brilliant, just that, for me, it's been eclipsed by something better.

    Still, it's not often we get two stunning games in one week but it sure is nice when we do! :D

  • cowell #19 1 year ago

    @lucky_jim

    A console version has been neither confirmed nor denied so far. I think the studio would probably like to, but nothing has ever been confirmed. Depends how much patience you have. If a console version exists, it'll be 6 months plus away. If it was going to happen, my guess would be to hear news at E3. You could give it a few weeks to see if there is a chance

  • lucky_jim #20 1 year ago

    @cowell

    Thanks, that's helpful. Looks like the Windows installation beckons!

  • metalangel #21 1 year ago

    On the one hand I love LA Noire, I don't want it to end, etc etc.

    On the other, umm... why can't I subdue more of these armed suspects? Why does almost every case involve a rooftop chase? And dear god, the "clue hints" thing is incredibly unnecessary, I turned it off almost immediately and just searched thoroughly.

  • spekkeh #22 1 year ago

    Well done CDproject, very well deserved.......Bioware et al take note!

    I'm afraid it won't sell near as much as Bioware's games though.

  • dingo75 #23 1 year ago

    Not entirely sure how you do advertise the thing better though...

    Price drop on hardware and games is the only thing they can do.

  • arcam #24 1 year ago

    I'm afraid it won't sell near as much as Bioware's games though.

    Well, it's only on one platform, so that stands to reason, but I wouldn't be surprised if on PC this outsells both Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

  • Yossarian #25 1 year ago

    LA Noire #1, The Witcher 2 #5 = what's wrong with gamers.

  • silversun #26 1 year ago

    I got the witcher 2 from GOG , i would love to know the digital sales numbers.
    In next few years they will be more important than retail i think , if music industry can include online sales in charts , why cant the games industry.
    This needs to happen.


    On another note i picked up dragon quest 6 but it not there : (
    They should have got it out same time as usa.
    Edited by silversun at 23/05/11 @ 11:14

  • God_Octo #27 1 year ago

    Nice one to both LA Noire and The Witcher, neither of which screamed 'big seller'. LA Noire might not be technically perfect, but the feel of the game is amazing, and its just so fun to play! I'm really enjoying it so far.

  • davisorle #28 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 15:13:15 09-05-2012

  • Daeltaja #29 1 year ago

    Brilliant result for The Witcher 2. Stunning game. I reckon digital downloads equated to around 30% at least, judging by forums and what not. I expect it to sell over 2 mil units over its life-cycle (W1 did 1.5?), which would easily eclipse Biowares PC releases. CD Projekt have well and truly put themselves on the map now.

    L.A Noire is enjoyable, but more as a sort of interactive movie. Certainly a flawed experiment though, the actual detective part of the game is non-existant as you're hand is held the whole way through. Overall though, a great week for gaming!

  • Paul_cz #30 1 year ago

    "There's good news also for Polish developer CD Projekt - its Witcher sequel is outselling the original by three-to-one."

    Ok, now that is good news. I can see it selling 2 millions in first few months..and possibly more down the road. Best RPG in years deserves it.

  • arcam #31 1 year ago

    CD Projekt have well and truly put themselves on the map now.

    You have to wonder what this will have done to Bioware's Dragon Age 3 plans. DA2 is embarrassing if you put it up next to The Witcher 2 - Bioware must see that.

    Do they up their game to compete with CD Projekt, or are they content losing their RPG crown and concentrating on the more accessible action/RPG style?

  • oceanclub #32 1 year ago

    "The Witcher 2 meanwhile magicked itself into fifth place. That's despite it being a PC-only release and the chart not counting digital sales."

    That is seriously impressive. PC GAMING OFFICIALLY NOT DEAD.

    P.

  • Arsecake_Baker #33 1 year ago

    @Lucky_Jim

    Whether or not you want to trust CVG, yes it looks like a console version may be in the pipeline.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com/299...

  • telboy007 #34 1 year ago

    "Chart by individual unit sales" - Does show PSNGate hasn't had a massive impact on game sales.

    Except for this... 14 - Call of Duty: Black Ops (360), if we can get some figures for console sales for the same period then we can see if it was 12 year olds swapping platforms to play their favourite game.

  • Inmediasress #35 1 year ago

    @WukWhiteWolf
    Well most devs basicaly left the PC platform, because it's easier to develope half backed games that don't cost much on the consoles and still sell millions.(not to say there aren't great games on the consoles as well like L.A Noire)
    The last few years I could count probably on one hand the major AAA games that were first designed with PC in mind and then consoles. The result of that is ports that are shit and I could fill a few pages with what is shit in them and of course major delay between the console and PC releases.
    The amazing thing is that after all these ordeals when they throw a bone to the PC crowd, some devs are amazed that their shity port with a long delayed release date doesn't sell millions. That's not an issue of piracy.
    To be honest the last time I saw a torrent for COD Black Ops for both PC and Xbox well PC was kind of like 5000 DL the Xbox something like 4700 so honestly theres not much of a difference. I won't say PC piracy is smaller but piracy on the xbox is certainly rampant as well.

  • des #36 1 year ago

    Decent game,fun to play but replay value is zero...bring on the sequel ,perfect game for DLC

  • ScepticMatt #37 1 year ago

    The majority of PC games are sold via digital distribution. Witcher 2 sold a greater proportion of boxed titles if it is similar to the preorders, but total sales are still probably double that of retail.

  • TRUTH #38 1 year ago

    The Witcher 2 is the game I would most like to see on console...This is the rpg that really needs to be sold to console gamers and not tripe like Fable 3...pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssssssse!!!.

  • CaptainKid #39 1 year ago

    "That's despite it being a PC-only release and the chart not counting digital sales."

    And that while download sales are approx 50% and perhaps much more (latest estimate I read) of the total sales.
    Basically the same as what we saw with Starcraft 2. If it's good, PC people are willing to buy.
    Not these thirteen a dozen console easy street FPS nonsense.

  • BonzoBanana #40 1 year ago

    Wow the 3DS and PSP look dead looking at that chart. With regard single format games its mainly pc, ds and wii. Mariokart wii back again. Great to see LA NOIRE at the top. I've not played it yet but want to. Its something fresh in gaming with some real effort behind it and deserves to succeed.