| QUOTE |
The latest street-racing game from Electronic Arts (EA) has proved to be the most wanted title for Christmas. Need for Speed: Most Wanted kept the coveted festive number one spot in the official UK games charts out of reach of a giant ape. The street-racing title saw off a monster challenge from the film tie-in King Kong, which had to settle for second place. It marks the third year in a row that EA has claimed the festive top spot. Big screen rivals The gaming powerhouse had four out of the 10 best-selling games for Christmas, including Fifa 06, the latest Harry Potter game and The Sims 2. CHRISTMAS TOP 10 GAMES 1: Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2: King Kong: Official Game of the Movie 3: Call of Duty 2: Big Red One - Activision 4: Fifa 06 5: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 6: Pro Evolution 5 7: Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe 8: Star Wars: Battlefront II 9: True Crime: New York City 10: The Sims 2 Source: ChartTrack "This is truly astonishing for Electronic Arts," said Roger Bennett, director general of the games industry trade body, Elspa. "To win two Christmas number ones in a row is a remarkable achievement, but three consecutive number ones is incredible, especially with so many strong brands and titles in contention for this year's chart." EA faced strong competition from big film licences, in particular from King Kong. The ape game made an impressive last minute challenge, with sales up by 64% on the week following the release of the film. But even the might of King Kong and the release of the movie in the UK was not enough to take the ape to the top of the charts. "Betting has been very strong since the initial odds were announced," said David McMorrow of Ladbrokes. "Need for Speed: Most Wanted emerged as a favourite early on and, despite competition from King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia and Call of Duty 2, has held its own and repeated the remarkable success of its predecessor." The previous version of Need for Speed, called Underground 2, was last year's Christmas number one. Video games are big business, with Britons spending more than £2bn on games in 2004. Story from BBC NEWS: |