ChartSpot: May 2006
New Super Mario Bros. kicks Kingdom hearts out of the console top slot, while Guild Wars Factions reigns supreme in the PC realm.
Last week, NPD released its overview of the state of gaming for the month of May. As previously reported, the news was not good, with overall game sales seeing a year-on-year decline of 10, thanks to the dreaded console transition and a glut of underperforming titles.
Particularly surprising was the lackluster showing of the Xbox 360, as sales for the next-gen platform slid from $75 million in April to $47 million in May. The 360 was still represented on NPD's best-seller charts, which are determined by sales-volume-based rankings released by NPD (which differ slightly from the revenue-based rankings in the earlier NOD story). Games for the console turned up in fifth (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion), sixth (Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter), 13th (Fight Night Round 3), 17th (Battlefield 2: Modern Combat), and 20th (Major League Baseball 2K6).
Though Sony has taken a shellacking in the press over the PlayStation 3 price, its current-generation console, the PlayStation 2, dominated the charts in May, Thirteen of the top 20 slots for the month were for the platform. While some top finishers, like Kingdom Hearts II (second) were easily predicted, others surprised, such as the Guitar Hero Bundle (eighth).
May's top prize on the non-PC game charts belonged to a small Italian plumber of illustrious distinction. New Super Bros. for the DS was the number-one game of the month, just two slots ahead of another offering for Nintendo's dual-screen, Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day. However, they were the only two games for the platform that cracked the top 20, a fact not lost on analysts. Still, the DS did better than the PSP--not a single game for Sony's handheld made the list.
Meanwhile in PC-town, perennial favorite World of Warcraft saw itself usurped from the massively multiplayer online throne by Guild Wars Factions, which was the bestselling PC game of May, according to NPD. WOW was right behind it, though, followed by Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Then came The Sims 2, the first of several entries into the top 20 from Electronic Arts' ever-popular series, including: The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff (sixth), The Sims 2 Open for Business (eighth), the Sims 2 Nightlife (19th), and the Sims Complete Collection.
| ALL CONSOLES | ||||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | New Super Mario Bros. | DS | Nintendo | May-06 | $34 |
| 1 | 2 | Kingdom Hearts II | PS2 | Square Enix | Mar-06 | $49 |
| 14 | 3 | Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day | DS | Nintendo | Apr-06 | $20 |
| 5 | 4 | God of War | PS2 | Sony | Mar-05 | $20 |
| 3 | 5 | Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Xbox 360 | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $60 |
| 2 | 6 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter | Xbox 360 | Ubisoft | Mar-06 | $60 |
| 6 | 7 | MLB '06: The Show | PS2 | Sony | Mar-06 | $40 |
| ** | 8 | Guitar Hero Bundle | PS2 | Red Octane | Nov-05 | $70 |
| 15 | 9 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-04 | $20 |
| 17 | 10 | Kingdom Hearts | PS2 | Square Enix | Sep-02 | $20 |
| ** | 11 | X-Men: The Official Game | PS2 | Activision | May-06 | $40 |
| ** | 12 | Over the Hedge | PS2 | Activision | May-06 | $40 |
| 19 | 13 | Fight Night Round 3 | Xbox 360 | Electronic Arts | Feb-06 | $60 |
| ** | 14 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | PS2 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $30 |
| 4 | 15 | The Godfather: The Game | PS2 | Electronic Arts | Mar-06 | $40 |
| ** | 16 | Gran Turismo 4 | PS2 | Sony | Feb-05 | $20 |
| 10 | 17 | Battlefield 2: Modern Combat | Xbox 360 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $59 |
| ** | 18 | Midnight Club 3: Dub. Ed. Remix | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $20 |
| 7 | 19 | Major League Baseball 2k6 | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Apr-06 | $39 |
| 8 | 20 | Major League Baseball 2k6 | Xbox 360 | Take-Two Interactive | Apr-06 | $60 |
| PC | ||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Average Price |
| 5 | 1 | Guild Wars Factions | NCsoft | $50 |
| 3 | 2 | The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff | Electronic Arts | $19 |
| 4 | 3 | World of Warcraft | Vivendi | $45 |
| 2 | 4 | Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Take-Two Interactive | $48 |
| 1 | 5 | The Sims 2 Open For Business | Electronic Arts | $33 |
| 7 | 6 | The Sims 2 | Electronic Arts | $41 |
| ** | 7 | Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends | Microsoft | $47 |
| 6 | 8 | Star Wars: Empire At War | LucasArts | $29 |
| ** | 9 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter | Ubisoft | $49 |
| 11 | 10 | Battlefield 2 | Electronic Arts | $45 |
| 9 | 11 | Age of Empires III | Microsoft | $49 |
| 10 | 12 | Civilization IV | Take-Two Interactive | $49 |
| 12 | 13 | The Sims 2 Nightlife | Electronic Arts | $31 |
| 13 | 14 | Zoo Tycoon 2 | Microsoft | $25 |
| 8 | 15 | Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II | Electronic Arts | $49 |
| 14 | 16 | Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection | Microsoft | $26 |
