US PC game charts: June 18-24

  • By Patrick Caldwell, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 5, 2006 4:56 pm PT

After Cars' weeklong 'Adventure' at the top, Blizzard's MMORPG battering ram known as World of Warcraft knocks the game adaptation from the No. 1 position.

Perhaps riding the wave of publicity from the latest Pixar movie, the game version of Cars parked into the No. 1 spot a week ago. But this week was a return to familiar terrority: Blizzard's World of Warcraft, a best-seller since its release in November 2004, hurdled over Cars to reclaim the top spot once again, according to data from research group NPD Funworld.

World of Warcraft also vaulted over Half-Life 2: Episode One, which dropped one spot to No. 3 this week, in the number of games sold at retail. But the actual number of copies of Episode One sold is higher than what the NPD figures depict. Episode One is also available for purchase on Valve Software's popular digital distribution client, Steam, yet NPD sales charts only account for boxed, retail purchases--not digital downloads.

Still, the budget-priced Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures, rated E for Everyone, showed resiliency, holding the No. 2 slot. It debuted two weeks ago in third place before taking last week's pole position.

Anchored in fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, were a trio of Sims games--The Sims 2, The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff, and The Sims 2: Open for Business. The bottom four saw a coterie of role-playing and strategy games shift places, but none were bumped off the list. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion jumped to No. 7 from eighth place, while Heroes of Might & Magic V skipped back two spots to ninth.

73 Comments

  • rambolito

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 9:26 pm PT

    I've been playing WoW for 16 months now, I've spent about 600 hours online and it has cost me 0,41 eurocents per hour (246,79 euro total). If you want to beat that with a game like 'Far Cry', 'F.E.A.R' or 'Half Life' f.i., you really must love the replay value of that game. Is WoW the best MMORPG ever? Probably not. Is it popular? Yes. Is Microsoft Windows the best OS ever? Nope. Is it popular? Yes!
    Why? Because both of 'm have good marketing strategies, besides that they are easily accessible. You don't have to be a RPG-freak to play WoW. Personally I'm more into FPS games, my fighting in WoW reflects that, so maybe I'm not playing WoW the right way, but man do I have fun! And that's what it's all about! Having a great time!

  • cyborg100000

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 1:57 pm PT

    Blizzard dont use WoW for money! They concentrate on WoW to make it the most fun and best game possible. I have been playing WoW for 4 months now and am enjoying every sec on the game! Oh yeah, wow advertises a lot thats why over 6 mill people play it. How about no, its because its so dam fun and addictive which other current MMOS dont have. If it wasnt a good game it would have gone out of the charts in early 2005! Oh yeah, why do games like cars and shark tale come in top 10? They are crappy 6 hour games that have no effort in them at all!!!

  • mareaper

    Posted Jul 10, 2006 9:17 am PT

    Wow that long at #1 and I still have no interest in playing it. They idea of paying a monthly fee to play does not sit well with me.
    I wonder if it will be able to keep that spot once the new generation of first person shooters(PREY, CRYSIS, etc.) pour in.

  • Terdog

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 7:42 pm PT

    You know what. I dont care what the sales figues for any games are, or the reiview scores for that matter. If I like a game I will play it.

    With that said, I had left WoW for a bit, went back in, but this tiem, might be for good. Alot of people half left the game fot better pastures. Its not totally retared, we can thank all the gold farmers for that. But look at everquest when it was popular, there was massive gold farming there too

    Personally, I'm glad TES:IV is selling well, but I wish these charts took online sales too. So many games are bought online now. Why even bother if you are going to just track retail sales. Getting only half the picture if you ask me.

  • nikeportugal

    Posted Jul 9, 2006 4:53 pm PT

    I just wonder how many of those copies bought were from gold farmers buying another copy of the game cus their accounts were deleted

  • Karjah

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 7:52 pm PT

    I'm amazed wow is selling that many copies you would think that anyone who is going to play would have already jumped on the wagon.

    I really want to see WoW off that list so we can have that spot back there for something new.

  • mbmariogc3s

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 6:39 pm PT

    And the best game on the list?... The sims 2. it and its predisesser are the best selling pc games of all time, and it will stay that way, if the expantion packs and games keep selling the way thay are.

  • MasterIsHere

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 12:52 pm PT

    Popular does not equal better.

    For example, the bands Nevermore and Metal Church are way better than Slipknot and SoaD...but Slipknot and SoaD are way more popular.

