Evil can't remove Sims from No.1 Residency
Everything I do I do it for EA
The Sims spent its sixth straight week at the top of Chart-Track's All Formats listing, despite fierce competition from Capcom's Resident Evil Zero, which was forced to settle for the No.2 slot.
No fewer than five new entries appeared this week, including Tenchu: Wrath Of Heaven at No.4, MGS2: Substance at No.13, Sonic Mega Collection at No.14, Phantasy Star Online: Episodes I & II at No.26, and Master Of Orion III at No.37.
ToeJam & Earl III: Mission To Earth, meanwhile stiffed badly, only managing a disappointing No.10 on the Xbox chart. Ultima Online: Age Of Shadows entered the PC Full Price chart at No.9, while Sega's Shining Soul scraped in at No.18 in the GBA chart. Other missing-in-action titles include Virtua Tennis on GBA, Sega Bass Fishing Duel, Paris Dakar Rally 2 and Everblue 2. Sometimes, there's just too much choice.
The top of the budget chart remains the same as last week, with Crash Bandicoot: Wrath Of Cortex, Harry Potter and Max Payne again proving to be the top choices with cash-strapped punters. Meanwhile, it was heartening to see Silent Hill 2 make a return to Top 40 duty, thanks to its recent re-release on the Platinum label.
Rayman 3's slow climb up the charts continued after its poor start, with the combined GBA and GameCube sales pushing it up to No.24, with PS2, Xbox and PC versions due out imminently. Continuing the platform revival is Namco's distinctly average Pac-Man World 2, which is surprisingly working its way up the charts, up 12 places to No.21, with GameCube and Xbox versions also due shortly.
Format-wise, the PS2 continues its utter dominance, but the Cube is in fact having its best week for months, with no fewer than four console exclusive titles in the Top 40, the Xbox has just one - MGS2: Substance, while the PC manages two.
Next week should see a spot of spring-cleaning in the charts, with another ton of new releases. Our monkey magic top tips for the week include Super Monkey Ball 2, Ape Escape 2, House Of The Dead III, Crash Bandicoot 2: N-tranced, The Mark Of Kri and Defender, not forgetting a boost for The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (out Friday on Xbox and Cube), and Rayman 3 (Xbox and PS2).