Need for Speed ProStreet

Nintendo platform titles dominate the end of year German and Spanish charts. Wii and DS games take ten out of 20 places across the two top tens for the week ended December 30, while only one PS3 game charts and Xbox 360 titles fail to get a look in. Standout performers making the top tens in both Germany and Spain include Super Mario Galaxy, Brain Training titles, SingStar titles, Phantom Hourglass and FIFA 08. Germany 01. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) 02. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) 03. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima (DS) 04. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC) 05. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS) 06. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) 07. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS2) 08. SingStar Apres Ski (PS2) 09. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) 10. FIFA 08 (PS2) Spain 01. More Brain Training from Dr. Kawashima (DS) 02. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (DS) 03. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2) 04. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) 05. WWE Smackdown! Vs RAW 2008 (PS2) 06. Assassin's Creed (PS3) 07. SingStar Latino (PS2) 08. Imagine: Being Mum (DS) 09. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) 10. FIFA 08 (PS2)

The Simpsons Game for PlayStation 2 has finally managed to take out the top spot in the Australian game charts -- seven weeks after its initial release -- according to data trackers GfK Australia. The DS version of the game also made it into the top 10, taking out the seventh spot. Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii -- last week's number one -- fell down to number two during the week of December 10-December 16. Drawn to Life for the Nintendo DS has reappeared in the overall charts at number three after a brief hiatus. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 climbed up from the previous week to number five, while Activision's other chart topper -- Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock -- is nowhere to be seen. Halo 3 for the 360 has reappeared at number nine, while Nintendo's Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree bundle ended the week at number 10.

This week's top rental charts from U.S. game rental company GameFly, representing the most requested games for the week ending December 3rd, highlight both to-be-released and already released games in a unique demand-specific chart. This week's top five all-platform requests show little movement once again, after last week saw the list barely ruffled. Assassin's Creed still takes the top spot for a third week with Mass Effect in second for its second week in a row. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which spent the last two weeks at number four, slips a bit to the fourth spot to make room for Kane and Lynch: Dead Men to move up one spot into the fourth spot, but that's the only movement -- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune stays at number five, where it entered last week.

Kotaku's Brian Crecente has a leaked copy of the National Institute on Media and the Family's annual Media Wise Video Game Report Card, set to be officially released tomorrow. This year's report card is broken into five parts: ¿ The MediaWise Video Game Report Card ¿ The Buying Guide ¿ The ESRB Rating System and Ratings Education Efforts ¿ The Retailer Ratings Education and Enforcement Surveys ¿ Annual MediaWise-Harris Interactive Poll of Kids and Parents Kotaku gives a quick summary for each part.

EA's Need for Speed ProStreet leaves the competition behind in Germany, while Smackdown takes the honors in Spain. Germany: 01. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS2) 02. Need for Speed ProStreet (PC) 03. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC) 04. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) 05. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS3) 06. Crysis (PC) 07. High School Musical: Sing It (PS2) 08. Brain Training (DS) 09. More Brain Training (DS) 10. The Settlers (DS) Spain: 01. WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2008 (PS2) 02. Assassin's Creed (PS3) 03. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2) 04. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) 05. Need for Speed ProStreet (PS3) 06. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 (PSP) 07. More Brain Training (DS) 08. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) 09. Imagine Being Mum (DS) 10. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi (PS2

According to VG Chartz, here are the top 10 European software titles - with individual platforms, publishers, and units sold - for the week ending November 24th: 1. Brain Training (DS, Nintendo): 187,803 2. Assassins Creed (XB360, Ubisoft): 178,543 3. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo): 177,393 4. Need for Speed: ProStreet (PS2, EA): 149,927 5. High School Musical: Sing It! (PS2, Disney): 144,745 6. Assassins Creed (PS3, Ubisoft): 134,650 7. Mass Effect (XB360, Microsoft): 129,598 8. More Brain Training (DS, Nintendo): 128,614 9. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2, Konami): 124,674 10. Nintendogs (DS, Nintendo): 120,237

Shiny sport cars and ladies lacking clothes go together like¿ errrr selling and sex, so it wasn't entirely surprisingly to see EA promoting the latest version of Need For Speed in conjunction with The Sun's Page 3 girls Becky and Amii. Or was it?

It was recently announced that those who pre-order a copy of Need For Speed: ProStreet will receive an unlock code. This unlock code allows you to go to the Need For Speed website, www.needforspeed.com, and customize your very own Subaru Impreza WRX STi with the Blueprint Demo.

EA has released a brand new trailer for the upcoming racer, Need For Speed: Pro Street. And this one's all about the smoke effects. There's not that long to go now until the launch of EA's new Need For Speed title; it's out around October. This time round the focus is on realism, but it's not really going after the likes of GT or Forza. "We're definitely not looking to make a simulation. I think 'simulation' is a bit of a dirty word," producer John Doyle recently told us. Check out the movie

You know what's always been missing from Need For Speed? Smoke. Lots and lots of smoke. Fortunately, that's just what we're treated to in this fresh footage from NFS Pro Street, the semi-reinvention of the flashy racing series. We have to say we like what we see. Regular videogame smoke/steam/mist can be so, well, wispy - but this is top-grade billowing clouds of the stuff, like the spouting steam of a red-hot kettle trapped at boiling point or a smoldering tire wedged in a roasting