UK charts: World at War sees off Lara

By Robert Purchese Published 25 November, 2008

Newcomers struggle. Full top 40 inside.

Call of Duty: World at War has clung onto the UK all-formats top spot this week despite a chart stuffed with newcomers.

The usually chart-strong Need For Speed series only managed to enter at four with Undercover. But that's better than regional heroine Lara Croft, who re-enters the chart with Tomb Raider: Underworld at nine.

Further down, and Left 4 Dead - admittedly skewed to the more hardcore crowd - debuted at 15.

Those entries, however, are miles ahead of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, which missed the top 40 and only managed to place in the separate format lists; at 18 on Xbox 360, and 13 on PlayStation 3.

Lips, the great pretender, missed the all-formats top 40 completely and showed up at 19 in the Xbox 360 chart. But that was better than The Last Remnant, which appeared in the same list at 25 - despite releasing a whole day earlier.

Still, they were all better than LocoRoco 2, which didn't appear anywhere. Shame, as it only costs around GBP 18 and is really rather good.

Rock Band 2 turned up on Xbox 360 in Europe to kick start the battle of the bands. But without a refreshed selection of instruments, it only managed to reach 17 in the Xbox 360 chart.

With Guitar Hero World Tour at seven in the same list, and at 11 in the top 40, there was little in the way of competition.

Football Manager also proved to be more popular than rat-punching by holding at seven in the top 40, ahead of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, which tumbled dramatically down from 2 to 34.

As for the top 10 - see we did finally get round to it - Nintendo games and football titles filled the gaps, as you can see below.

LittleBigPlanet continues to slip, and is down at 24 this week. And Fable II falls off the top 40 for the first time.

  1. Call of Duty: World at War (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS)
  2. FIFA 09 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS)
  3. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
  4. Need for Speed Undercover (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS)
  5. Wii Fit (Wii)
  6. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS)
  7. Football Manager 2009 (PC, PSP)
  8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
  9. Tomb Raider: Underworld (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS)
  10. Wii Play (Wii)
  11. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii)
  12. Wii Music (Wii)
  13. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii, DS)
  14. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)
  15. Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360)
  16. LEGO Indiana Jones (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS)
  17. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PSP, DS, PS2)
  18. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)
  19. LEGO Batman (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS)
  20. Carnival: Funfair Games (Wii)
  21. Kung Fu Panda (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS)
  22. Quantum of Solace (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS)
  23. Fallout 3 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
  24. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
  25. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
  26. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima (DS)
  27. Shaun White Snowboarding (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS)
  28. Mirror's Edge (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
  29. Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Xbox 360, PS3)
  30. High School Musical 3: Senior Year (DS)
  31. MySims Kingdom (Wii, DS)
  32. Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Wii, DS, PS2, PSP)
  33. Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360, PS3)
  34. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
  35. WALL-E (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS)
  36. Tiger Woods PGA Tour '09 (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii)
  37. SEGA Superstars Tennis (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS)
  38. Far Cry 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
  39. SingStar ABBA (PS3, PS2)
  40. Project Gotham Racing (Xbox 360)

Leisure software charts compiled by 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.

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

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Comments (52) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • the_dudefather #1 3 years ago

    the wii is clawing its way back up the tower

  • DanWhitehead #2 3 years ago

    Hopefully this will lead to a major rethink at all the major publishers about spreading their games more evenly throughout the year. Hollywood had a similar crunch a few years ago, with too many movies crammed into June and July. Movies that should have been big hits just got lost in the crunch, so now you're as likely to see a big blockbuster release in early May, August, September or even December.

  • skillian #3 3 years ago

    Hopefully this will lead to a major rethink at all the major publishers about spreading their games more evenly throughout the year.

    Don't get your hopes up too much.

  • captainrentboy #4 3 years ago

    Still haven't tried Left for Dead, but I haven't seen a title being bought and then traded in as rapidly as I have that one, and not just once, we had like 20 or so traded back in over the weekend:/ I guess it's not for everyone huh?
    I thought the new Lara would have done a lil better too.
    I'm just glad I can finally take a breather, there are no titles being released over the next couple of months that I fancy buying, so I can put my money towards things like food, and paying the rent...

  • Kyledanutmeg #5 3 years ago

    yea its annying how about 20 games came out at once at these times as well lol but oh well

  • Moonprince #6 3 years ago

    "Don't get your hopes up too much."

    They're aware of it (some of them at least) so there's a chance...

  • Arwin #7 3 years ago

    I was hoping to buy Loco Roco 2 off the PSN store, but so far I've only seen the demo up there (I'm in the Netherlands though).

    Your right, it's weird that TR did better on PS3 - I'd initially have thought that Uncharted would have gotten in the way of Lara, but maybe it's the other way around and more people who like TR type of games have bought PS3s because of Uncharted.

    Or maybe Legend sold a lot on 360 and people who played that didn't want to get another Tomb Raider game, because they already have one ...