| 19 | 17 | Warcraft III: Battle Chest | Vivendi | $39 |
| ** | 18 | Heroes of Might & Magic V | Ubisoft | $50 |
| 18 | 19 | The Sims 2 University | Electronic Arts | $31 |
| ** | 20 | Sim City 4 Deluxe | Electronic Arts | $23 |
| PLAYSTATION 2 | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 1 | 1 | Kingdom Hearts II | Square Enix | Mar-06 | $49 |
| 3 | 2 | God of War | Sony | Mar-05 | $20 |
| 4 | 3 | MLB '06: The Show | Sony | Mar-06 | $40 |
| ** | 4 | Guitar Hero Bundle | Red Octane | Nov-05 | $70 |
| 8 | 5 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-04 | $20 |
| 10 | 6 | Kingdom Hearts | Square Enix | Sep-02 | $20 |
| ** | 7 | X-Men: The Official Game | Activision | May-06 | $40 |
| ** | 8 | Over the Hedge | Activision | May-06 | $40 |
| ** | 9 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $30 |
| 2 | 10 | The Godfather: The Game | Electronic Arts | Mar-06 | $40 |
| XBOX | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 1 | 1 | Major League Baseball 2k6 | Take-Two Interactive | Apr-06 | $39 |
| 3 | 2 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Take-Two Interactive | Sep-05 | $20 |
| 6 | 3 | Halo 2 | Microsoft | Nov-04 | $29 |
| 4 | 4 | Fable | Microsoft | Sep-04 | $21 |
| ** | 5 | X-Men: The Official Game | Activision | May-06 | $40 |
| 2 | 6 | The Godfather: The Game | Electronic Arts | Mar-06 | $40 |
| ** | 7 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $30 |
| 5 | 8 | Tomb Raider: Legend | Eidos Interactive | Apr-06 | $49 |
| ** | 9 | Over the Hedge | Activision | May-06 | $40 |
| ** | 10 | Lego Star Wars | Eidos Interactive | Apr-05 | $20 |
| XBOX 360 | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 2 | 1 | Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $60 |
| 1 | 2 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter | Ubisoft | Mar-06 | $60 |
| 6 | 3 | Fight Night Round 3 | Electronic Arts | Feb-06 | $60 |
| 4 | 4 | Battlefield 2: Modern Combat | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $59 |
| 3 | 5 | Major League Baseball 2k6 | Take-Two Interactive | Apr-06 | $60 |
| ** | 6 | X-Men: The Official Game | Activision | Mar-06 | $60 |
| ** | 7 | Table Tennis | Take-Two Interactive | May-06 | $40 |
| 7 | 8 | Call of Duty 2 | Activision | Nov-05 | $58 |
| 5 | 9 | Tomb Raider: Legend | Eidos Interactive | Apr-06 | $60 |
| ** | 10 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $60 |
| GAMECUBE | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | Over the Hedge | Activision | May-06 | $40 |
| ** | 2 | Rampage: Total Destruction | Midway | Apr-06 | $20 |
| 5 | 3 | Naruto: Clash of Ninja | D3publisher | Mar-06 | $39 |
| ** | 4 | Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door | Nintendo | Oct-04 | $20 |
| 4 | 5 | Mario Kart: Double Dash !! | Nintendo | Nov-03 | $30 |
| 1 | 6 | Sonic Riders | Sega | Feb-06 | $40 |
| 8 | 7 | Super Smash Bro Melee | Nintendo | Dec-01 | $30 |
| ** | 8 | Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix W/Mat | Konami | Oct-05 | $50 |
| 10 | 9 | Lego Star Wars | Eidos Interactive | Oct-05 | $30 |
| 6 | 10 | Super Mario Sunshine | Nintendo | Aug-02 | $20 |
| GAME BOY ADVANCE | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 2 | 1 | Super Mario Advance | Nintendo | Jun-01 | $20 |
| ** | 2 | Over the Hedge | Activision | May-06 | $27 |
| 7 | 3 | Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | Square Enix | Dec-04 | $20 |
| 10 | 4 | Pokemon Emerald | Nintendo | Apr-05 | $35 |
| 5 | 5 | Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 | Nintendo | Sep-02 | $20 |
| 6 | 6 | Mario & Luigi Saga | Nintendo | Nov-03 | $20 |
| 1 | 7 | Ice Age 2: The Meltdown | Vivendi | Mar-06 | $30 |
| ** | 8 | Dogz | Ubisoft | Nov-05 | $30 |
| ** | 9 | The Wild | Buena Vista Games | Mar-06 | $20 |
| ** | 10 | Mario Bros 3: Mario 4 | Nintendo | Oct-03 | $31 |
| DS | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | New Super Mario Bros. | Nintendo | May-06 | $34 |
| 1 | 2 | Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day | Nintendo | Apr-06 | $20 |
| 2 | 3 | Metroid Prime: Hunters | Nintendo | Mar-06 | $35 |
| 3 | 4 | Animal Crossing: Wild World | Nintendo | Dec-05 | $35 |
| 5 | 5 | Mario Kart | Nintendo | Nov-05 | $35 |
| 7 | 6 | Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends | Nintendo | Aug-05 | $31 |
| 6 | 7 | Super Princess Peach | Nintendo | Feb-06 | $35 |
| 4 | 8 | Tetris | Nintendo | Mar-06 | $31 |
| ** | 9 | Over the Hedge | Activision | May-06 | $30 |
| 10 | 10 | Nintendogs: Labrador & Friends | Nintendo | Aug-05 | $31 |
| PSP | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 1 | 1 | MLB '06: The Show | Sony | Mar-06 | $40 |
| 2 | 2 | Daxter | Sony | Mar-06 | $40 |
| 3 | 3 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-05 | $47 |
| ** | 4 | Field Commander | Sony Online Ent. | May-06 | $40 |
| 4 | 5 | Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai | Atari | Mar-06 | $40 |
| ** | 6 | Monster Hunter Freedom | Capcom Usa | May-06 | $40 |
| 5 | 7 | Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror | Sony | Mar-06 | $40 |
| ** | 8 | Major League Baseball 2k6 | Take-Two Interactive | Apr-06 | $40 |
| 8 | 9 | SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo | Sony | Nov-05 | $40 |
| 9 | 10 | Fight Night Round 3 | Electronic Arts | Feb-06 | $40 |
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