ChartSpot: July 2005

July saw urban crime yielded to university athletics on NPD Funworld's console-game charts, with June's top game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the Xbox, knocked off by the PlayStation 2 version of NCAA Football 06. The move was expected, given the popularity of Electronic Arts' now-exclusive university-gridiron franchise, the Xbox version of which finished second. The seventh-place Xbox San Andreas will likely fall further when NPD's August figures are released, having been pulled from most store shelves in late July after being retroactively rated Adults Only.

Meanwhile, Xbox owners looking for action of a nonfelonious kind scooped up the Halo 2 Multiplayer Pack in droves, making it July's third best-selling game. The top 10 saw two other new entrants for full-sized consoles: Fantastic 4 for the PlayStation 2 (5th) and 2004's Star Wars: Battlefront for the PS2 (10th), the latter of which which saw resurgent sales due do a new budget price.

However, it was the handheld race that had some of July's interesting developments. The month saw the two highest-ranked debuts of PSP games since the platform launched in late March. The portable version of Rockstar Games' Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition ranked 9th in overall sales, the best debut ever for a PSP game and the first to break the top 10. While still below Pokemon Emerald, which only dropped two places from second to fourth, Midnight Club 3's strong showing was indicative of the PSP's growing user base. It was also better than any DS debut since that platform, which has still sold millions more units than the PSP, launched in November 2004. But that may change in the wake of Nintendogs' August 22 release...

In at number 11 was Coded Arms, which overcame middling-to-poor reviews to score the second-highest PSP debut yet. Its popularity is likely due to the fact that is the only first-person shooter for the format released so far, which augurs well for future PSP action games such as Star Wars: Battlefront II, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo, and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

Over on the PC charts it was much the same story in July as it was in June. Battlefield 2 held its position at number one, keeping former chart-conquerors World of Warcraft (2nd) and Guild Wars (3rd) at bay. It will also come as no surprise that a slew of Sims games were among the PC best-sellers, including The Sims 2 University (4th), The Sims 2 (5th), The Sims Deluxe (8th), and The Sims: Unleashed (9th). In fact, the only new entrant in the PC top 10 was the expansion pack Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!, which was released in late June.

ALL CONSOLES
Rank	Last Month	Title	Platform	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	**	NCAA Football 06	PS2	Electronic Arts	Jul-05	$49
2	**	NCAA Football 06	Xbox	Electronic Arts	Jul-05	$50
3	**	Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack	Xbox	Microsoft	Jul-05	$20
4	2	Pokemon Emerald	GBA	Nintendo	Apr-05	$35
5	**	Fantastic 4	PS2	Activision	Jun-05	$50
6	12	Destroy All Humans!	PS2	THQ	Jun-05	$49
7	1	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Xbox	Rockstar Games	Jun-05	$48
8	6	Lego Star Wars	PS2	Eidos Interactive	Mar-05	$39
9	**	Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition	PSP	Rockstar Games	Jun-05	$49
10	**	Star Wars: Battlefront	PS2	LucasArts	Sep-04	$21
11	**	Coded Arms	PSP	Konami	Jul-05	$40
12	5	Conker: Live And Reloaded	Xbox	Microsoft	Jun-05	$49
13	15	MVP Baseball 2005	PS2	Electronic Arts	Feb-05	$30
14	12	Destroy All Humans!	Xbox	THQ (Corp)	Jun-05	$49
15	4	Medal of Honor: European Assault	PS2	Electronic Arts	Jun-05	$39
16	**	Fantastic 4	GBA	Activision	Jun-05	$30
17	**	Delta Force: Black Hawk Down	Xbox	NovaLogic	Jul-05	$50
18	9	Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition	PS2	Rockstar Games	Apr-05	$49
19	3	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith	PS2	LucasArts	May-05	$47
20	**	Burnout 3: Takedown	PS2	Electronic Arts	Sep-04	$20

PC
Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher	Average Price
1	1	Battlefield 2	Electronic Arts	$48
2	3	World of Warcraft	VU Games	$49
3	2	Guild Wars	NCsoft	$49
4	5	The Sims 2 University	Electronic Arts	$33
5	7	The Sims 2	Electronic Arts	$47
6	8	The Sims Deluxe	Electronic Arts	$20
7	9	Half-Life 2	VU Games	$42
8	11	Roller Coaster Tycoon 3	Atari	$39
9	18	The Sims: Unleashed	Electronic Arts	$10
10	**	Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!	Atari	$29
11	6	Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience	LucasArts	$30
12	12	Zoo Tycoon 2	Microsoft	$31
13		The Sims: Superstar	Electronic Arts	$10
14		Star Wars: Battlefront	LucasArts	$26
15	10	Lego Star Wars	Eidos	$30
16	**	Warcraft III Battle Chest	VU Games	$39
17	**	The Sims: Makin' Magic	Electronic Arts	$10
18	17	Halo: Combat Evolved	Microsoft	$20
19	20	Sim City 4 Deluxe	Electronic Arts	$32
20	4	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Rockstar Games	$47