    WoW is popular, but that is because it's the most advertised MMO on the market...if EverQuest (1999) was advertised, then we would not think special thoughts about World of Warcraft at all. Plus, the end game for WoW isn't fun at all.

  • jeffosoft

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 8:49 pm PT

    Everybody either hates or loves #1

    Walmart...Microsoft..Blizzard.. Harry Potter.. Im out of examples but the point is everything something becomes big or popular there will be a huge following of people that think its horrible and an equal amount of people that think they are crazy and love the company/product.

    I personally made it to level 45 hunter and 25 Preist in WOW and I dont hate the game I was very entertained by it but I got over it and have a family now and dont care to play it anymore.

    Halo I didnt like I thought it was way behind its time but thats my opinion and there is no point in argueing with someone that disagrees just say " thats cool *or what ever your phrase is*" and get over it you wont change their mind and it you really think about it do you really want to?

    Some people like yellow cars... I hate yellow cars .....sorry I had to enter that last comment they tick me off... yellow cars.. pfff.. whatever



  • Darth_123

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 7:36 pm PT

    I'm not particularly surprised that World of Warcraft is in first place on that list again. Blizzard Entertainment made an addictive game, but I personally do not wish to purchase or play it.

    I've lost a lot of faith in that company to be honest.

  • Curufinwe8

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:34 pm PT

    I do own stock.

  • KynKoolij

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 3:35 pm PT

    Some of you need to get a frigging life. Who gives a dam what game is in what spot on the list. It doesn't mean anything. Unless you're a shareholder or something what the f--- does anyone care what games are making the money. Everyone playing these games is just a checkmark in a column somewhere, these companies don't give a s--- about us. Just play the dam games you like and shut up.

  • Curufinwe8

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 1:01 pm PT

    In response to: MiniSiets

    Reviewers love any game that you can jump into and master in 5 minutes. In World of Warcraft, you can solo your way to 60, and very quickly. No player skill needed, just some time and gear. When you reach max level, you can go into the battlegrounds a vie for the title of being the best PvP'er in your middle school. Then once you hold the illustrious title of "ub3r 8th Grader" you can raid day and night, in the same instance farming for gear. WoW is a disease on MMORPG's, dumbing the genre down to the lowest common denominator for all of us.

    Thankfully though, TES: Oblivion is selling well. I believe so far, Xbox 360 and PC combined, has sold 1.7 million (old figure though) and is probably approaching if it hasn't already reached the 2 million mark.

  • Poost

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 8:32 am PT

    I think it is ridiculous that they dont include electronic sales in their numbers. More and more games are becoming available for electronic download, and what better way to f-up the numbers than by not including them.

  • Rongway

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 6:25 am PT

    The sales included in this list are US sales only.

  • Nick_Cave

    Posted Jul 7, 2006 4:16 am PT

    CUCUMBER:Im with you ALL the way ,u said it all man

  • condestrat

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 10:59 pm PT

    "My Problem with WoW is its addictive qualities. I lost 7 Friends to WoW. And thats the sole reason I will never try it and will always dislike it."

    If "YOU" lost you friend was because you and YOU alone. You decide to put Wow on top of your friend.

    I had play Wow almose every single day since it came out and my life hadnt change that much. I have lots of RL friend.

    Yes, the game is so good that you may end up forgetting about RL important stuff but is your call what to do.

    Is sad that you cant play wow and continue with your life without any problem because you are losing the change to play the best game ever made.

  • The_PC_Gamer

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 9:37 pm PT

    I dont really care if WoW is great or WoW sux, its people's personal opinion.

    My Problem with WoW is its addictive qualities. I lost 7 Friends to WoW. And thats the sole reason I will never try it and will always dislike it.

  • WPack911

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 8:58 pm PT

    I don't get it, why are there so many WoW haters. I mean if you don't like WoW that's your opinion, but that does not make it a bad game. It is a really well made well run game that millions of people love, I don't like Halo, I am a Half-Life man myself, but even I can say that Halo is a poorly made game.

    WoW is a good game, and all you people that are hating on it need to wake up to the fact that while some people that play WoW may have no life, many more do. On the other hand though a person who bashes something just because it on top of a PC game sales list every week and they don't like it, is a hater any way you cut it.

  • revelations

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 7:39 pm PT

    yay i play wow, the more the merrier!

