FIFA 08 begins 2008 on top.

Just as it did in 2007, EA’s latest FIFA title is top of the chart for the first week of the year.

Having missed out on Christmas No.1, despite publishing pre-race favourite Need for Speed: ProStreet, EA finally has something to celebrate with FIFA 08 claiming the first All Formats No.1 of 2008.

Assassin’s Creed falls three places to No.4 thanks to a 70% dive in sales, but the game isn’t alone with every title in the Top 40 seeing a sales slump. Call of Duty 4 (down 56%) climbs to No.2 and The Simpsons Game (down 58%) also rises one place to No.3. With only a smattering of releases coming on Friday, don’t expect much to change in next week’s chart.

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2001 ELSPA Ltd
Entertainment Software (All Prices) Week 1, 2008

1: FIFA 08
2: CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
3: THE SIMPSONS GAME
4: ASSASSIN’S CREED
5: NEED FOR SPEED: PROSTREET
6: PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008
7: THE GOLDEN COMPASS
8: MORE BRAIN TRAINING FROM DR KAWASHIMA
9: GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK
10: WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008
11: COOKING MAMA
12: THE SIMS 2: CASTAWAY
13: DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING
14: TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 08
15: LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA
16: KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN
17: WII PLAY
18: SUPER MARIO GALAXY
19: MYSIMS
20: FOOTBALL MANAGER 2008

FIFA 08 passes 1m mark in first week

Electronic Arts has confirmed that it has sold more than a million copies of ‘FIFA 08′ during its first week of sale in Europe.

“This is just the start of what promises to be the most exciting season ever for gamers,” said Gerhard Florin, EA Executive Vice President for International Publishing. “‘FIFA 08′ kicks off our holiday line up, which has more fresh titles than ever before including consumer favorites like ‘Need for Speed Pro Street’ along with original properties like ‘Army of Two’, ‘EA Playground’, ‘Smarty Pants’, ‘Rock Band’, ‘Hellgate London’, ‘The Orange Box’ and ‘Crysis’. This year there truly is something for everyone.”

‘Pro Evolution Soccer 2008′ is also scheduled for a release on October 26, so the traditional battle of the franchises will begin in ernest come month’s end.

PS2 FIFA 08 tops Halo 3 in sales.

According to reports coming out from sales charts EA Sports’ FIFA 08 has actually managed to beat Halo 3 in terms of software sales.

In some huge news from the region of Europe, FIFA 08 has managed to beat Halo 3 for the XBOX360 in sales in both Spain and Germany.

In Spain FIFA 08 on the PS2 took the top spot with Halo 2 in second, followed by FIFA 08 on the PS3. In Germany FIFA 08 on the PS2 took the top spot with FIFA 08 for the PC taking slot number two, with Halo 3 in third.

Spain charts:

1. FIFA 08 (PS2)
2. Halo 3 (X360)
3. FIFA 08 (PS3)
4. Halo 3: Limited Edition (X360)
5. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007 Platinum (PS2)
6. My Sims (DS)
7. Heavenly Sword (PS3)
8. FIFA 08 (PSP)
9. Halo 3: Legendary Edition (X360)
10. FIFA 08 (X360)

Germany charts:

1. FIFA 08 (PS2)
2. FIFA 08 (PC)
3. Halo 3 (X360)
4. The Settlers: Rise of an Empire (PC)
5. FIFA 08 (PS3)
6. FIFA 08 (X360)
7. Halo 3: Limited Edition (X360)
8. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PC)
9. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage! (PC)
10. Dr Kawashima: More Brain Training (DS)

Best opening week for FIFA.

According to ChartTrack, Halo 3 was bought by one in three UK Xbox 360 owners in its first week on sale. The title more than doubled weekly sales of Xbox 360 hardware to the highest weekly level during 2007, beating Nintendo’s Wii for thr first time in months.Halo 3 sales accounted for 68 percent of all Xbox 360 software sales over the past week, and helped to catapult Microsoft’s next-gen format to its highest sales week ever in the UK. The title has become the second fastest selling game ever in the UK behind Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

EA’s FIFA 08, a new entry in the All Formats Chart at No2, scores with the best opening week of any FIFA game. Almost half of all FIFA 08 sales were for PS2, while the Xbox 360 version became the third fastest selling game on the system behind Halo 3 and Gears of War.

Two more EA titles follow, with MySims at No3 and Tiger Wods PGA Tour 08 at No4.

THQ’s Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights makes its debut at No5, while Sega Rally enters at No7. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima is sandwiched between the racers.

Super Paper Mario, Transformers: The Game and Wii Play round off the top ten.

Other new entries include EA’s Skate on Xbox 360 at No11. Activision’s PC-only Quake Wars: Enemy Territory at No16, and THQ’s Ratatouille at No39.

01   Halo 3 (Microsoft)
02   FIFA 08 (EA)
03   MySims (EA)
04   Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (EA)
05   Juiced 2 – Hot Import Nights (THQ)
06   More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima (Nintendo)
07   Sega Rally (Sega)
08   Super Paper Mario (Nintendo)
09   Transformers: The Game (Activision)
10   Wii Play (Nintendo)

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2007 ELSPA Ltd.