After ten consecutive weeks at number one Need for Speed: Underground 2 has finally been displaced from the top of the UK sales charts, albeit only as far as number two. Of all the many new entries last week, it is Sonic Mega Collection Plus for PlayStation 2 and Xbox - a slightly expanded version of the compilation first seen on the GameCube two years ago - which has surprisingly entered straight in at number one. Often more popular in the UK than rival Mario, it is the second Sonic the Hedgehog game in the top ten – making a total of three titles for Sega, including PC simulation game Football Manager 2005. Indeed, soccer titles are the other most popular theme in the top ten, with EA’s new tournament-specific UEFA Champions League making for a total of four soccer-themed games in the top ten. Elsewhere in the top forty, Capcom’s Shadow of Rome has entered at number eleven, Microsoft’s MechAssault 2 at number twelve, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie at number eighteen and NCSoft's PC MMO City of Heroes at number thirty-two. Predictably, critically acclaimed niche titles such as Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat and Phantom Brave have failed to chart in the all formats chart. With a busy release schedule for at least the next few months, the perplexing refusal of publishers to release any new titles during January is now behind the UK games industry, and many companies will be looking forwards to a busy Easter, the launch of the Nintendo DS in March, and the PSP at an unknown date beyond that.

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