UK charts: World at War calls the shots

Banjo, Mirror's Edge, Wii Music struggle.

Image credit: Eurogamer

News by Robert Purchese Associate Editor

Updated on Nov. 18, 2008

Call of Duty: World at War has charged to the top of the UK all-formats chart this week, becoming the third fastest-selling game ever in the region.

The shooter beat off competition from World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King (in at two), which became the fastest-selling PC game in the UK of all time - a record previously held by Championship Manager 4.

But apparently football management games still draw the crowds. Football Manager 2009 enters the chart at three, proving that strategically placed adverts between big televised football matches pay dividends.

Last week's leader, Gears of War 2, falls to four - the spot previously held by Sony's system seller, LittleBigPlanet. That game, unfortunately, tumbled all the way down to 19. Oh dear.

And there were similar stories for other high profile releases, as Wii Music bucks the trend and enters at 16; sitting behind three other platform stalwarts: Mario Kart Wii, Wii Play and Wii Fit.

Perhaps more shocking, however, was a first-week entry for DICE eye-catcher Mirror's Edge at 20.

Their struggles make the rest of the top 10 spots all the more valuable. FIFA 09 sold well to take five, followed by Guitar Hero World Tour up from 17 to six, thanks to the arrival of the instrument bundles.

Bizarrely, to us at least, charming DS adventure Professor Layton and the Curious Village managed to drop just one spot to seven, ahead of Mario Kart Wii at eight, PES 2009 at nine, and WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2009 at 10.

Other big movers and shakers this week were Fallout 3 down from three to 14, Quantum of Solace down from eight to 18, Far Cry 2 down from 14 to 26, and Fable II down from 16 to 27.

Quickly: LEGO Indiana Jones managed to burst back into the list at 21, as did Viva Piñata, albeit at 37.

This week waves goodbye to Saints Row 2, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Dead Space.

(Update: As a few of you have noticed, the chart this week is also noteworthy for the absence of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which came out on Friday. Poor old Rare made 15th in the Xbox 360 chart, but couldn't dent the top 40, which you can see below. Ouch.)