ChartSpot: August 2009

Last Thursday, the NPD Group released its August US game-industry figures, which showed a 25 percent decrease in game software sales. (Overall, the US game industry decreased by 16 percent.) Now, the company has released its charts of the top 20 PC and non-PC games for the month, which revealed a broader picture of how publishers' latest wares stacked up.

As shown in the non-PC top 10 released with the industry figures, Madden NFL 10 was the best-selling game of August, followed by Wii Sports Resort and Batman Arkham Asylum. The top 20 showed the Wii version of the football sim--which sold only 66,600 copies, landed in 17th place--with the PSP edition of the game nowhere to be found. Other underwhelming debuts included Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS, 16th), and Wolfenstein (360, 18th).

Over on the PC chart, the usually tit-for-tat Sims-vs.-World of Warcraft battle for supremacy saw the Sims 3 prevail over the Wrath of the Lich King WOW expansion pack for the top slot. However, the chart was shaken up by the casual compilation Mumbo Jumbo Assortment, which came in fourth at an average retail price of $3. Right behind it was another newcomer, the Final Fantasy XI: Starter Pack, which had an even lower price--$1.99 at retail, but a $0.00 average cost, according to NPD. The pack lets players install the venerable massively multiplayer online role-playing game and play for a month gratis.

Finally, as previously reported, Activision and Raven Software's reboot of the classic id Software franchise Wolfenstein fared poorly with the original's core PC audience. The game sold barely more than 17,000 units on the PC, good enough for a seventh-place finish on the PC charts. On all platforms, the game sold just 106,000 units in the US in the five days after its August 25 release.

TOP-SELLING NON-PC GAMES - AUGUST 2009
Last Month / Rank / Title / Platform / Publisher / Units
** / 1 / Madden NFL 10 / 360 / Electronic Arts / 928,000
1 / 2 / Wii Sports Resort w/ Wii Motion Plus / Wii / Nintendo / 754,000
** / 3 / Madden NFL 10 / PS3 / Electronic Arts / 665,000
** / 4 / Batman: Arkham Asylum / 360 / Square Enix / 303,000
** / 5 / Batman: Arkham Asylum / PS3 / Square Enix / 290,000
** / 6 / Madden NFL 10 / PS2 / Electronic Arts / 160,000
** / 7 / Dissidia: Final Fantasy / PSP / Square Enix / 130,000
4 / 8 / Wii Fit / Wii / Nintendo / 128,000
5 / 9 / Mario Kart Wii w/ Wheel / Wii / Nintendo / 120,000
** / 10 / Fossil Fighters / DS / Nintendo / 92,000
6 / 11 / Mario Kart DS / DS / Nintendo
9 / 12 / New Super Mario Bros / DS / Nintendo
12 / 13 / Wii Play w/ Remote / Wii / Nintendo
8 / 14 / Pokemon Platinum Version / DS / Nintendo
2 / 15 / NCAA Football 10 / 360 / Electronic Arts
** / 16 / Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box / DS / Nintendo
** / 17 / Madden NFL 10 / Wii / Electronic Arts
** / 18 / Wolfenstein / 360 / Activision Blizzard
10 / 19 / EA Sports Active / Wii / Electronic Arts
11 / 20 / Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 / Wii / Electronic Arts

TOP-SELLING PC GAMES - AUGUST 2009
Last Month / Rank / / Title / Publisher / Average price
1 / 1 / The Sims 3 / Electronic Arts / $49
3/ 2 / World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $39
4 / 3/ The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / Electronic Arts / $20
** /4 / Mumbo Jumbo Assortment / Mumbo Jumbo / $3
**/ 5 / Final Fantasy XI: Starter Pack / Square Enix / $0
5 / 6 / World of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39
**/ 7 / Wolfenstein / Activision / $49
8 / 8 / World of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20
6 / 9 / Spore / Electronic Arts / $40
2 / 10 / Nancy Drew: Ransom of The Seven Ships / Her Interactive / $20
9 /11 / Starcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $19
7 / 12 / Spore Galactic Adventures / Electronic Arts / $30
10 / 13 / World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade / Blizzard / $30
11 / 14 / Empire: Total War / Sega/ $44
12 / 15 / Warcraft III Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39
15 / 16 / Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $40
13 / 17 / Civilization IV: Complete Edition / 2K Games / $40
14 / 18 / Sim City Box / Electronic Arts / $20
18 / 19 / Reel Deal Slots Adventure / Phantom EFX / $20
17 / 20 / Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY Ed. / 2K Games/ $20