UK chart: StarCraft II victorious

By Robert Purchese Published 2 August, 2010

169th week in top 40 for Mario Bros. DS.

Blizzard's whopping new strategy game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty has zerged to the top of the UK all-formats chart.

The PC and Mac game was released on Tuesday last week. Eurogamer's review is forthcoming.

StarCraft II's entry pushed Toy Story 3 to second, Red Dead Redemption to third, Dance on Broadway to fourth and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 to fifth.

Just Dance was sixth, Dragon Quest IX seventh, Modern Warfare 2 eighth, Super Mario Galaxy 2 ninth and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 10th.

New Super Mario Bros. DS has now been in the UK all-formats chart for an astonishing 169 weeks. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had the next highest tally of 117 weeks, and the third highest was LEGO Batman with 79 weeks.

This Week Last Week Title Platform(s)
1 New entry StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty PC
2 1 Toy Story 3 PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
3 2 Red Dead: Redemption PS3, Xbox 360
4 3 Dance on Broadway Wii
5 4 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
6 8 Just Dance Wii
7 9y Dragon Quest IX DS
8 11 Modern Warfare 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360
9 6 Super Mario Galaxy 2 Wii
10 12 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360
11 5 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 Wii, PS3, Xbox 360
12 19 FIFA 10 PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
13 7 2010 FIFA World Cup PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
14 15 Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands DS, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
15 16 BioShock 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360
16 13 Wii Sports Resort Wii
17 14 Wii Fit Plus Wii
18 10 Crackdown 2 Xbox 360
19 18 Splinter Cell: Conviction Xbox 360
20 17 Sniper: Ghost Warrior PC, Xbox 360
21 Re-entry Mass Effect 2 PC, Xbox 360
22 24 New Super Mario Bros. DS
23 30 Transformers: The War for Cybertron PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
24 28 Just Cause 2 PC, PS3, Xbox 360
25 20 Naughty Bear PS3, Xbox 360
26 23 Football Manager 2010 PC
27 32 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare PC, PS3, Xbox 360
28 26 Army of Two: The 40th Day PS3, Xbox 360
29 38 Need for Speed: Shift PC, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360
30 31 LEGO Batman DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
31 22 Blur PC, PS3, Xbox 360
32 29 Club Penguin: Herbert's Revenge DS
33 Re-entry Left 4 Dead 2 PC, Xbox 360
34 Re-entry The Sims 3: Ambitions PC
35 Re-entry International Cricket 2010 PS3, Xbox 360
36 36 New Super Mario Bros. Wii Wii
37 21 Alan Wake Xbox 360
38 37 SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection PS3, Xbox 360
39 Re-entry Dante's Inferno PS3, Xbox 360, PSP
40 35 UFC Undisputed 2010 PS3, Xbox 360

Leisure software charts compiled by Gfk Chart-Track, ©2008 ELSPA (UK) Ltd.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (53) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • MiniAmin #1 2 years ago

    But how?!

    /cradles back and forth chanting "PC Gaming is dead"

  • karooo #2 2 years ago

    Well deserving although many weird games top the UK charts so it isn't a big deal.

  • Gambit1977 #3 2 years ago

    Releasing it during the summer lull gives that activision nonce a chance to shout about how wonderful they are again.

  • theonlyix #4 2 years ago

    Not bad to rerelease a game with updated graphics and fewer features (like LAN play) and charge people 3 times for it - AND get away with it!

    If this was someone else, like Halo or Metal gear solid, they just wouldnt get good review scores...but it seems Blizzard could get away with anything.

  • TeaFiend #5 2 years ago

    Having not bought a new PC game since about a year and a half ago, I bought Starcraft 2. I missed PC games an ickle bit.

  • Goodfella #6 2 years ago

    @theonlyix

    Wow, someone is bitter and angry. If you play the game you'll find it has way more content than the first game with a stunning single player campaign, acheivements and a good choice of online modes with excellent communication features, it's level of polish is second to none. Yes, there's no LAN support but for £35 this game is a steal.

