ChartSpot: August 2006
Madden succeeds NCAA to give EA console-game supremacy for a second month in a row; Dead Rising, Dirge of Cerberus, New Super Mario Bros. also finish big.
For the second month in a row, Electronic Arts has parlayed an exclusive football license into a cash cow. Following the multiplatform success of NCAA Football 07, Madden NFL 07 tackled the monthly non-PC game-sales chart. The PlayStation 2 version of the game was the top-selling title for the month, followed by the Xbox 360 edition in second and the original Xbox edition in fourth. The PSP Madden NFL 07 also cracked the top 20, landing in 17th place, but the GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and DS editions failed to make the cut.
Besides Madden, two other titles made strong debuts during August. The month's third-place game was Capcom's Dead Rising, which saw lively sales, thanks to its critically praised brand of zombie-killing action. Behind it was the considerably less lauded Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation 2. The spin-off of the Square Enix series overcame tepid reviews to be the month's number-five game, besting the only other all-new entrant, Ninety-Nine Nights for the Xbox 360, by five places.
On the PC charts, World of Warcraft was the number-one game...again. It marks the third month in a row that the game has been on top, following its brief dethroning in May by Guild Wars Factions, this month's eighth-place finisher. In second was the game that has been its nemesis since they both went on sale in fall 2004, The Sims 2. Two expansions for Electronic Arts' best-selling series also cracked the top 10--The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff (third) and The Sims 2 Open for Business (fifth).
Civilization IV made the PC top 20--twice. The original game shot up eight places to land in sixth, two places behind its first expansion, Civilization IV: Warlords. Only one other strategy title, Age of Empires III, cracked the top 10, and it had to settle for the bottom slot.
The last two titles on the PC top 10 were both of the family-friendly variety: Valusoft's Paws & Claws Pet Vet (seventh) and Valusoft parent THQ's Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures (ninth).
ALL CONSOLES | ||||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
** | 1 | Madden NFL 07 | PS2 | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $48 |
** | 2 | Madden NFL 07 | 360 | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $58 |
** | 3 | Dead Rising | 360 | Capcom | Aug-06 | $60 |
** | 4 | Madden NFL 07 | Xbox | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $49 |
** | 5 | Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus | PS2 | Square Enix | Aug-06 | $49 |
3 | 6 | New Super Mario Bros | DS | Nintendo | May-06 | $35 |
1 | 7 | NCAA Football 07 | PS2 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $50 |
4 | 8 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Jun-06 | $20 |
7 | 9 | Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day | DS | Nintendo | Apr-06 | $20 |
** | 10 | Ninety-Nine Nights | 360 | Microsoft | Aug-06 | $50 |
2 | 11 | NCAA Football 07 | 360 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $60 |
13 | 12 | Naruto: Ultimate Ninja | PS2 | Namco | Jun-06 | $40 |
8 | 13 | Big Brain Academy | DS | Nintendo | Jun-06 | $20 |
16 | 14 | Guitar Hero | PS2 | Activision | Nov-05 | $70 |
19 | 15 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-04 | $20 |
15 | 16 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | PS2 | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $20 |
** | 17 | Madden NFL 07 | PSP | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $38 |
17 | 18 | God of War | PS2 | Sony | Mar-05 | $20 |
** | 19 | Mario Kart | DS | Nintendo | Nov-05 | $35 |
5 | 20 | NCAA Football 07 | Xbox | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $50 |
PC | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Average Price | |
1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | Vivendi | $35 | |
4 | 2 | The Sims 2 | Electronic Arts | $40 | |
3 | 3 | The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff | Electronic Arts | $19 | |
17 | 4 | Civilization IV: Warlords | Take-Two Interactive | $29 | |
5 | 5 | The Sims 2 Open For Business | Electronic Arts | $30 | |
14 | 6 | Civilization IV | Take-Two Interactive | $43 | |
** | 7 | Paws & Claws Pet Vet | Valusoft (THQ) | $17 | |
6 | 8 | Guild Wars Factions | NCsoft | $48 | |
2 | 9 | Cars Radiator Springs Adventures | THQ | $20 | |
11 | 10 | Age of Empires III | Microsoft | $48 | |
8 | 11 | Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Take-Two Interactive | $47 | |
12 | 12 | The Sims 2 Nightlife | Electronic Arts | $31 | |
9 | 13 | Half-Life 2: Episode 1 | Electronic Arts | $19 | |
15 | 14 | Warcraft III: Battle Chest | Vivendi | $38 | |
13 | 15 | Zoo Tycoon 2 | Microsoft | $26 | |
** | 16 | Nancy Drew: Danger By Design | Her Interactive | $20 | |
** | 17 | Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Gold | Atari | $23 | |
7 | 18 | Titan Quest | THQ | $49 | |
** | 19 | Sim City 4 Deluxe | Electronic Arts | $21 | |
16 | 20 | The Sims Complete Collection | Electronic Arts | $38 |
