UK Chart: FIFA 11 shoots, scores number one

FIFA 11 has entered the UK chart in first place after another successful and critically acclaimed launch for EA Sports' dominant footie franchise, selling 21 percent more copies than FIFA 10. Not only is FIFA 11 the biggest FIFA launch ever, but it's also the third-biggest UK launch of all time, behind Modern Warfare 2 and GTAIV. According to Chart-Track, FIFA 11 accounted for 63 percent of all Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games sold this week.

Since 2008, there has been a shift in momentum for FIFA sales away from PlayStation platforms and towards the Xbox 360. At the 2008 launch of FIFA 09, 51 percent of sales were on PlayStation consoles, versus 42 percent on the Xbox 360. This year, FIFA achieved 50 percent of its sales on Xbox 360 and only 47 percent on the PlayStation 3. The PS2 version failed to appear in the all-formats chart, despite debuting at number one on the PS2, deposing FIFA 10. FIFA 09 broke back into the PS2 top 10 too, reaching number eight. According to UK sales-tracking body Chart-Track, Xbox 360 sales for FIFA are up 26 percent year-on-year, while they're up 23 percent year-on-year for the PlayStation 3. Wii sales made up 2 percent of last year's launch-week totals, but a mere one percent this year; Chart-Track did not provide year-on-year changes for sales on the version released onto Nintendo's platform, which is a markedly different and more family-focussed affair than the PS3 and Xbox 360 variants.

After tremendous first-week sales, F1 2010 has fallen to second in the chart, but it has remained ahead of both Dead Rising 2, which climbed to third, and Halo: Reach, which has fallen another two places from second to fourth.

FIFA 11 was the only new entry to make it into the top 10 this week. However, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 rose from 12th to sixth, perhaps boosted by interest in this week's Ryder Cup. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock also rose from sixth to fifth. Sports Champions fell two places to seventh, and Sid Meier's Civilization V dropped from fourth to 10th. Chart regular Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands dropped one place to eighth, and Toy Story 3 remains ninth.