ChartSpot: December 2005

December 2005 was a so-so year for the game industry, which suffered a less-than-expected six percent decline in software sales. That said, there were some success stories during the year's final month--none more successful than Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 06. Despite being on the market for four months, the PlayStation 2 version of the game topped the console charts, no doubt buoyed by Christmas shoppers.

EA also scored the number three slot with the PS2 version of their latest Need for Speed game, Need for Speed Most Wanted. However, the rest of the top 10 console games were from a mélange of top-tier publishers. LucasArts took the second slot with the wildly successful Star Wars: Battlefront II. Developed by the latter half of newly formed BioWare/Pandemic Studios, the Battlefield-style team based shooter has been a huge hit selling over a million copies on PS2 (2nd place), Xbox (13th), PSP (34th), and PC (11th on PC chart--see below).

Though its total revenue fell in December, THQ scored the fourth-place slot with the latest edition of its PlayStation 2 mat-combat series, WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw. Activision took two slots with Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (5th) the PS2 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (7th). The top 10 was rounded off by Nintendo's Ubisoft's PS2 movie tie-in Peter Jackson's King Kong (8th), Take-Two/Rockstar's PSP crime spree Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (9th), and VU Games' PS2 gangsta shooter 50 Cent: Bulletproof (10th).

Down in PC-town, which had a debatably bad 2005, the usual suspects topped the charts. Microsoft Game Studios' Age of Empires III ruled supreme, followed by Call of Duty 2 (Activision), Civilization IV (2K Games/Take-Two), and World of Warcraft (VU Games). It wouldn't be a PC chart without some Sims somewhere, and EA's virtual Lilliputians held three slots in the top 10: The Sims 2 (5th), The Sims 2 Nightlife (6th), and the Sims 2: Holiday Edition (10th). The Movies got its close-up in the number-seven slot, Battlefield 2 targeted the eighth spot, and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 did a loop-de-loop in ninth place.

ALL CONSOLES
Last Month	Rank	Title	Platform	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
4	1	Madden NFL 06	PS2	Electronic Arts	Aug-05	$38
2	2	Star Wars: Battlefront II	PS2	LucasArts	Nov-05	$45
**	3	Need For Speed Most Wanted	PS2	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$46
6	4	WWE Smackdown! Vs Raw 2006	PS2	THQ	Nov-05	$47
11	5	Call of Duty 2: Big Red One	PS2	Activision	Nov-05	$45
5	6	Mario Kart DS	DS	Nintendo	Nov-05	$34
9	7	Tony Hawk's American Wasteland	PS2	Activision	Oct-05	$45
**	8	Peter Jackson's King Kong	PS2	Ubisoft	Nov-05	$40
7	9	Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories	PSP	Take-Two	Oct-05	$49
12	10	50 Cent: Bulletproof	PS2	Vivendi Universal	Nov-05	$47
10	11	Mario Party 7	GCN	Nintendo	Nov-05	$49
15	12	NBA Live 06	PS2	Electronic Arts	Sep-05	$39
1	13	Star Wars: Battlefront II	Xbox	LucasArts	Nov-05	$46
**	14	Super Mario Strikers	GCN	Nintendo	Dec-05	$49
**	15	Madden NFL 06	PSP	Electronic Arts	Sep-05	$47
**	16	Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones	PS2	Ubisoft	Dec-05	$45
**	17	Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time	DS	Nintendo	Dec-05	$34
3	18	Call of Duty 2	360	Activision	Nov-05	$59
**	19	Animal Crossing: Wild World	DS	Nintendo	Dec-05	$35
**	20	Madden NFL 06	Xbox	Electronic Arts	Aug-05	$39

PC
Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date
1	Age of Empires III	Microsoft	Oct-05
2	Call of Duty 2	Activision	Oct-05
3	Civilization IV	2K Games ( Take 2)	Oct-05
4	World of Warcraft	Vivendi Universal	Nov-04
5	The Sims 2	Electronic Arts	Sep-04
6	The Sims 2 Nightlife	Electronic Arts	Sep-05
7	The Movies	Activision	Nov-05
8	Battlefield 2	Electronic Arts	Jun-05
9	Roller Coaster Tycoon 3	Atari	Oct-04
10	The Sims 2: Holiday Ed.	Electronic Arts	Nov-05
11	Star Wars Battlefront II	LucasArts	Nov-05
12	Battlefield 2 Special Forces	Electronic Arts	Nov-05
13	F.E.A.R.	Vivendi Universal	Oct-05
14	The Sims Complete Collection	Electronic Arts	Nov-05
15	The Sims 2 University	Electronic Arts	Feb-05
16	Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire	Electronic Arts	Nov-05
17	Zoo Tycoon 2	Microsoft	Nov-04
18	Guild Wars	NCsoft	Apr-05
19	Call of Duty 2: Collector's Ed.	Activision	Oct-05
20	Quake 4	Activision	Oct-05