    Maybe gamesindustry.biz can figure that one out. ;)

  • Dizzy #8 3 years ago

    "Guess that exclusive DLC isn't much of an enticement. "

    A lot more 360 games in the top 40 list (14 vs 6) so I guess 360 owners are having to spread their $$$ love a lot thinner. Looks like Lara lost out ;)
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/08 @ 09:41

  • Dizzy #9 3 years ago

    I think this says it all about Midway:

    http://www .ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php

  • miiiguel #10 3 years ago

    "Guess that exclusive DLC isn't much of an enticement. "
    Games like NFS; PES; and other oldies are always going to sell more on the oldest brand this gen (in Europe, check US charts...).

  • tonyferrino #11 3 years ago

    So, as someone who wants to give Left 4 Dead a go, should I wait a week or two? It seems like there will be some discounts quite soon. Same with MK v DC. I expect COD:WaW will keep its trade-in value quite well though.

  • Zomoniac #12 3 years ago

    Perhaps Rock Band 2 would've featured had they sent some copies? The reasonably large Gamestation my girlfriend works at got a whole 3 copies, all of which were reserved by staff and/or staff's boyfriends.

  • Zomoniac #13 3 years ago

    Wrath Of The Lich King must be a record fast faller. 2nd to 34th in a week??

  • CapnCloudchaser #14 3 years ago

    Back to normal then?

  • drumbaby #15 3 years ago

    "Or maybe Legend sold a lot on 360 and people who played that didn't want to get another Tomb Raider game, because they already have one ... "

    That was my feeling. PS3 owners must have been waiting for a next gen' TR...in HD that is. Xbox 360 owners have already had two such TR games.

  • captainrentboy #16 3 years ago

    We haven't had a single copy of Lich King in stock since launch weekend, that could be an issue too I guess.

  • Madafunkola #17 3 years ago

    Mirrors Edge did pathetically too (about 14 last week or something stupid).
    Seems people won't stretch their credit crunch £/€'s to new IP's. So now they will have to stop complaining when next "holiday season" all we get is NFS Extremeground Wanted, FIFA2010, FranchiseX, Francise Simulator SUper.....

  • jebus #18 3 years ago

    lavalant
    25-Nov-08 09:55:47

    Left 4 dead is very very short and runs on a dated game engine, it should have been priced as a budget title, but as it probably cost 10p to make Valve are probably very chuffed.

    That's quite ill informed. It's primarily a MP game and as such longevity is infinate, the engine is fine for purpose and it probably had a fairly large budget.
    The real reason that it is only 15 in the chart I imagine is becasue most of the sales are through Steam on PC as who the hell shops for games on the High Street these days? Only idiots and parents.

  • menage #19 3 years ago

    I don't care about this list anymore. It's filled with Christmas people buying Christmas crap for little Johny and Auntie Sue.


  • Widge #20 3 years ago

    The thing is, should Left4Dead cost much more than something like Portal or CounterStrike:Source or Day Of Defeat:Source, I say no. Certainly on PC.

  • MrChuckles #21 3 years ago

    I wonder if you include 2nd hand sales, who would be winning then?

  • HolyJebus #22 3 years ago

    For an industry that is so up in arms about the second hand business they really are not helping their cause by releasing so many games at the same time. This is definitely going to encourage people to pick up second hand games like L4D and Mirrors Edge after they pick up others at full price first. If these games were released a few months ago I'm sure more people would buy them new.

  • jebus #23 3 years ago

    lavalant
    25-Nov-08 10:41:25 @jebus, It's still a budget title, MP or otherwise and should have retailed at £19.99, but you're right, those sales will mainly reflect 360 sales as PC sales would have been through steam.


    Yeah maybe that's true, my point was really only about the longevity of the game. I can see myself still playing it long after the campaign has been finished - which if you wanted to could be played through in an evening on easy.

  • SteveB #24 3 years ago

    On a purely financial level, releasing lots of games at the same time is good for the consumer. Most people won’t have the time to play all the games they want on release and so by the time they do they will be cheaper.

    For example games that I will buy, but haven’t yet like Fable 2, Far Cry 2, Dead Space and Midnight Club LA have already come down in price and will probably drop more by the time that I do.
    Edited by 1 at 25/11/08 @ 10:49

  • Widge #25 3 years ago

    I probably would have bought a big fat load more games if they hadn't all been released in the one month.

  • Darren #26 3 years ago

    GAME totally messed up my Tomb Raider Underworld PC order and only sent it finally last night... at 5:15pm... so as expected it didn't arrive in this morning's post but should arrive tomorrow, almost a week late. As such, my copy isn't included in those charts! :(

  • the_dudefather #27 3 years ago

    I would have got tomb raider, but I was put off by the sub 8 scores, if only more websites give it at least 8/10 before the weekend I would have bought it, but alas they didn't

  • Eraysor #28 3 years ago

    I'm really surprised by LBP's mediocre sales. I thought it was going to dominate for weeks.

  • BlueDot #29 3 years ago

    Surprisingly, I think I haven't played a TR game since the original one. I'll get the new one in the sales.

  • bodypopper #30 3 years ago

    A franchise like Tomb Raider would work well as a 'tune in next month' episodic download at £5 a pop on Xbox Live, PSN or Steam I reckon but I guess it's not as economically viable as putting out a full game for £40.