  • mingster #7 2 years ago

    Well theonlyix you obviously haven't played it as it is awesome and deserves to sell well.
    It will easily score a 9 on EG (as 8 is waay to low for this game thats polished to perfection) and the real question is whether they give it a 10.
    Just shows you that not letting reviewers have a chance to review the game early actually hasn't harmed sales in the slightest.
    Everyone bought this without seeing a review.
    Edited by mingster at 02/08/10 @ 10:11

  • Tiiti #8 2 years ago

    Is this not Blizzards first no.1 all formats title in the UK? WoW was close I know but no cigar. I can't remember how WoLK did.

  • anomagnus #9 2 years ago

    @theonlyix

    Are you saying Starcraft 1 was 15 quid when it came out in 98? I don't think it was.

    The game is good, finished it last night,the single player campaign. I'm a turtler by nature, so i never really play on line as i get thrashed all the time. I can say the game was tremendous fun, extremely polished, and running it on Ultra, its certainly the finest looking RTS i have ever played.

    It'll be interesting to see the full story unfold

  • ratmaggot #10 2 years ago

    Is it really worth reviewing it now? I mean anyone who was going to buy it probably has and it's not like it's an unknown quantity.

  • crozon #11 2 years ago

    @Goodfell

    Agree. Its an amazing game. The single player is epic. Every mission is different. The multiplayer is very very good.
    At this rate starcraft 2 is my GOTY.

  • Macross #12 2 years ago

    ive loved it so far too, even if every bastard online is better than me (im scared of actually playing 1v1s now after finally winning one hahahaha)

  • TheApologist #13 2 years ago

    @theonlyix

    Hasn't Nintendo been doing this for approximately ever? And with a bit less than a decade between games.

    Also, harsh on Starcraft2. I wasn't going to buy it, as multiplayer paralyses me with fear. But it looks like there is enough value in single player, and the matching system might (might) make it possible for me to have fun with others. That seems like investment in new content to me.

  • andywilkie35 #14 2 years ago

    I haven't played a PC game in around 10 years (not including Football Manager - that's not a game, its a way of life), but I'm seriously tempted to get involved in Starcraft...

  • InfiniteFury #15 2 years ago

    @Macross - I will probably end up retiring victorious after my first win ;-)

    @ The Apologist - we've got a good group going on in the forums with a link to names and what have you. We've got some guys taking the leaderboards by storm but I don't think there's any shortage of people learning the ropes either. I'd probably have better results getting a dog to do the clicking but learning's half the fun.

  • Goodfella #16 2 years ago

    @TheApologist

    If online worries you there's the option to play co-op vs computer online, which is a nice feature. Good for practicing.

  • mingster #17 2 years ago

    The online matchmaking system is excellent and matches people with your skill level really well.

    I'd never played multiplayer starcraft before and definately can't click very fast using a trackpad.
    But i've still won 3 out of 6 games 1v1.

    Also finding people to play co-operatively v the computer is a breeze and works amazingly.

    We have over 40 active EG players already (come and join us in the Starcraft 2 thread in the forum)
    We played a 4v4 co-op yesterday which was good fun. (ALthough we got whooped on Hard)

  • TeaFiend #18 2 years ago

    It is the same game in much the saw way every sequel tends to be.

    I was totally shocked in MW2 when I was in first person shooting people, or in Soul Calibur 4 when I was hitting people with a sword, or when I had to match up jewels in Puzzle Quest 2.

  • theonlyix #19 2 years ago

    Im sure its really good and also that it has some more content than SC1. BUT, they are selling the game 3 times this time around, one for each campaign.
    Also, it IS a remake, the same formula from then applied now with little added. Im sure there will be some clever things added so that you cant play mp unless you buy the next game aswell.

    Ill probably buy it though =)

  • Repsode #20 2 years ago

    Wow. Dragon Quest IX went UP the chart? Not bad for a previously obscure-in-the-west RPG series on one of the world's most piracy afflicted systems. Starcraft II's performance was as predictable as the sunrise.

    Those two games will keep me occupied for a while( which is good because I'm broke.)

  • TeaFiend #21 2 years ago

    The second and third campaigns are being sold at reduced price. Much like the addon for the first. They are not full games, just addon packs.

    It is a sequel. Not a remake.

    Is it a new engine, story, units, audio, maps? Yes to all.

  • MiniAmin #22 2 years ago

    Blizzard's strategy worked because Starcraft 2 is one of the most anticipated games of all time, produced by a developer who are renowned for their perfectionist approach to making games...