  • crimson_axe

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 5:16 pm PT

    The great thing about being a Human is that you have complete freedom to choose what you do and do not like.

    I don't care how many people play WoW, or how many people think it's just the greatest thing ever created. I don't care how many awards it's won, and I especially don't care about how long it has held the number one spot.

    I still think it sucks, and I still don't like it. Yes, I've tried it. Yes, I've retried it recently. I think it sucks. I think it's stupid. And most of all, I think it's the MMO equivilent of Counter Strike - which is an equally retarded game.

    So, in short. I don't care what anyone says, I don't like it. Stop trying to make it sound like everyone should like it just because everyone else does. Just because everyone in the world likes to have their own opinion, doesn't mean everyone is right.

    Why do I think WoW is so successful? Because there are more people on this earth who are just flat out stupid, than there are people who think for themselves. Personally - that's what I think... but whatever.

  • e1viento

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 3:58 pm PT

    Bring out Starcraft 2!!!!

    Blizzard rocks!

  • MiniSiets

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 3:56 pm PT

    Curufinwe8
    "Just because WoW sells so many copies doens't necessarily mean its the best. Its appeal is that you can log in for 2 hours a day and be lvl 60 in 2 months. WoW appeals to the obviously large instant gratification crowd."

    Oh yes, because obviously 6 million people are all playing WoW, GameSpot gave it a 9.5 as well as a lot of other high reviews from other sources, and it's survived at the top 10 list for 2 years because it's a crappy game... if that's not enough to prove it's good, then tell me, what DOES make a game so great? Who are you to be the one that decides that? And I wouldn't call 2 months "instant gratification". That's still a lot more time spent on a game than most others of any gaming genre, and you also act as if the game just ends when you reach level 60 when in fact that's usually when it just begins. There is tons of things to do when you reach the max level of the game. There are still plenty of quests to do, items to collect, and PvP to engage in. WoW proves that a MMORPG doesn't have to be a super hardcore grind to be fun. It's much more fun to feel like you've actually accomplished something than sit there spending the entire day trying to gain a single level and probably never reach it like other MMOs.

    And for those of you who are all like "ZOMG WOW DESTROIEZ JOUR LYFE!!11" that's only if you let it get out of hand. You easily have the power to quit the game whenever you feel like, and you really only have to play once or twice a week for 3 to 4 hours max doing raids to get really good epic gear in the game once you reach level 60 and want to have really good stuff. It's when you try to get PvP honor rewards that the game can consume you because it requires extreme grinding, and that's one of the very few major flaws of the game. However, it doesn't matter anyways because you can still get just as good gear without all the PvP grinding because you can just do instance raids as explained above.

    And lastly, WoW's graphics were designed the way they were on PURPOSE. It's called STYLE. Not every game needs to have the most extreme bump-mapping and high poly count to look good. WoW's environments are just as epic and cool as any other MMO, and certainly look better than EQ2's boring "clay" graphics.

    Just get over it people, WoW owns you. Thank you very much.

  • zey2k

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 3:27 pm PT

    And blizzard strikes aga.....err...always!

  • EvanO_O

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 3:05 pm PT

    I'd hit that.

  • mr_montoya85

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 1:57 pm PT

    ok who bought that 1 copy of wow??? i know nobodys buying pc games now cuz theres no good NEW pc games out there right now. please lets bring back battlefield 2 to the charts. even if its at 10 place.

  • riseagainst1

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 1:53 pm PT

    One of the greater reasons why the Cars game is in the top three may be because of its budget price, which appeals to a lot of people. WoW will still be near the top three for a few more months until it finally loses its luster and slowly drops down. It is the same for most popular games... people are still going to buy it. Just don't complain about it, these numbers don't bite.

  • Decoy123

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 1:07 pm PT

    i think its at number 1 cause i bought it this week lol my buy prolly was the one that put it over cars lol and ps.. cucomber go to heck man guild wars was horrid
    it had repetition all over that little game, no monthly fee was nice but it felt wierd it wasnt actualy an mmorpg it was like if u want play by your self but in designated areas u can join up with people.. thats not fun i want to meet some one out in the bush! fighting and ask them if they want to go on an instance run and sip dom perrion lol

  • bitmap

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 1:04 pm PT

    I'm really surprised that AoE III is still on the top 10 list

  • J0nGalt

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 12:33 pm PT

    OMFG....why does one game have to be so great when its possible for both to have + & -'s? Maybe becuase your afraid to get a job and spend .50$ a day playing it, whereas you dont have to pay .50$ a day to play a decent game dedicated to what you want, no big deal. So what if its a different format, a different game, with different ways of doing different things. Obviously WoWs works better, has better mechanics, better service and better just about everything, but that doesnt mean that just because guild wars is normally ranked 38th place on the charts that it sucks. It just means that 5 - 5.5 million more people prefer WoW over GW's or EQ....or knight-online for that matter.