PLAYSTATION 2 | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
** | 1 | Madden NFL 07 | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $48 |
** | 2 | Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus | Square Enix | Aug-06 | $49 |
1 | 3 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $50 |
** | 4 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | Take-Two Interactive | Jun-06 | $20 |
2 | 5 | Naruto: Ultimate Ninja | Namco | Jun-06 | $40 |
5 | 6 | Guitar Hero | Activision | Nov-05 | $70 |
7 | 7 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-04 | $20 |
9 | 8 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $20 |
6 | 9 | God of War | Sony | Mar-05 | $20 |
8 | 10 | Midnight Club 3 : Dub Edition Remix | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $20 |
XBOX | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
** | 1 | Madden NFL 07 | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $49 |
1 | 2 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $50 |
3 | 3 | Halo 2 | Microsoft | Nov-04 | $29 |
5 | 4 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Take-Two Interactive | Sep-05 | $21 |
7 | 5 | Fable | Microsoft | Sep-04 | $21 |
4 | 6 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $21 |
** | 7 | Flatout 2 | Vivendi | Aug-06 | $39 |
6 | 8 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $40 |
** | 9 | Lego Star Wars | Eidos Interactive | Apr-05 | $20 |
10 | 10 | Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $20 |
XBOX 360 | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
** | 1 | Madden NFL 07 | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $58 |
** | 2 | Dead Rising | Capcom | Aug-06 | $60 |
** | 3 | Ninety-Nine Nights | Microsoft | Aug-06 | $50 |
** | 4 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $60 |
1 | 5 | Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $59 |
5 | 6 | Call of Duty 2 | Activision | Nov-05 | $58 |
10 | 7 | Chromehounds | Sega | Jul-06 | $60 |
2 | 8 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter | Ubisoft | Mar-06 | $59 |
7 | 9 | Fight Night Round 3 | Electronic Arts | Feb-06 | $59 |
8 | 10 | Prey | Take-Two Interactive | Jul-06 | $58 |
GAMECUBE | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
** | 1 | Madden NFL 07 | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $38 |
2 | 2 | Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door | Nintendo | Oct-04 | $21 |
6 | 3 | Lego Star Wars | Eidos Interactive | Oct-05 | $20 |
3 | 4 | Naruto: Clash of Ninja | D3publisher | Mar-06 | $35 |
4 | 5 | Super Smash Bros. Melee | Nintendo | Dec-01 | $30 |
5 | 6 | Mario Kart: Double Dash !! | Nintendo | Nov-03 | $30 |
1 | 7 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $40 |
8 | 8 | Teen Titans | THQ | May-06 | $20 |
7 | 9 | Super Mario Sunshine | Nintendo | Aug-02 | $20 |
** | 10 | Star Fox: Assault | Nintendo | Feb-05 | $21 |
GBA | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
2 | 1 | Super Mario Advance | Nintendo | Jun-01 | $20 |
1 | 2 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $30 |
3 | 3 | Pokemon Emerald | Nintendo | Apr-05 | $35 |
4 | 4 | Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Buena Vista Games | Jun-06 | $27 |
5 | 5 | Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 | Nintendo | Sep-02 | $20 |
7 | 6 | Dogz | Ubisoft | Nov-05 | $30 |
8 | 7 | Mario Bros 3: Mario 4 | Nintendo | Oct-03 | $31 |
6 | 8 | Mario & Luigi Saga | Nintendo | Nov-03 | $20 |
** | 9 | Monster House | THQ | Jul-06 | $30 |
** | 10 | Pokemon FireRed | Nintendo | Sep-04 | $34 |
DS | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
1 | 1 | New Super Mario Bros | Nintendo | May-06 | $35 |
2 | 2 | Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day | Nintendo | Apr-06 | $20 |
3 | 3 | Big Brain Academy | Nintendo | Jun-06 | $20 |
4 | 4 | Mario Kart | Nintendo | Nov-05 | $35 |
5 | 5 | Animal Crossing: Wild World | Nintendo | Dec-05 | $35 |
7 | 6 | Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends | Nintendo | Aug-05 | $31 |
9 | 7 | Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Buena Vista Games | Jun-06 | $31 |
** | 8 | Nintendogs: Chihuahua & Friends | Nintendo | Aug-05 | $31 |
** | 9 | Sonic Rush | Sega | Nov-05 | $19 |
** | 10 | Super Mario 64 DS | Nintendo | Nov-04 | $30 |
PSP | |||||
Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
** | 1 | Madden NFL 07 | Electronic Arts | Aug-06 | $38 |
** | 2 | Tekken: Dark Resurrection | Namco | Jul-06 | $40 |
** | 3 | Midnight Club 3: Dub | Take-Two Interactive | Jun-05 | $20 |
1 | 4 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $40 |
9 | 5 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $20 |
4 | 6 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-05 | $38 |
2 | 7 | Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth | Square Enix | Jul-06 | $40 |
3 | 8 | Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Buena Vista Games | Jun-06 | $39 |
10 | 9 | Need Speed Most Wanted | Electronic Arts | Nov-05 | $40 |
7 | 10 | MLB '06: The Show | Sony | Mar-06 | $40 |
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