    ...so it'll be funny to see another less popular franchise try the same review shenanigans and then monumentally fail.

  • Sunyavadin #23 2 years ago

    @mingster
    "Just shows you that not letting reviewers have a chance to review the game early actually hasn't harmed sales in the slightest. "

    Well no, obviously.

    If people expect a good game, then whether or not it actually turns out to be good, unless someone they trust TELLS them it is bad, they will buy it regardless.
    What WOULD be surprising is if all the reviewers said it was terrible, and THAT did not hurt sales.

    Review embargoes ALWAYS help boost sales, there's no reason at all to think they'd harm them. The minority who go "hang on a bit, this seems a little fishy" will always be smaller than the majority who go into something with certain expectations, and are either disappointed (Rise of the Robots) or pleased (Prototype) as relevant to the game in question.


    Personally, I'm waiting for the boxed set of the full 3 chapters, patched to the eyeballs, probably with a few graphical, performance and balance tweaks, and with LAN support before parting with my cash, as I'm sick of buying stuff bit by bit and ending up paying more than I would for it all in one go.
    And the last thing Activision need is more money.

  • IronGiant #24 2 years ago

    More importantly, who the fook is buying Sniper???

  • Nuronv #25 2 years ago

    I've seen a lot of people who seem to automatically dismiss the game. Let me clear up a couple of points.

    "Its only one campaign"
    Yes it is one campaign but its extremely well fleshed out. The way the battles are linked together is extremely well done and coherent. For a part of the game that could just be replaced by menus it is extremely well polished and looks better than most games themselves. The Missions are nicely varied and don't suffer from the problems I usually find with repetition in RTS campaigns. Series like Dawn of War have been doing single campaign releases for a long time and people don't seem to be quite so vocal about that, the standard of the content on offer here is a lot higher.

    "There is no LAN support"
    Yes you can't connect directly to other people on a LAN to play a game however it is a trade off well worth making. The new system is smooth and easy to use. If you have people round for a LAN party it takes seconds to add everyone to a party and get a game started, in fact its probably quicker and easier than hosting it on one of the computers. This isn't the 90s any more and things have evolved slightly. I think what people are really moaning about here is the ability has been taken away from run the same copy on several machines on the LAN, I think its quite clear why they don't want you doing that. But if your LAN buddies don't have SC2 you can give them the guest keys that come with EVERY copy of SC2, then install it on their computers with your disk.

    "Its the same game with new graphics"
    The online game is very similar to the original, but when you have arguably the best online RTS nailed down why would you change that? The single player adds several new units and the production values on this as I said before are simply amazing.

  • SuperBas #26 2 years ago

    Thanks for patronizing us Bungie. The reason I quit playing Uncharted 2 was because of the idiotic penalties, I'm sure people will simply stop playing your game if you actually fuck it up like U2.

  • Eraysor #27 2 years ago

    The people that bash StarCraft II have so obviously not actually played it, it's ridiculous. The game is a masterpiece and fully deserves the number 1 spot. I hope it stays there for a while.

  • butler` #28 2 years ago

    I'm blown away by the single player campaign. Fun missions with varying achievments spanning the different difficulty settings = muchos replayability.

    Shame about the piss-poor dialogue in some of the inter-mission mingling.

  • NimbusTLD #29 2 years ago

    Kudos to Mass Effect 2 for its re-entry. Its demo is working as intended!

    Perhaps more games should have post-release demos to re-invigorate sales once the game is properly patched and has lots of DLC out.

  • lucky_jim #30 2 years ago

    169th week in top 40 for Mario Bros. DS

    And Dragon Quest IX in the top ten. Isn't the DS meant to be dead because of piracy? A cynic might think the industry were over-stating the impact of flash carts to get them banned...

  • kar #31 2 years ago

    Okay, quick bit of qualification. 1. Yes Blizzard/Activision - they be evil. 2. Yes this game isn't like innovative in that it changes what RTS means. 3. Yes this game is hella expensive for a PC game. 4. Yes there is no lan support, chat channels or cross realm play.

    Okay all the above said, if you have £35, like PC games, go out and buy this damn game. Please. It is a fantastic game, near as dammit perfect. You can play this game for 3 years no sweat, the though and passion that has gone into this game is unmistakeable. Most importantly, not only is it a good game, it is proof that publishers can make a cracking PC game and make money.

