Sims kicks Getaway off top spot

EA's all conquering The Sims has returned to the top of the UK ELSPA/ChartTrack All Formats Top 40 after a gap of two and a half years, thanks to the release of the PS2 version.

EA's dominance of the charts at the moment must be quite scary to rival publishers. The US giant has no fewer than six of the current top 10 (Sim City 4, FIFA, Bond, Two Towers, Potter II) with a further six titles occupying the rest of the Top 40 (Sims Deluxe, Frontline, Sims Unleashed, Potter I, Tiger Woods, Allied Assault). And with the likes of BF1942: Road To Rome and C&C Generals out soon, expect that dominance to increase.

Elsewhere it was more or less the same chart as last week, with Vice City still at No.2, and The Getaway perched at No.3. The absence of exclusive GameCube titles from the chart is a continuing thorny issue for Nintendo-philes, although with the free game offer having commenced, it wouldn't be unexpected to see a few titles re-enter next week.

Xbox fans, meanwhile, are still plumping for Splinter Cell, still at No.19, while Halo continues to sit snugly at No.38 - just ahead of Driving Test Success, a bizarre new entry at No.40.

For the full run-down, head for www.charttrack.co.uk.