    Grinding to 60, 2 hour a day for 60 days?:

    If you can lvl a character to 60 grinding for 2 hours a day....no wonder the game doesnt appeal to you. Maybe you should try some group activity instead of getting on and just wiping out mobs for 2 hours straight, or PvP action in the BG's, or goto a contested territories and gank some people or form a raid and Invade an enemy city. i dont know do something else, make something up, LvL another class, go on an instance run, create a guild, Download mods and UIs to change your experience, make things easier for you.

    Whatever, stop crying because your favorite game isnt on top and 1/100th the amount of people play it.

    As for blizzard not creating anymore games besides this, GIVE THEM TIME. When has blizzard released a game that sucked? I wasnt a big diablo fan but it was decent for a dungeon crawl, Starcraft STILL rocks, WoW series is still ok. And they will release a game such as Starcraft when they have the BEST product on teh market and not before then. They are trend setters just like valve, so dont expect them to turn out garbage every year to make a quick profit.

    -----------------------------------------Blizzard rules--------------------------------------------

  • Galamode

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 12:13 pm PT

    What Chubbums said :/

  • gertish

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 12:09 pm PT

    Keep it up WoW!

  • Curufinwe8

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 11:42 am PT

    Just because WoW sells so many copies doens't necessarily mean its the best. Its appeal is that you can log in for 2 hours a day and be lvl 60 in 2 months. WoW appeals to the obviously large instant gratification crowd.

  • alwaysdeath

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 11:39 am PT

    Wow will die....eventually.....

  • moriwenne

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 11:26 am PT

    No one can doubt the value of WOW. It's a great game and the best mmorpg out there and the numbers prove it. I myself don't play it. I prefer games with great graphics like everquest2 although it lacks the wow mystic. But furthermore I am a casual player as there are many out there and one thing bothers me about mmorpgs and wow, first it has a monthly fee not that small and for casual playing you just start wondering at a point that you are not using it fully. Damn this genre for showing up! Every game for years came out with multiplayer and we had to invest once some 40$ and could play it forever. But common 15$ per month per person? Pff their costs are not near as high and they should also have found a way for it to be free like any other multiplayer game. Damn fees. But I would also like to add that I'm a fairly competitive person. With say a shooter you can go online and every character is leveled and therefore skill counts but with these you get millions of teens that have nothing to do and play 14hours per day and you can't really compete with that, you just need time not skill.
    I'm sure many find themselves in my shoes and don't play but none of this takes credit from the game and it's players and don't you dare try.

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 11:10 am PT

    when is WOW going to go down?

  • mirricat45

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 11:09 am PT

    Are these numbers for US sales only? Or global sales? Because alot of GoldFarmers in other countriees are forced to keep buying WoW as their accounts get terminated. Not to mention the ligit playerbase in Korea, China, ect.... that perhaps CARS doesn't have.

  • juanfraino

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 10:56 am PT

    WoW is owning.... for years now

  • smiley17O

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 10:51 am PT

    the list never seems to change much

  • Dill-Man

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 10:49 am PT

    WoW really isnt that good, i have played a lot of mmorpgs (galaxies (my first one), city of heros, face of mankind, there, guild wars, and some betas liek dark and light) and WoW was one of my least favorites (guild wars being the best) cause it is so repetative and most people who play it are little kids (my brother is 11 and he plays and with like 6 of his friends) and that destroy the community and it really is repetative, most people who play it have never played an mmorpg and are just overwhelmed by the whole mmoprg experience, not the gameplay, for example, galaxies was the first mmorpg i played and i was obssessed with it, and now looking back on it, it wasnt that good, its just that the mmorpg experience is great because people like feeling part of a community as someone they are not in real life (that explains that internet loveing too)

    if you want a mmorpg with a real community and fun play, play guild wars

  • J0nGalt

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 10:12 am PT

    more mature community? endless grinding? milking wow for every penny? most everyone hates a winner (not me), but EVERYone hates a whiner.

