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ChartSpot: October 2009

Brutal Legend, Demon's Souls, Tekken 6, WWE Smackdown land in bottom half of top 20; PC charts see Aion, Sims 3 switch places ahead of...Nancy Drew?!

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The month of Halloween put a collective scare in the US game industry. Overall, the non-PC domestic game industry shrank by 19 percent in October, with hardware declining 23 percent despite the fact that all three consoles recently got price cuts. The Wii was the month's top console, followed by the DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP, and nine-year-old PlayStation 2.

NBA 2K10 and Borderlands led Take-Two's rally on the October NPD charts.
NBA 2K10 and Borderlands led Take-Two's rally on the October NPD charts.

Software sales were also down 18 percent for the month, which saw NBA 2K10 take the top prize of overall best-seller with 575,000 units sold. Other big debuts included Borderlands, which sold 546,000 units despite analysts' doubts that a new IP could launch during such a crowded month. If those numbers are matched in Europe, the game--which is already generating sequel talk--may have already hit the million-unit mark.

On NPD's charts, which rank games according to individual product, or SKU (stock keeping unit), the top game was Sony and Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The critically lauded PS3 exclusive sold 537,000 units in the US last month, with global sales reaching 1 million. Rounding out the top 10 were Wii Fit Plus, Borderlands (360), Wii Sports Resort, NBA 2K10 (360), Halo 3: ODST (360), NBA 2K10 (PS3), Forza Motorsport 3 (360), Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS), and FFIA Soccer 10 (360).

Aion maintained almost the same altitude as it did in September.
Aion maintained almost the same altitude as it did in September.

Though unit totals aren't available for the bottom 10 games on NPD's Top 20 chart, their ranking did offer some insight into their fortunes. The highly rated PS3-exclusive role-playing game Demon's Souls landed in 11th place, followed by the underperforming heavy metal fantasy Brutal Legend. Other high-profile debuts that charted include FIFA Soccer (PS3, 13th), WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 (360, 15th), Tekken 6 (PS3, 16th), Borderlands (PS3, 17th), and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (DS, 19th).

Over on the PC charts--which do not include digital sales on services such as Steam--September first- and second-place finishers swapped places. With its first expansion just a week away, Electronic Arts' multiplatinum hit The Sims 3 took the gold again. It was followed by silver-place Aion, NCsoft's money-minting massively multiplayer online role-playing game. New entries during October included Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy (3rd), Borderlands (7th), Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (8th), and IGT Slots: Texas Tea (9th).

TOP-SELLING NON-PC GAMES - OCTOBER 2009
Last Month / Rank / Title / Platform / Publisher / Release Date / Units (Top 10 only)
** / 1 / Uncharted 2: Among Thieves / PS3 / Sony / Oct-09 / 537,000
** / 2 / Wii Fit Plus* / Wii / Nintendo / Oct-09 / 441,000
** / 3 / Borderlands / 360 / 2K Games (Take-Two) / Oct-09 / 418,000
2 / 4 / Wii Sports Resort* / Wii / Nintendo / Jul-09 / 314,000
** / 5 / NBA 2K10* / 360 / 2K Games (Take-Two) / Oct-09/ 311,000
1 / 6 / Halo 3: ODST / 360 / Microsoft / Sep-09 / 271,000
** / 7 / NBA 2K10* / PS3 / 2K Games (Take-Two) / Oct-09 / 213,000
** / 8 / Forza Motorsport 3 / 360 / Microsoft / Oct-09 / 175,000
12 / 9 / Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days / DS / Square Enix / Sep-09 / 169,000
** / 10 / FFIA Soccer 10 / 360 / Electronic Arts / Oct-09 / 156,000
** / 11 / Demon's Souls* / PS3 / Atlus / Oct-09
** / 12 / Brutal Legend / 360 / Electronic Arts / Oct-09
** / 13 / FIFA Soccer 10 / PS3 / Electronic Arts / Oct-09
4 / 14 / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / DS / Nintendo / Sep-09
** / 15 / WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 / 360 / THQ / Oct-09
** / 16 / Tekken 6* / PS3 / Namco Bandai / Oct-09
** / 17 / Borderlands / PS3 / 2K Games (Take-Two) / Oct-09
3 / 18 / Madden NFL 10 / 360 / Electronic Arts / Aug-09
** / 19 / Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky / DS / Nintendo / Oct-09
** / 20 / Mario Kart Wii with Wheel / Wii / Nintendo / Apr-08
* = Includes Collector's, Limited, Legendary, Bundles (Guitars) Editions

TOP-SELLING PC GAMES - OCTOBER 2009
Last Month / Rank / Title / Publisher
2 / 1 / The Sims 3 / Electronic Arts
1 / 2 / Aion / NCsoft
** / 3 / Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy / Her Interactive
4 / 4 / World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard
6 / 5 / Mumbo Jumbo Assortment / Mumbo Jumbo
7 / 6 / The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / Electronic Arts
** / 7 / Borderlands / 2K Games (Take-Two)
** / 8 / Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising / Codemasters
** / 9 / IGT Slots: Texas Tea / Masque
8 / 10 / World of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard
9 / 11 / Reel Deal Slots Treasures of the Far East / Phantom Efx
10 / 12 / World of Warcraft / Blizzard
11 / 13 / Spore / Electronic Arts
** / 14 / Fallout 3: GOTY Ed. / Bethesda Softworks
13 / 15 / Starcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard
14 / 16 / Zuma's Revenge / PopCap Games
12 / 17 / Grand Theft Auto IV / Rockstar Games (Take-Two)
** / 18 / Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY Ed. / 2K Games (Take-Two)
19 / 19 / Civilization IV: Complete Ed. / 2K Games (Take-Two)
** / 20 / The SimCity Box / Electronic Arts

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