Oz game charts: November 20-26

SYDNEY--It may be one of the best-reviewed games of the year, but critical acclaim wasn't enough to push Gears of War to the top of the Australian game sales charts last week. The action title for the Xbox 360 managed only to secure third place in the overall charts for the week of November 20-26, beaten to the punch by two PlayStation 2 titles.

Top of the charts was WWE! SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 for the PS2, the second week in a row THQ's newest wrestling game has been number one, according to data trackers GfK Australia. In second place was Need for Speed Carbon for the PS2.

Gears of War was the Xbox 360's sole entrant in the overall top 10, with the PlayStation 2 again dominating with six entries. Gears of War's failure to secure the top spot highlights the PS2's massive installed base down under compared to Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Nintendo's only entrants in the top 10 were for two DS games--Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training. PC gaming had a sole representative--EA's The Sims 2: Pets.

All sales stats, including console-by-console breakdowns, can be found below:

Top 10 Full-Priced Games
1. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007, PS2
2. Need for Speed Carbon, PS2
3. Gears of War, Xbox 360
4. Scarface: The World Is Yours, PS2
5. Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends, Nintendo DS
6. SingStar Legends bundle, PS2
7. Guitar Hero II, PS2
8. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, Nintendo DS
9. Cricket 07, PS2
10. The Sims 2: Pets, PC

Top 10 Game Boy Advance Games (over AU$40)
1. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team
2. Bratz: Forever Diamonds
3. Pokémon Emerald
4. Cars
5. The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
6. Pokémon Ruby
7. Bratz: Rock Angelz
8. Pokémon Sapphire
9. Dogz 2005
10. Catz 2005

Top 10 GameCube Games (over AU$50)
1. The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
2. Mario Party 7
3. Need for Speed Carbon
4. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
5. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
6. Mario Smash Football
7. FIFA 2007
8. Mario Party 6
9. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
10. Pokémon Colosseum

Top 10 PC Games (over AU$20)
1. The Sims 2: Pets
2. World of Warcraft
3. Medieval II: Total War
4. Neverwinter Nights 2
5. Need for Speed Carbon
6. Battlefield 2142
7. Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
8. Microsoft Flight Simulator X
9. Age of Empires III
10. The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff

Top 10 Nintendo DS Games (over AU$40)
1. Nintendogs: Dalmatian and Friends
2. Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training
3. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
4. New Super Mario Bros
5. Bratz: Forever Diamonds
6. The Sims 2: Pets
7. The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
8. Mario Kart
9. Crash Boom Bang!
10. Shrek and Madagascar pack

Top 10 PS2 Games (over AU$50)
1. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007
2. Need for Speed Carbon
3. Scarface: The World Is Yours
4. SingStar Legends bundle
5. Guitar Hero II bundle
6. Cricket 07
7. Buzz: The Sports Quiz
8. EyeToy Sports bundle
9. Singstar Pop bundle
10. Buzz! Junior Jungle Party bundle

Top 10 PSP games (over AU$40)
1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
2. Need for Speed Carbon
3. Killzone: Liberation
4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
5. Cars
6. FIFA 2007
7. Tekken: Dark Resurrection
8. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 06
9. Lego Star Wars 2
10. Ace Combat X

Top 10 Xbox Games (over AU$50)
1. Need for Speed Carbon
2. Scarface: The World Is Yours
3. Call of Duty 3
4. Lego Star Wars 2
5. FIFA 2007
6. The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
7. Melbourne Cup Challenge
8. Tony Hawk's Project 8
9. NBA Live 2007
10. Destroy All Humans! 2

Top 10 Xbox 360 Games (over AU$50)
1. Gears of War
2. Need for Speed Carbon
3. Massive Entertainment Pack
4. Call of Duty 3
5. WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007
6. Tony Hawk's Project 8
7. Saints Row
8. FIFA 2007
9. F.E.A.R.
10. Splinter Cell Double Agent

All data supplied by GfK Australia.