    If you love PC games you should buy this. If you want more good PC games, you should buy this.

    If you love games you should buy this.

    I love it, what a game!

  • node #32 2 years ago

    Correction: Blizzard can make a cracking PC game and make money. Honestly, name one other company who can release a game on that single platform and still top the charts? Valve, Bethesda, even id, all console too now.

  • mingster #33 2 years ago

    What i like is that you don't need the CD in the drive.
    Also when you install it on a different PC or Partition it remebers all your save games.
    Don't care about LAN support but Battle.net certainly is an easier way of getting multiplayer games together.
    People moaning about LAN support are really moaning about the fact they can't install it on multiple PC's for free.

  • abigsmurf #34 2 years ago

    The annoying thing about Starcraft 2 is that it's simply not going to receive any proper objective reviews. It's going to be like Spore where almost every site had hyped it up so much, they gave it incredibly high scores which was at odds to people playing it at home, finding it didn't deliver on its promises and got bored of it after 2 hours.

    Starcraft 2 is very good but it does have its problems. The first iis that it's pretty much a 10 year old game in snazzy new graphics (especially on the multiplayer side of things where the changes amount to a few different units).

    The second is that the game is still hopelessly balanced towards skilled players. There are dozens of ways to chew through an inexperienced player and even with the challenges, a new player is going to experience (probably more than one) losses for each of these methods until he eventually figures out protections against them.

    The practice mode does very little to alleviate this. My experience so far in the practice is that you're equally (if not far more) likely to get drawn against an SC1 vet or a beta tester than someone equally clueless. I had a fair bit of experience with SC1 years ago (was only ever mediocre) and I got steamrolled more than a few people who clearly had perfected their build orders and were able to micromanage to a high level.

    Losing consistently for 15-20 hours before you get the fundamental skills built up isn't fun. I'd like to see a review from someone who never played SC1 and who wasn't in the beta
    Edited by abigsmurf at 02/08/10 @ 11:46

  • Haloboy #35 2 years ago

    Sat staring at the in game menu for long periods of time is not good for which of the following?

    A) Your Graphics Card
    B) Your Wallet
    C) Your Seoul

  • kar #36 2 years ago

    "The second is that the game is still hopelessly balanced towards skilled players."

    That's not a _bad_ thing. Actually, I think that's one of the best things about the game. I'm so sick of games lowering the skill ceiling.

    Starcraft, thankfully, sees to it, noobs don't meet the pros. That way two noobs will have a game that will be determined by the better player. The player that loses will eventually play worse and worse players until he/she wins. Unless they are like the worst player on the planet (or because of Bnet 2.0, Europe).

  • abigsmurf #37 2 years ago

    Kar: The problem is the game isn't stopping the noobs from meeting experienced players. The practice games are filled with vets 'warming up' before their placement games. I'd say you're more likely to be paired against someone experienced than you are someone new based on my experience.

    RTS' aren't like other genres. You can only win or lose, you can't take enjoyment out of finishing 4th out of 10 as in other games, you can't see how you place on a high scoreboard. The fun in RTS comes from winning or through playing tight games that could go either way. Getting hammered over and over is not fun.

    Yes after they've finished their placement matches they may get placed with people who are just as bad, but they could've lost 6 or more times in a row to get to that point. At an average of 30 minutes a loss, that's a big chunk of un-fun playtime.

  • UncleLou #38 2 years ago

    Correction: Blizzard can make a cracking PC game and make money. Honestly, name one other company who can release a game on that single platform and still top the charts? Valve, Bethesda, even id, all console too now.

    Firaxis.

  • mingster #39 2 years ago

    Dunno what you are on about -abigsmurf- i played my 5 placement matches won 2 lost 3 they took 15mins each and i enjoyed all of them. I'm now placed in the Bronze league and only play people the same rubbishness as me.
    You can't exppect to win everygame that would be boring.

  • darkmorgado #40 2 years ago

    Loving SC2. Just got to the bit in the campaign where I have joined forced with Valerian. Done the Protoss mini-campaign and really enjoying the story so far. Dabbled in multiplayer as Terran, I've won 9 out of 17 matches, which isn't bad for a complete SC noob (I study the replays very carefully - immediate hit-and-run with a reaper squad FTW!).

