The Xmas spending continued unabated this last week, with a thoroughly successful week for the UK games industry, with unit sales being the second highest ever on record (2003 being the highest, fact fans!).
The boys and girls at Electronic Arts will be enjoying their pre-Xmas wine-down (sic) week, following the news today that they have yet again nabbed the Xmas Number 1 slot, with FIFA 07 remaining firmly at the top of the All Formats charts. Looks like all that TV advertising informing the kids what they want (and the mums and grannies what to get them) has paid off!
Its also the first Christmas Number 1 for a FIFA game since FIFA Road to the World Cup 98 ten years ago. Now that does take us back!
EA also claims the Number 2 and Number 6 spots in the All Formats charts this week, with Need for Speed: Carbon and The Sims 2: Pets, respectively. No doubt the bookies will be rubbing their hands together when they find out that odds-on favourite NFS:Carbon failed to pip FIFA 07 at the post this year.
At Number 3 in the Christmas chart is THQ's WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2007, boosted by the release of the PSP version last week, while Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6 slips one place down to Number 4 and Activision's Call of Duty 3 also drops down one to Number 5.
Sneaking up one place to Number 7 is Epic and Microsoft's Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War, which is also the only single-format game in the Top Ten this week, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess slips out of the Top 10 down to Number 12 this week, despite being joined by the Game Cube version last week.
Midway's seasonal movie cash-in Happy Feet is at Number 8, LucasArts' Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is at Number 9, and THQ's Cars is at Number 10.
So, there we go, bets are already being taken for Christmas Number 1 in 2008. The smart money in the SPOnG office is on FIFA 08 or Need for Speed: Diamond!