PLAYSTATION 2
Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	**	NCAA Football 06	Electronic Arts	Jul-05	$49
2	**	Fantastic 4	Activision	Jun-05	$50
3	6	Destroy All Humans!	THQ	Jun-05	$49
4	3	Lego Star Wars	Eidos Interactive	Mar-05	$39
5	**	Star Wars: Battlefront	LucasArts	Sep-04	$21
6	7	MVP Baseball 2005	Electronic Arts	Feb-05	$30
7	2	Medal of Honor: European Assault	Electronic Arts	Jun-05	$39
8	5	Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition	Rockstar Games	Apr-05	$49
9	1	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith	LucasArts	May-05	$47
10	**	Burnout 3: Takedown	Electronic Arts	Sep-04	$20

XBOX
Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	**	NCAA Football 06	Electronic Arts	Jul-05	$50
2	**	Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack	Microsoft	Jul-05	$20
3	1	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Rockstar Games	Jun-05	$48
4	2	Conker: Live And Reloaded	Microsoft	Jun-05	$49
5	4	Destroy All Humans!	THQ	Jun-05	$49
6	**	Delta Force: Black Hawk Down	NovaLogic	Jul-05	$50
7	**	Fantastic 4	Activision	Jun-05	$50
8	6	Lego Star Wars	Eidos Interactive	Apr-05	$38
9	**	Burnout 3: Takedown	Electronic Arts	Sep-04	$20
10	**	Star Wars: Battlefront	LucasArts	Sep-04	$20

GAMECUBE
Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	**	Fantastic 4	Activision	Jun-05	$50
2	3	Super Smash Bros. Melee	Nintendo	Dec-01	$30
3	4	Pokemon Colosseum	Nintendo	Mar-04	$20
4	2	Super Mario Sunshine	Nintendo	Aug-02	$19
5	5	Animal Crossing	Nintendo	Sep-02	$20
6	1	Madagascar	Activision	May-05	$39
7	7	Kirby Air Ride	Nintendo	Oct-03	$20
8	8	MVP Baseball 2005	Electronic Arts	Feb-05	$30
9	**	Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life	Natsume	Jul-05	$30
10	**	Charlie And The Chocolate Factory	Take-Two Interactive	Jul-05	$30

GAME BOY ADVANCE
Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Pokemon Emerald	Nintendo	Apr-05	$35
2	**	Fantastic 4	Activision	Jun-05	$30
3	10	Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of The Clones	THQ	May-02	$15
4	2	Madagascar	Activision	May-05	$30
5	5	Lego Star Wars	Eidos Interactive	Mar-05	$30
6	3	Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones	Nintendo	May-05	$31
7	8	Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Protoman	Capcom Usa	Jun-05	$30
8	**	Disney Princess	THQ	Mar-03	$15
9	4	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith	Ubisoft	May-05	$30
10	**	Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel	Capcom Usa	Jun-05	$30

DS
Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	1	Kirby: Canvas Curse	Nintendo	Jun-05	$35
2	2	Super Mario 64 Ds	Nintendo	Nov-04	$28
3	9	Meteos	Nintendo	Jun-05	$31
4	5	Warioware: Touched!	Nintendo	Feb-05	$35
5	4	Goldeneye: Rogue Agent	Electronic Arts	Jun-05	$30
6	3	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith	Ubisoft	May-05	$38
7	7	Yoshi Touch & Go	Nintendo	Mar-05	$31
8	10	Bomberman	Ubisoft	Jun-05	$29
9	**	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	Ubisoft	Jun-05	$38
10	6	Madagascar	Activision	May-05	$40

PSP
Rank	Last Month	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Average Price
1	3	Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition	Rockstar Games	Jun-05	$49
2	**	Coded Arms	Konami	Jul-05	$40
3	2	Untold Legends: Brotherhood of The Blade	Sony Online Ent.	Mar-05	$39
4	**	Dead To Rights: Reckoning	Namco	Jun-05	$40
5	1	Need For Speed: Underground Rivals	Electronic Arts	Mar-05	$50
6	4	Twisted Metal: Head On	Sony	Mar-05	$40
7	5	MVP Baseball	Electronic Arts	May-05	$50
8	7	Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee	Sony	May-05	$39
9	10	ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails	Sony	Apr-05	$40
10	8	Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix	Activision	Mar-05	$48