    The only thing that's making me tear my hair out atm is The Great Train Robbery mission. No matter what I do, I can't bloody beat it! I've even gone through the rest of the campaign to fully upgrade loads of my units and maxed out my research, but I still can't do it. The second those trains start speeding up, I'm toast. I spam build banshees and diamondbacks, but its no use. Even on bloody Casual I fail. Any tips?
    Edited by darkmorgado at 02/08/10 @ 15:13

  • Goodfella #41 2 years ago

    @darkmorgado

    Have you fully upgraded your attack/defence power?

  • darth_paul #42 2 years ago

    its official now: PC is dead indeed

  • mingster #43 2 years ago

    That train mission isn't that hard just build diamondbacks, go and get the free diamondbacks as well that are dotted round the map.
    Remember what order they come from. Get over to the left side of the map ready near wher they appear but not so far left you are in there base where the bunkers are then just set the diamond back to shoot the fron of the train. Remember about your mercenaries and call them in every so often as well
    Edited by mingster at 02/08/10 @ 15:45

  • des #44 2 years ago

    "The Great Train Robbery mission. No matter what I do, I can't bloody beat it!"

    Really?It's not that hard

    1.Take some marines and unlock some free diamondbacks
    2.Build some base defense...a bunker,few marines,unit or two of something heavy...nothing special
    3.Spam as much diamondbacks as you can,don't build anything else except supply depots
    4.Attack trains early.......Win

  • Bleemo #45 2 years ago

    "Im sure its really good and also that it has some more content than SC1. BUT, they are selling the game 3 times this time around, one for each campaign"

    That's not really any different to what Relic did with Dawn of war and their expansion campaigns. As long as each one has tons of depth nobody is going to complain.

  • Dizzy #46 2 years ago

    "That's not really any different to what Relic did with Dawn of war and their expansion campaigns. As long as each one has tons of depth nobody is going to complain. "

    What?

    Relic ADDED stuff you sausage. New races were NOT in the original game.

  • Bleemo #47 2 years ago

    "Relic ADDED stuff you sausage. New races were NOT in the original game."

    but it essentially works out the same you get a game with a good solid single player campaign plus multiplayer and then other campaigns in a sort of expansion pack format.

  • TheApologist #48 2 years ago

    @Infinitefury and Goodfella - cheers for the tips. Definitely more inclined to check it out now.

  • Dizzy #49 2 years ago

    > and then other campaigns in a sort of expansion pack format.

    Only if the next 2 SC2 single player experiences are budget priced ofc. In that case you are right.

  • darkmorgado #50 2 years ago

    Are people really saying that the DOW expansions were good?

    Yeah they added new races, but those races are still horribly unbalanced. Very few patches were released for them (and there are still a lot of game-crashing bugs and exploits), and the single-player "campaigns" in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm were just a series of 1v1 skirmishes. No story, very few interesting units, and dull maps. Soulstorm in particular has a horrible memory leak that means campaign levels take an age to load.

    I love DOW (not so much DOW2, which went so far away from strategy that it basically became Diablo-lite), but trying to say that the expansions were an example of how to expand an RTS is living in cloud-cuckoo land.

  • Farzlepot #51 2 years ago

    How is RDR still so high up in the charts? After all this time near the top, is there anybody left who hasn't bought it? Or are people buying multiple copies for some reason?
    Edited by Farzlepot at 02/08/10 @ 21:47

  • Daeltaja #52 2 years ago

    Never played Starcraft 1, or in fact, many RTS's in general. However I've placed in a gold league 1v1, winning 3 out of 5 placement matches (4 if I didn't DC right before my army destroyed his last few units) I did some of the practise league games, got whopped at the start, but then did the smart thing and read some strats, mostly basic stuff about how to survive initial rushes/harrassment and counters and I was winning in no time. I don't feel at all threatened by not playing the first. Im your average joe here and I have no problem having a bloody great time in multiplayer. Practise = profit.

  • Dizzy #53 2 years ago

    "I love DOW (not so much DOW2, which went so far away from strategy that it basically became Diablo-lite), "

    You have not played DoW2 until you have played it online.