Max Payne debuts at two

GodGames' latest third-person shooter, Max Payne, debuted at second place on NPD Intelect's latest list of best-selling games, behind Blizzard's popular role-playing game expansion Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Max Payne lets players assume the role of an undercover cop on the streets of New York City on a mission to stop the local mob from dealing a new drug. The game has received very favorable reviews, and it is currently one of GameSpot's top-rated action games.

Electronic Arts' virtual life game The Sims and its related expansion packs continued their strong selling streak, with The Sims taking third place, followed by The Sims: House Party Expansion pack in fourth place. The Sims: Livin' Large expansion pack came in at seventh place.

Fifth place on the list went to Diablo II, Blizzard's popular role-playing game. The game is now more than a year old, but it has regained a place on the top 10 list in recent weeks, fueled by the release of the Lord of Destruction expansion pack.

The following list ranks games according to retail sales. To see a list of games ranked according to GameSpot review score, visit our Top Games page.

Top-selling games for the week of July 22-28, 2001

Rank / Title / Publisher / Average price
1 / Diablo II: Lord of Destruction / Vivendi Universal / $34
2 / Max Payne / GodGames / $49
3 / The Sims / Electronic Arts / $42
4 / The Sims: House Party / Electronic Arts / $29
5 / Diablo II / Vivendi Universal / $39
6 / Roller Coaster Tycoon / Infogrames / $27
7 / The Sims: Livin' Large / Electronic Arts / $29
8 / Flight Simulator 2000 / Microsoft / $32
9 / Half-Life: Blue Shift / Vivendi Universal / $25
10 / Age Of Empires II: Age of Kings / Microsoft / $44