    BTW. I have a GF, i work 8+ hours a day, I work out enjoy numerous other hobbies/past times oh and I play WOW every chance i get in between those things.

    What? You think i dont realize that grinding/questing/PvPing an IMAGINARY character to lvl 60 and beyond is a waste of time? At least that waste of time is ejoyable and i can spend it with my friends. How in the hell is that anti-social?

    I despise generalizing,stereotyping whiner crybabies that make something millions of people do (and generally have fun doing it) sound like every person that does it is an obbsessive fanboy. Now goto dictionary.com and look up those words so you can avoid doing it in the future.

    If playing a game that is not hurting anyone, makes some people happy, gives some people a way to interact with other people and generally causes no harm is a problem then obviously your the one with issues.

    Cucomber is just mad because he cant have everything his narrow way.

  • Cucomber

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 7:49 am PT

    of course. at blizzcon they said that they have expansions and content developed for WoW for the next 5-10 years. it will end with players being lvl 200, wielding 999 dps weapons.
    Eventually the WoW fad will die... When people really start to realise how this just goes on and on and on for no reason.


    Myself, I have played WoW for a year and I regret it. your not really playing. besides killing repetitive monsters with bad AI, your using most of your time on time and money sinks and just running around grinding.

    I guess thats why I prefere Guild Wars. no monthly fee, more tactical, more deep, more mature community, more focused competent gameplay, amazing pvp, casual player game.
    I can actually have a normal life besides GW.

    If I want to be the best at WoW I will have to play for 16 hours a day, like does crazy losers with rank 14. Even as an Ex-WoW player I will say that anyone who plays that game and am remotely repetitive has no life. its so time dedicated that no matter who you are, you can't have a normal relationship with your girlfriend, a decent job, or any real friends or a family you care about. game requires you to invest more time in azeroth than in the real world, and it's all just a waste of time.

    just like with EQ one day people will realise it.. many wow gamers will defend it now, but they will later see their own errors and feel sorry for having wasted so much time and money that could have been used for something else.

    if anything I think WoW just proves how many anti-social, depressive and problematic people there are in the world. people are trying to live their own lives through the game. carring more about their avatars than themselfs.

  • Rongway

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 6:03 am PT

    WOW sold a little more than 11,000 copies for the week. Almost double that of the number 2 title. A little more than 1000 copies, I would say. Digital downloads can't be counted because the publishers will not release the numbers that they sell through digital downloads.

  • roadrunner1178

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 5:36 am PT

    I don't play World of Warcraft, but I have seen it. It is a great game.

  • WPack911

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 4:49 am PT

    I just started to play WoW (on 10 day free trial) this week and it is awesome.
    I am gonna buy it in the next few days here, so I guess I am gonna help keep it's sales up, but I am happy about that cause it deserves it for how great of a game it is.

  • 60fps

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 12:54 am PT

    I can believe the sales of WOW. Remember as the years go by people who were either too young to care or never understood MMORPGs might be discovering this for the first time.

    I myself just played my first MMORPG in January of this year. It was Maple Story and the only reason I played it was because it was free. After getting used to it I tried others to get a better scope of the genre. Now I plan to play the 10 free trail version of WOW and if I like it I might buy.

    So you see not everyone gets into these games at the same rate but as popularity builds so does the community.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 11:27 pm PT

    I hope AOE 3 doesn't drop out of the top 10!

  • GHOSTRyDr

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 10:56 pm PT

    Well, at least Cars isn't number one again....

  • ClayMeow

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 9:57 pm PT

    Until digital downloads are included, the PC charts unfortunately don't tell the true story. What I don't understand though, is how WoW is still selling so many retail copies? They can't possibly be getting so many new players each week. I wonder how many copies of PC games sell during these "off weeks." Did WoW top the list with 1000 copies sold this week, compared to when a new release is out and it sells 100 times that? Anyone know where to get the actual numbers, or are those not released?

  • Curufinwe8

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 9:35 pm PT

    You would think after 2 years WoW would have saturated the US market. By the way, WoW is an action game with token RPG elements. I am glad to see TES: Oblivion and Age of Empires clinging on. Heroes of Might and magic seems to be doing well, pulling new fans into a series thta was more of a "cult classic".

    The Sims 2...wow. The women gamers are powering that. Also, that game appeals to the manipulative in life.

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