The Charts: A Paradise for Burnout?

Week 4 of 2008 sees the first big title of the year enter the Charts - and do it in style. Electronic Arts' Burnout Paradise screeches in at Number 1, dislodging SEGA's Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games in a blue/black cloud of burning rubber.

In fact, Burnout Paradise claims the biggest Week 4 Number 1 since another racer, Gran Turismo 2 (yes, '2'!) had a Number 1 this time eight years ago. It's a pretty even split, with the Xbox 360 version grabbing 53% of the sales and the PS3 version getting 47%. SPOnG is glad to see it at the top of the hit parade, with Burnout having earned itself a hefty review score and having made Marcus unable to stop writing about it...

That puts SEGA's Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games down a place at Number 2, despite a 7% growth in sales. Call of Duty 4 is similarly displaced, getting nudged down a place to Number 3. Given it was just revealed that the game was the best-selling title of 2007, however, Activision probably won't be crying itself to sleep.

Nintendo hangs on to a solid Top 10 presence. Wii Play ascends the Charts once again, climbing from Number 10 to Number 4. The original Brain Training drops one place to Number 5, while its sequel slips five places to Number 10.

Nintendo has an impressive 17 platform exclusives in the Top 40, while the top 8 budget titles are also available only on the Wii or DS.

THQ's Ratatouille fares impressively, with retailer promotions giving it a massive 21 place jump from Number 30 to Number 9. Nintendo’s Wii Zapper-attached, Link's Crossbow Training, also sees a jump, up from Number 22 Number 15 to boast its best week of the year.

The only new release that isn't Burnout Paradise to make the Top 40 this week is Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Jet Race, in at Number 22.

Check back next week to see if the DS release of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and Microsoft's Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom can make an impact on the Top 40.

You can see the Top 40 in full here. If you're just too impatient to click through, here's the Top 10 for your perusal below. (Last week's positions are in brackets).

(NE) 1 Burnout Paradise - Electronic Arts
(1) 2 Mario and Sonic At The OlympicGames - SEGA
(2) 3 Call of Duty4:Modern Warfare - Activision
(10) 4 Wii Play - Nintendo
(4) 5 Dr Kawashima's Brain Training - Nintendo
(3) 6 The Simpsons Game - Electronic Arts
(6) 7 Assassin's Creed - Ubisoft
(7) 8 FIFA 08 - Electronic Arts
(30) 9 Ratatouille - THQ
(5) 10 More Brain Training From Dr Kawashima - Nintendo