ChartSpot: July 2006
NCAA Football 07 sacks the console competition as World of Warcraft lords over the PC charts...again.
Electronic Arts' cornering of the college-football-game market almost certainly didn't come cheap. However, it appears to be paying off dividends, since NCAA Football 07 was the game to have in July 2006, according to volume-sales rankings from the NPD Group. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions of the collegiate-pigskin sim were the most and second-most popular games in the US during the month, with the Xbox version coming in fifth.
NCAA Football 07's success pushed down June top-slotter New Super Mario Bros. for the DS to third. The month's previous runner-up, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PS2, took fourth, two slots ahead of June's number-four finisher, the PS2 edition of Cars.
The Game Boy Advance edition of Cars helped Nintendo's venerable handheld stay on the non-PC game chart at ninth. Besides New Super Mario Bros., the Mario Factory's new handheld, the DS, was represented in the top 20 via Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (seventh) and Big Brain Academy (eighth). Nintendo's current-generation console also stayed on the charts via Cars for the GameCube.
Other than NCAA, July's NPD console top 20 saw several debuts, the majority of them on the Xbox 360. Sega's Chromehounds premiered in 10th, followed directly by Electronic Arts' Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth II--the first real-time strategy game for the next-gen machine. In 14th place was 2K Games' much-awaited Prey, which sold decently despite tepid reviews. The other three non-NCAA newcomers were all for the PS2: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja arrived in 13th place, followed by a resurgent Star Wars: Battlefront II (15th) and Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix (20th).
Meanwhile, back at the PC ranch, the song remained largely the same. World of Warcraft was the top title again, followed by the popular film-based minigame comp Cars Radiator Springs Adventures. EA sent in the Sims, thanks to The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff (third), The Sims 2 (fourth), and The Sims 2: Open for Business (fifth).
The PC top 20 saw only two true newcomers, THQ action-RPG Titan Quest, which hit stores at the end of June, and the expansion pack Civilization IV: Warlords, which went on sale late in July. The month also saw two games reenter the charts: The Sims Complete Collection (16th) and Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II (20th).
| ALL CONSOLES | ||||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | NCAA Football 07 | PS2 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $48 |
| ** | 2 | NCAA Football 07 | 360 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $59 |
| 1 | 3 | New Super Mario Bros. | DS | Nintendo | May-06 | $35 |
| 2 | 4 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Jun-06 | $19 |
| ** | 5 | NCAA Football 07 | XBX | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $49 |
| 4 | 6 | Cars | PS2 | THQ | Jun-06 | $37 |
| 3 | 7 | Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day | DS | Nintendo | Apr-06 | $20 |
| 8 | 8 | Big Brain Academy | DS | Nintendo | Jun-06 | $20 |
| 6 | 9 | Cars | GBA | THQ | Jun-06 | $28 |
| ** | 10 | Chromehounds | 360 | Sega | Jul-06 | $59 |
| ** | 11 | Lord of the Rings: Battle For The Middle Earth II | 360 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $60 |
| 7 | 12 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | PS2 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $30 |
| ** | 13 | Naruto: Ultimate Ninja | PS2 | Namco | Jun-06 | $39 |
| ** | 14 | Prey | 360 | Take-Two Interactive | Jul-06 | $60 |
| ** | 15 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | PS2 | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $19 |
| 12 | 16 | Guitar Hero Bundle | PS2 | Activision | Nov-05 | $70 |
| 11 | 17 | God of War | PS2 | Sony | Mar-05 | $20 |
| 10 | 18 | Cars | GC | THQ | Jun-06 | $37 |
| 18 | 19 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-04 | $20 |
| ** | 20 | Midnight Club 3: Dub Ed Remix | PS2 | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $20 |
| PC | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Average Price | |
| 1 | 1 | World of Warcraft | Vivendi Games | $33 | |
| 4 | 2 | Cars Radiator Springs Adventures | THQ | $18 | |
| 3 | 3 | The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff | Electronic Arts | $19 | |
| 6 | 4 | The Sims 2 | Electronic Arts | $41 | |
| 5 | 5 | The Sims 2 Open For Business | Electronic Arts | $31 | |
| 8 | 6 | Guild Wars Factions | NCsoft | $48 | |
| *** | 7 | Titan Quest | THQ | $49 | |
| 7 | 8 | Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Take-Two Interactive | $48 | |
| 2 | 9 | Half-Life 2: Episode 1 | Electronic Arts | $19 | |
| 13 | 10 | Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection | Microsoft | $20 | |
| 10 | 11 | Age Of Empires III | Microsoft | $49 | |
| 19 | 12 | The Sims 2 Nightlife | Electronic Arts | $32 | |
| 11 | 13 | Zoo Tycoon 2 | Microsoft | $27 | |
| 16 | 14 | Civilization IV | Take-Two Interactive | $48 | |
| 18 | 15 | Warcraft III Battle Chest | Vivendi Games | $39 | |
| *** | 16 | The Sims Complete Collection | Electronic Arts | $40 | |
| *** | 17 | Civilization IV: Warlords | Take-Two Interactive | $29 | |
| *** | 18 | The Sims 2: University | Electronic Arts | $31 | |
