Getaway back at No.1

Sony's The Getaway has stormed back to the top of the ELSPA/ChartTrack All Formats chart, but it was another week of inactivity on the new release front, with not one single new entry appearing in any chart.

As the games industry equivalent of a famine nears its end, even the succulent Sly Raccoon has still yet to appear in the PS2 Top 20 (full price), while the big Christmas contenders continue to occupy the hearts, minds and wallets of gamers across the country.

With the 1.3 million selling Vice City now down to No.2, EA continued to hog the bulk of the Top 10, with Sim City 4, FIFA, Potter II, Bond, Two Towers and Potter I all still selling well, with a further five titles also in the Top 40; can it do no wrong?

Elsewhere, Konami's Dancing Stage Party Edition and Euromix sit happily at No.8 and No.9, proving - if anything - that with the right game at the right price, the PSone still has a future.

On a format specific note, the Xbox's highest placed exclusive release is still Splinter Cell, now down to No.19. The GameCube and GBA have no exclusive representatives at all, while the PC's has Sim City 4 at No.3, The Sims: Deluxe Edition at No.15, The Sims: Unleashed at No.17, Age Of Mythology at No.35 and Medal Of Honor: Spearhead at No.37. It seems EA has the PC all wrapped up, again.

On a year on year level, the market is performing 10 per cent ahead by value, and 26 per cent by units - meaning that an awful lot of discounting is going on while stores clear the decks in a quiet period.

Next week should see no real change to the status quo apart from EA's (yep, them again) PS2 port of The Sims, which comes out this Friday.