  • muscleblade #31 3 years ago

    "Weirdest thing is how much better Tomb Raider did on PS3 than 360. PS3 version came in at 14, while the 360 version could only manage 28. Guess that exclusive DLC isn't much of an enticement. "

    Not weird at all considering Gears of war 2 being only on the 360. Most 360 owners play it so much they dont need any 70-80% scoring games. Left4 Dead is selling surprisingly low. Its a fantastic game imo but if you are the kind of gamer that play through a game once and then return it i guess the premise is wrong for you. You can complete it in 4 hours.

  • Monkey_Puncher #32 3 years ago

    Mario and Sonic at the Olympics sold more than Left 4 Dead?

    IDIOTS!

  • BobsUncle #33 3 years ago

    @SteveB

    I can't find Dead Space on the 360 cheap anywhere. And by cheap I mean less than £30. Play and Amazon are still selling it for £40! Zavvi for 35.

  • Rash' #34 3 years ago

    Monkey_Puncher, Why is it so hard for gamers to understand that content is more important to consumers than quality. And yes there is a distinction between a gamer and a consumer that buys games. :p

  • SteveB #35 3 years ago

    @BobsUncle - Dead Space was £24.99 on the 360 in store at Gamestation yesterday.

  • captainrentboy #36 3 years ago

    ''who the hell shops for games on the High Street these days? Only idiots and parents.''

    Just taking into account Left For Dead (360), the game is a whopping £3.98 cheaper online (from only one retailer mind) than it is on the high street.
    So I'd imagine for most folk it would come down to, do I want it right now? In which case nip down town and buy it, or do I want it in 4 days? In which case they save a couple of quid and order it online.
    In either case, neither option is particularly idiotic :/
    The way some folk go on about buying games online, you'd think you could save like £15 off every new release or something.

  • andijames #37 3 years ago

    Just shows you how good games like FIFA 09 are when they're number 2 in the chart after being out for 7-8 weeks!

  • bad09 #38 3 years ago

    See the chavs have been out in force helping EA make money off Need For Speed again :)

  • Santino #39 3 years ago

    "See VGCharts"

    never ever use VGCharts, they only make numbers up i thought everybody knew this. they are no more accurate than picking a random number for yourself.

    good to see tomb raider not doing very well, eidos dont deserve it for the stunt they pulled with reviewers.

  • onyxbox #40 3 years ago

    Left 4 Dead is hidden away on the bottom shelf

    yeah, I came out of shop on Saturday thinking it hadn't been released... I'm hoping it will be a Game deal of the day or something by next week @£19.99 or something.

  • Nephirion #41 3 years ago

    Left 4 dead is a fun game but hugely overpriced why its more than TF2 and the Orange box is a piss take.

  • BartonFink #42 3 years ago

    It really is appaling to see shit like Wii Music actually climbing up the charts while quality like LBP, Fable II, etc drop off.
    Welcome to the world of Wii I guess.

    Just wait for it the next one to climb up there will be Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels on Wii.

  • hahayou #43 3 years ago

    Left 4 Dead has a single-player mode too, so it's pretty reasonable that it costs a bit more than TF2.

  • Widge #44 3 years ago

    The co-op mode with AI players? You can slap bots into CounterStrike but that doesn't make it a £40 game.

  • bonker #45 3 years ago

    No comments on the AAA title Fable II dropping out of the top 40 after, what, barely a month??

  • bad09 #46 3 years ago

    "No comments on the AAA title Fable II dropping out of the top 40 after, what, barely a month??"

    I'm more upset about Dead Space falling off the charts faster than a leg off a necromorph :(

  • BartonFink #47 3 years ago

    "No comments on the AAA title Fable II dropping out of the top 40 after, what, barely a month??"

    Still at 33 in the individual charts - but yea it's disappointing to see something of that quality dropping off the all formats chart in favour of some of the other shit in there.

  • Sid-Nice #48 3 years ago

    It's nice to see that the hardcore gamers on the Xbox 360 and PS3 are still backing Need for Speed while the casuals on the Wii didn't buy it. The chart is rather familiar with the run up to Christmas, with Need for Speed, Fifa and Call of Duty all in the top 5. Just out of curiosity does anyone know the actual UK sales data for Mario Kart and Mario and Sonic? These games have been in the charts for the best part of 8 months.

  • SlackMaster #49 3 years ago

    I still can't believe carnival games is selling so well after all this time with so many great titles out.

  • secombe #50 3 years ago

    Lifetime UK sales for Mario Kart would be very interesting, apart from when it's been low on stock it always seems to have occupied a top 5 slot.

  • Law07 #51 3 years ago

    No comments on the AAA title Fable II dropping out of the top 40 after, what, barely a month??

    Agreed, if it was LBP there'd be pandomonieum.

    And Gears 2 only 14th?
    Edited by 1 at 26/11/08 @ 17:09

  • Plughead #52 3 years ago

    RE: Left 4 Dead

    If nobody has mentioned it, it might be worth noting that Chart-Track do NOT take Steam sales into account ... and I think you'll find its chart position would be significantly changed if they did
    Edited by 1 at 27/11/08 @ 10:42