Harry Potter takes December

Electronic Arts has again secured the top three spots on NPD Techworld's weekly and monthly lists of best-selling PC games. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, EA's adventure game based on the blockbuster J.K. Rowling fantasy novel of the same name, took the number-one spot on the December list, followed by The Sims: Hot Date virtual-life game expansion in second place and the virtual-life game The Sims in third. Infogrames' popular theme-park management game RollerCoaster Tycoon came in fourth place, followed by Sony's latest online role-playing game expansion, EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin, in fifth place.

EA captured the top three spots on the latest weekly list as well, with Hot Date taking number one, followed by Harry Potter and The Sims in second and third. RollerCoaster Tycoon took fourth place, and Activision's first-person shooter Return to Castle Wolfenstein came in fifth place.

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

Best-selling PC games for the week of January 6-12, 2002:

Rank / Title / Publisher / Average Price
1 / The Sims: Hot Date / Electronic Arts / $30
2 / Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone / Electronic Arts / $28
3 / The Sims / Electronic Arts / $43
4 / RollerCoaster Tycoon / Infogrames / $21
5 / Return to Castle Wolfenstein / Activision / $55
6 / Zoo Tycoon / Microsoft / $29
7 / Empire Earth / Vivendi Universal / $47
8 / The Sims: Livin' Large / Electronic Arts / $29
9 / Madden NFL 2002 / Electronic Arts / $28
10 / Civilization III / Infogrames / $48

Best-selling PC games for the month of December 2001:

Rank This Month / Rank Last Month / Title / Publisher / Average Price
1 / 2 / Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone / Electronic Arts / $29
2 / 1 / The Sims: Hot Date / Electronic Arts / $26
3 / 3 / The Sims / Electronic Arts / $41
4 / 5 / RollerCoaster Tycoon / Infogrames / $18
5 / * / EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin / Sony / $28
6 / 4 / Backyard Basketball / Infogrames / $17
7 / 11 / Return to Castle Wolfenstein / Activision / $50
8 / 7 / Zoo Tycoon / Microsoft / $28
9 / 10 / Survivor: The Interactive Game / Infogrames / $16
10 / 8 / Backyard Football 2002 / Infogrames / $18
11 / 6 / Civilization III / Infogrames / $45
12 / 12 / The Sims: House Party / Electronic Arts / $29
13 / 13 / The Sims: Livin' Large / Electronic Arts / $28
14 / 15 / Empire Earth / Vivendi Universal / $46
15 / 16 / RollerCoaster Tycoon: Loopy Landscapes / Infogrames / $19
16 / 9 / Bob the Builder: Can We Fix It? / THQ / $18
17 / 17 / SimTheme Park / Electronic Arts / $19
18 / * / SimCity 3000 Unlimited / Electronic Arts / $28
19 / 18 / Backyard Baseball 2001 / Infogrames / $18
20 / * / Madden NFL 2002 / Electronic Arts / $37