PLAYSTATION 2
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
2	1	Madden NFL 06	Electronic Arts	Aug-05	$38
1	2	Star Wars: Battlefront II	LucasArts	Nov-05	$45
**	3	Need For Speed Most Wanted	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$46
3	4	WWE Smackdown! Vs Raw 2006	THQ	Nov-05	$47
5	5	Call of Duty 2: Big Red One	Activision	Nov-05	$45
4	6	Tony Hawk's American Wasteland	Activision	Oct-05	$45
**	7	Peter Jackson's King Kong	Ubisoft	Nov-05	$40
6	8	50 Cent: Bulletproof	Vivendi Universal	Nov-05	$47
9	9	NBA Live 06	Electronic Arts	Sep-05	$39
**	10	Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones	Ubisoft	Dec-05	$45

XBOX
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Star Wars: Battlefront II	LucasArts	Nov-05	$46
4	2	Madden NFL 06	Electronic Arts	Aug-05	$39
2	3	Call of Duty 2: Big Red One	Activision	Nov-05	$45
5	4	Need For Speed Most Wanted	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$47
**	5	Peter Jackson's King Kong	Ubisoft	Nov-05	$41
**	6	Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones	Ubisoft	Dec-05	$45
6	7	Fable	Microsoft	Sep-04	$19
**	8	50 Cent: Bulletproof	Vivendi Universal	Nov-05	$47
10	9	Tony Hawk's American Wasteland	Activision	Oct-05	$44
**	10	NBA Live 06	Electronic Arts	Sep-05	$39

XBOX 360
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Call of Duty 2	Activision	Nov-05	$57
2	2	Madden NFL 06	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$59
3	3	Perfect Dark Zero*	Microsoft	Nov-05	$55
4	4	Need Speed: Most Wanted	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$59
5	5	Project Gotham 3	Microsoft	Nov-05	$49
**	6	Peter Jackson's King Kong	Ubisoft	Nov-05	$59
7	7	Condemned: Criminal Origins	Sega	Nov-05	$58
8	8	Quake 4	Activision	Nov-05	$59
6	9	Kameo: Elements of Power	Microsoft	Nov-05	$49
**	10	NBA 2k6	Take-Two	Nov-05	$57

GAMECUBE
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Mario Party 7	Nintendo	Nov-05	$49
**	2	Super Mario Strikers	Nintendo	Dec-05	$49
5	3	Shadow the Hedgehog	Sega	Nov-05	$48
4	4	Lego Star Wars	Eidos Interactive	Oct-05	$29
8	5	Super Mario Sunshine	Nintendo	Aug-02	$18
7	6	Mario Superstar Baseball	Nintendo	Sep-05	$50
**	7	Nicktoons Unite!	THQ	Oct-05	$37
3	8	Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness	Nintendo	Sep-05	$48
10	9	Madden NFL 06	Electronic Arts	Aug-05	$39
**	10	Super Smash Bros. Melee	Nintendo	Dec-01	$29

GAME BOY ADVANCE
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
**	1	Chronicles of Narnia	Buena Vista Games	Nov-05	$28
**	2	Donkey Kong Country 3	Nintendo	Nov-05	$30
**	3	Kong: the 8th Wonder of the World	Ubisoft	Nov-05	$22
**	4	Harry Potter: the Goblet of Fire	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$29
2	5	Pokemon Emerald	Nintendo	Apr-05	$33
9	6	Bratz : Rock Angelz	Thq	Oct-05	$29
**	7	Disney's Chicken Little	Buena Vista Games	Oct-05	$29
**	8	Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Brothers 3	Nintendo	Oct-03	$30
**	9	SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants	THQ	Oct-05	$28
**	10	Madagascar: Operation Penguin	Activision	Oct-05	$26

DS
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
**	1	Mario Kart DS	Nintendo	Nov-05	$34
**	2	Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time	Nintendo	Dec-05	$34
**	3	Animal Crossing: Wild World	Nintendo	Dec-05	$35
2	4	Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends	Nintendo	Aug-05	$30
3	5	Nintendogs: Labrador & Friends	Nintendo	Aug-05	$30
4	6	Nintendogs: Chihuahua & Friends	Nintendo	Aug-05	$30
**	7	Sonic Rush	Sega	Nov-05	$32
7	8	Super Mario 64 DS	Nintendo	Nov-04	$30
9	9	Zoo Tycoon	Thq	Oct-05	$30
**	10	The Sims 2	Electronic Arts	Oct-05	$34

PSP
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories	Take-Two	Oct-05	$49
4	2	Madden NFL 06	Electronic Arts	Sep-05	$47
3	3	SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo	Sony	Nov-05	$39
5	4	Need For Speed Most Wanted	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$49
2	5	Star Wars: Battlefront II	LucasArts	Nov-05	$47
6	6	NBA Live 06	Electronic Arts	Oct-05	$48
8	7	Burnout Legends	Electronic Arts	Sep-05	$48
10	8	Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition	Take 2 Interactive	Jun-05	$38
**	9	Harry Potter: the Goblet of Fire	Electronic Arts	Nov-05	$40
**	10	WWE Smackdown! Vs Raw 2006	Thq	Dec-05	$49