ChartSpot: February 2005

It may have been the year's shortest month, but February saw plenty of high-profile new games hit the market. According to numbers released by industry-research group NPD Funworld, nine games debuted among the top 20 best-selling console games of the month. Leading the pack was Gran Turismo 4, the long-delayed, much-anticipated racing game for the PlayStation 2. Right behind it was the PS2 edition of another newcomer, NBA Street V3, the Xbox version of which came in just four slots down at number six.

A more traditional athletic offering from Electronic Arts, MVP Baseball 2005, also did double duty in the top 20, landing in fourth (PS2) and 16th (Xbox). Nintendo saw only two debuts make the list, Star Fox: Assault for the GameCube and WarioWare: Touched! for the DS. The last new titl on the console charts was Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose for the PlayStation 2.

February saw a very different story with the PC charts, which saw only two all-new entries. The first, LucasArts' Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, came in second, while the EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath expansion pack arrived in 17th place. But other than seeing a few old titles reentering the top 20, the PC charts saw perennial favorites like Word of Warcraft (1), Half-Life 2 (3), and the Sims 2 (4) either staying put or undergoing a slight reshuffling.

ALL CONSOLES
Last Month	Rank	Title	Platform	Publisher
**	1	Gran Turismo 4	PS2	Sony
**	2	NBA Street V3	PS2	Electronic Arts
2	3	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2	Take-Two Interactive
**	4	MVP Baseball 2005	PS2	Electronic Arts
3	5	Zelda: The Minish Cap	GBA	Nintendo
**	6	NBA Street V3	Xbox	Electronic Arts
5	7	Mercenaries	PS2	LucasArts
1	8	Resident Evil 4	GC	Capcom
**	9	Champions: Return To Arms	PS2	Sony Online Entertainment
8	10	Madden NFL 2005	PS2	Electronic Arts
10	11	Super Mario 64 DS	DS	Nintendo
4	12	Mercenaries	Xbox	LucasArts
**	13	Xenosaga Episode II	PS2	Namco
12	14	NBA Live 2005	PS2	Electronic Arts
**	15	Star Fox: Assault	GC	Nintendo
**	16	WarioWare: Touched!	DS	Nintendo
**	17	MVP Baseball 2005	Xbox	Electronic Arts
7	18	Halo 2	Xbox	Microsoft
16	19	World Championship Poker	PS2	Crave Entertainment
6	20	Need for Speed Underground 2	PS2	Electronic Arts

PC
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Average Price
1	1	World of Warcraft	VU Games	$50
**	2	Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords	LucasArts	$46
2	3	Half-Life 2	VU Games	$52
3	4	The Sims 2	Electronic Arts	$47
5	5	The Sims Deluxe	Electronic Arts	$19
11	6	Halo: Combat Evolved	Microsoft	$28
8	7	Call of Duty	Activision	$27
6	8	RollerCoaster Tycoon 3	Atari	$38
4	9	Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth	Electronic Arts	$48
13	10	SeaWorld Adventure Parks Tycoon	Activision	$16
7	11	Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events	Activision	$25
10	12	Zoo Tycoon 2	Microsoft	$37
12	13	Rome: Total War	Activision	$44
**	14	Galaxy of Games 350	eGames	$10
20	15	Flight Simulator 2004: Century of Flight	Microsoft	$29
17	16	Sid Meier's Pirates!	Atari	$48
**	17	EverQuest: Dragons of Norrath	Sony Online Entertainment	$29
**	18	Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection	Microsoft	$30
**	19	World Poker Championship	Valusoft (THQ)	$20
19	20	Doom 3	Activision	$38

PLAYSTATION 2
Last Month	Current Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date
**	1	Gran Turismo 4	Sony	Feb '05
**	2	NBA Street V3	Electronic Arts	Feb '05
1	3	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Take-Two Interactive	Oct '04
**	4	MVP Baseball 2005	Electronic Arts	Feb '05
2	5	Mercenaries	LucasArts	Jan '05
**	6	Champions: Return To Arms	Sony Online Ent.	Feb '05
4	7	Madden NFL 2005	Electronic Arts	Aug '04
**	8	Xenosaga Episode II	Namco	Feb '05
6	9	NBA Live 2005	Electronic Arts	Sep '04
9	10	World Championship Poker	Crave Entertainment	Nov '04

XBOX
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date
**	1	NBA Street V3	Electronic Arts	Feb '05
1	2	Mercenaries	LucasArts	Jan '05
**	3	MVP Baseball 2005	Electronic Arts	Feb '05
2	4	Halo 2	Microsoft	Nov '04
3	5	Need for Speed Underground 2	Electronic Arts	Nov '04
4	6	The Punisher	THQ	Jan '05
**	7	World Championship Poker	Crave Entertainment	Nov '04
**	8	Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath	Electronic Arts	Jan '05
**	9	Major League 2K5	2K Sports	Feb '05
9	10	Madden NFL 2005	Electronic Arts	Aug '04

GAMECUBE
Last Month	Rank	Title	Publisher	Release Date
1	1	Resident Evil 4	Capcom	Jan '05
**	2	Star Fox: Assault	Nintendo	Feb '05
**	3	NBA Street V3	Electronic Arts	Feb '05
3	4	Super Mario Sunshine	Nintendo	Aug '02
2	5	Mario Party 6	Nintendo	Dec '04
5	6	Super Smash Bro Melee	Nintendo	Dec '01
8	7	Sonic Mega Collection	Sega	Nov '02
4	8	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker	Nintendo	Mar '03
6	9	Need for Speed Underground	Electronic Arts	Nov '03
**	10	Mario Golf: Toadstool	Nintendo	Jul '03

PORTABLE
Last Month	Rank	Title	Platform	Publisher	Release Date
1	1	The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap	GBA	Nintendo	Jan '05
3	2	Super Mario 64 DS	DS	Nintendo	Nov '04
**	3	WarioWare: Touched!	DS	Nintendo	Feb '05
2	4	Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories	GBA	Square Enix	Dec '04
7	5	Pokémon FireRed	GBA	Nintendo	Sep '04
4	6	The Incredibles	GBA	THQ	Nov '04
6	7	The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie	GBA	THQ	Oct '04
**	8	Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament 2005	GBA	Konami	Feb '05
8	9	Pokémon LeafGreen	GBA	Nintendo	Sep '04
**	10	Namco Museum	GBA	Namco	Jun '01