UK Sales Chart, Week Ending September 17th

With only three launch titles left in the top twenty and none in the top ten, the UK video game software chart has moved on briskly from the launch of the PSP, with a large number of new entries on other game formats. Defying negative fears over the PC market at large and its traditionally soft market in the UK, Electronic Arts’ second The Sims 2 expansion pack has gone straight in at number one, beating off competition from the company’s own Burnout Legends. Meanwhile, the Quantic Dream-developed, Atari-published Fahrenheit (aka Indigo Prophecy) has debuted unexpectedly strongly, with positive reviews for once overcoming the UK market’s usual resistance to unlicensed or untested franchises. Eidos’ tongue-in-cheek shoot ‘em-up Total Overdose has also done relatively well at number seven, but perhaps the biggest surprise of the week is the entry of Madden NFL 06 at number nine. Although the series usually debuts within the top twenty in the United Kingdom thanks to the fondly remembered legacy of the Mega Drive (aka Genesis) versions of the game, this is the first time the series has ever cracked the top ten – no small feat given the lack of coverage or popular support for the actual sport in the UK.

Official UK Leisure Software Charts (c) ELSPA compiled by Chart-Track