| 9 | 19 | Heroes Of Might & Magic V | Ubisoft | $48 | |
| *** | 20 | Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II | Electronic Arts | $44 | |
| PLAYSTATION 2 | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $48 |
| 1 | 2 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | Take-Two Interactive | Jun-06 | $19 |
| 2 | 3 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $37 |
| 3 | 4 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $30 |
| ** | 5 | Naruto: Ultimate Ninja | Namco | Jun-06 | $39 |
| ** | 6 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $19 |
| 6 | 7 | Guitar Hero Bundle | Activision | Nov-05 | $70 |
| 5 | 8 | God of War | Sony | Mar-05 | $20 |
| ** | 9 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-04 | $20 |
| ** | 10 | Midnight Club 3: Dub Ed Remix | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $20 |
| XBOX | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $49 |
| 2 | 2 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $30 |
| 4 | 3 | Halo 2 | Microsoft | Nov-04 | $29 |
| ** | 4 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $20 |
| 5 | 5 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Version 2.0 | Take-Two Interactive | Sep-05 | $20 |
| 1 | 6 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $38 |
| 6 | 7 | Fable | Microsoft | Sep-04 | $21 |
| 7 | 8 | NFL Head Coach | Electronic Arts | Jun-06 | $39 |
| 3 | 9 | Hitman: Blood Money | Eidos Interactive | May-06 | $39 |
| ** | 10 | Midnight Club 3: Dub Ed Remix | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $20 |
| XBOX 360 | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $59 |
| ** | 2 | Chromehounds | Sega | Jul-06 | $59 |
| ** | 3 | Lord of the Rings: Battle For The Middle Earth II | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $60 |
| ** | 4 | Prey | Take-Two Interactive | Jul-06 | $60 |
| 2 | 5 | Elder Scrolls Iv: Oblivion | Take-Two Interactive | Mar-06 | $60 |
| 4 | 6 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | Electronic Arts | Apr-06 | $60 |
| 3 | 7 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter | Ubisoft | Mar-06 | $59 |
| 5 | 8 | Fight Night Round 3 | Electronic Arts | Feb-06 | $60 |
| ** | 9 | Over G Fighters | Ubisoft | Jun-06 | $60 |
| 8 | 10 | Call Of Duty 2 | Activision | Nov-05 | $58 |
| GAMECUBE | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 1 | 1 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $37 |
| 4 | 2 | Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door | Nintendo | Oct-04 | $20 |
| 3 | 3 | Naruto: Clash Of Ninja | D3publisher | Mar-06 | $40 |
| 6 | 4 | Super Smash Bro Melee | Nintendo | Dec-01 | $30 |
| 7 | 5 | Mario Kart: Double Dash !! | Nintendo | Nov-03 | $30 |
| 10 | 6 | Lego Star Wars | Eidos Interactive | Oct-05 | $21 |
| 9 | 7 | Super Mario Sunshine | Nintendo | Aug-02 | $20 |
| 8 | 8 | Teen Titans | THQ | May-06 | $20 |
| 5 | 9 | Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix W/Mat | Konami Digital Ent. | Oct-05 | $50 |
| ** | 10 | Need for Speed: Underground 2 | Electronic Arts | Nov-04 | $20 |
| GBA | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 1 | 1 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $28 |
| 2 | 2 | Super Mario Advance | Nintendo | Jun-01 | $20 |
| 4 | 3 | Pokemon Emerald | Nintendo | Apr-05 | $35 |
| ** | 4 | Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Buena Vista Games | Jun-06 | $29 |
| 6 | 5 | Yoshi's Island : Mario 3 | Nintendo | Sep-02 | $20 |
| 5 | 6 | Mario & Luigi Saga | Nintendo | Nov-03 | $20 |
| 7 | 7 | Dogz | Ubisoft | Nov-05 | $30 |
| 9 | 8 | Mario Bros. 3: Mario 4 | Nintendo | Oct-03 | $31 |
| ** | 9 | Star Wars: Flight Of Falcon | THQ | Nov-03 | $15 |
| 10 | 10 | Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories | Square Enix Inc | Dec-04 | $20 |
| DS | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| 1 | 1 | New Super Mario Bros. | Nintendo | May-06 | $35 |
| 2 | 2 | Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Minutes A Day | Nintendo | Apr-06 | $20 |
| 3 | 3 | Big Brain Academy | Nintendo | Jun-06 | $20 |
| 5 | 4 | Mario Kart | Nintendo | Nov-05 | $35 |
| 6 | 5 | Animal Crossing: Wild World | Nintendo | Dec-05 | $35 |
| 4 | 6 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $29 |
| 10 | 7 | Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends | Nintendo | Aug-05 | $31 |
| 7 | 8 | Metroid Prime: Hunters | Nintendo | Mar-06 | $34 |
| ** | 9 | Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Buena Vista Games | Jun-06 | $34 |
| ** | 10 | Nintendogs: Labrador & Friends | Nintendo | Aug-05 | $31 |
| PSP | |||||
| Last Month | Current Rank | Title | Publisher | Release Date | Average Price |
| ** | 1 | NCAA Football 07 | Electronic Arts | Jul-06 | $40 |
| ** | 2 | Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth | Square Enix Inc | Jul-06 | $40 |
| ** | 3 | Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Buena Vista Games | Jun-06 | $39 |
| 2 | 4 | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories | Take-Two Interactive | Oct-05 | $40 |
| ** | 5 | Tekken: Dark Resurrection | Namco | Jul-06 | $40 |
| 1 | 6 | Cars | THQ | Jun-06 | $38 |
| 4 | 7 | MLB '06: The Show | Sony | Mar-06 | $40 |
| 7 | 8 | FIFA World Cup 2006 | Electronic Arts | May-06 | $40 |
| ** | 9 | Star Wars: Battlefront II | LucasArts | Nov-05 | $27 |
| 8 | 10 | Need for Speed: Most Wanted | Electronic Arts | Nov-05 | $40 |
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com
Join the conversation