US PC game charts: June 11-17

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Jun 28, 2006 8:18 pm PT

Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures overtakes Half-Life 2: Episode One, leading WOW, Oblivion, Heroes of Might & Magic V, and a whole pack of Sims.

Two weeks after it was released, Half-Life 2: Episode One was dethroned from the top of the US PC charts. That was the story told by the latest PC charts from industry-research group NPD Funworld, which were for the week of June 11-17.

However, that wasn't the whole story. NPD's PC charts are based on the volume of boxed copies of games sold at retail, and do not include games that are digitally distributed. Since Valve Software, developer of Episode One, sells many--possibly most--of its games via its Steam download service, it is almost certain that the first Half-Life 2 expansion pack sold far more units than the charts indicate.

However, at retail, there was a new top title--one that many might find surprising. Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures, the E-rated collection of minigames based on the hit Disney/Pixar film, raced ahead from its third-place finish the previous week to take the checkered flag. Episode One was pushed down a slot, finishing in second place.

In third was the massively multiplayer role-playing game World of Warcraft, once again displaying the staying power that has kept in the top 10 almost every week since its November 2004 release. One place behind was a game with even longer legs, the Sims 2, which has also been a regular on the best-seller charts since it went on sale in September 2004. The most recent two Sims 2 add-ons made appearances as well: The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff landed in fifth and The Sims 2 Open For Business in sixth.

In seventh was the popular role-playing game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, followed by the fantasy strategy title Heroes of Might & Magic V. Guild Wars Factions, the first expansion for NCsoft and ArenaNet's MMORPG Guild Wars, came in ninth. Last and least, by volume, anyway, was the real-time strategy game Age of Empires III.

The only title to get bumped off the PC charts during the week of June 11-17 was Eidos' third-person assassination simulation Hitman: Blood Money.

83 Comments

  • BigDaveyDogz

    Posted Jul 6, 2006 10:14 am PT

    I wish my car had a face and personality.....wait maybe not, I hate my car.

    I once kicked it for not giving me my keys back.

  • Curufinwe8

    Posted Jul 4, 2006 8:21 pm PT

    Trust me, PC gaming isn't on the decline. The amount of people that play games on a PC has been relatively stable. However, the console gaming population is exploding faster than China and India combined.

    Of course, if the Xbox'ers could see beyond the shallowest layer of numbers, they'd see that PC gaming is no worse off (number wise) now in 2006 than it was in 2000.

  • SaltyMcSushi

    Posted Jul 4, 2006 1:38 pm PT

    Everyone's already bought the good games, of course.

  • xpdude

    Posted Jul 4, 2006 4:27 am PT

    Funny. Cars on top.

    Funny.

  • Ponsardin

    Posted Jul 4, 2006 2:52 am PT

    Not surprised at all. Already used to with the casual gaming fluctuations.

  • swirskytheman

    Posted Jul 3, 2006 5:54 pm PT

    booooooooooooooooooooooooo

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Jul 3, 2006 12:23 pm PT

    Cars? dumb kids

  • jsambeckwith

    Posted Jul 2, 2006 1:33 am PT

    I expect that episode one will be doing better. I at least hope it is...

  • syneris

    Posted Jul 1, 2006 10:34 pm PT

    Blizzard is making around 1 Billion dollars a year from WoW's monthly subscriptions alone...
    Also what do consoles have to do with this at all? The list is for PC retail box sales.

  • chaosjap

    Posted Jun 30, 2006 8:31 am PT

    Why!! Why!! ....... am I NOT surprised . Goes to show the parents (adults) have more money than their children.

    Oh yeah. I have "cars" on my PS2. my kids love it.

  • werid

    Posted Jun 30, 2006 7:22 am PT

    I wish some ppl had taste

  • amplizine

    Posted Jun 30, 2006 4:24 am PT

    Holy crap, did you even read the article people? ACCORDING TO RETAIL SALES! THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE STEAM SALES and probably direct2drive. PC gamers aren't in trouble; in fact, they're ahead of the pack by skipping crappy checkout lines or waiting at the #*%*& electronics section of wal-mart for an hour before being helped.

    I say poor console gamers that have to get a ride from their mom so they can go to wally-world, all because they don't have a credit card to buy things from Steam.

    So there... um, yeah I make no sense.

  • PwnageUK1989

    Posted Jun 30, 2006 1:30 am PT

    just goes to show that its casual gamers that buy the products not hardcore "i player a hundred hours a day" types. You can imagine the quite large number of mams and dads that went out and bought little timmy cars game. goes to show it will be the console that appeals to casual gamers which will win the next war...

  • godovivel

    Posted Jun 29, 2006 9:24 pm PT

    poor pc gamers

  • mariomaniac92

    Posted Jun 29, 2006 6:10 pm PT

    That's a little embarrasing if you ask me.

  • GaaraZanta

    Posted Jun 29, 2006 12:44 pm PT

    RaiKageRyu, "never say never"

  • GaaraZanta

    Posted Jun 29, 2006 12:41 pm PT

    benrinehart23, if you really just called the Wii a cheesy piece of garbage, then I'm sorry but you have no opinion here anymore. Tell me, have you played the Wii, if not shut up. If you have, then thats your own narrow minded opinion.

  • GamingDisgrace

    Posted Jun 29, 2006 12:38 pm PT

    ... Cars....

    *sigh*

    It'll pass... -_-

  • dukerav

    Posted Jun 29, 2006 12:25 pm PT

    "WOW that 360's going strong. Next gen what a Joke. Can't wait for PS3 then I can play some real games instead of carbon copies."

    Tell me, where in this article did you even see the word Xbox? Such a typical fanboy. I doubt that a game such as Cars will outsell anygame at all for very much longer.

  • marcus1968

    Posted Jun 29, 2006 12:25 pm PT

    It's HL2 Episode 1... The expansion... That's not 2 years old. And there are no 360 games there because it'a list of PC games...

The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Images | Downloads | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices

Check Prices

eBay $16.49 SHOP ›
advertisement
The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement