Athens 2004 reigns supreme

Official ELSPA Entertainment Top 20 Software Chart (all prices) - week ending 28 August

1 (2) Athens 2004
(PS2)
2 (3) Spider-Man 2
(PS2, Xbox, Cube, GBA)
3 (1) Doom 3
(PC)
4 (5) Driv3r
(PS2, Xbox)
5 (4) Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow
(Xbox)
6 (6) Shrek 2
(PS2, Xbox, Cube, GBA)
7 (10) FIFA 2004
(PS2, Xbox, Cube, PC, GBA, PSone, N-Gage)
8 (7) Need for Speed Underground
(PS2, Xbox, Cube, PC, GBA)
9 (RE) The Simpsons: Hit and Run
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC)
10 (14) Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
(PS2, Xbox, Cube)
11 (9) Formula One 04
(PS2)
12 (11) America's 10 Most Wanted
(PS2)
13 (13) Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
(PS2, Xbox, PC, GBA)
14 (18) International Cue Club
(PS2)
15 (12) The Sims: Bustin' Out
(PS2, Xbox, Cube, GBA, N-Gage)
16 (RE) Singstar
(PS2)
17 (8) The Chronicles of Riddick
(Xbox)
18 (19) Sonic Heroes
(PS2, Xbox, Cube)
19 (RE) GTA: Vice City
(PS2, PC)
20 (RE) Red Dead Revolver
(PS2, Xbox)

During the final week of the Olympics, Athens 2004 finally achieved gold status by usurping Doom 3 and taking the number one spot. This is Sony's first number one since the heady days of Eye Toy's release one year ago.

However, the real story of this week's charts is the bumper crop, relatively speaking, of re-entries thanks to retail promotions and budget pricing. No less than half of the top 40 is made up of budget titles and four of them break into the top 20.

The Simpsons: Hit and Run takes the biggest climber accolade, zooming up 17 places to number nine, with Sony's Singstar, Rockstar's GTA: Vice City and Red Dead Revolver making a more modest showing.

While the rest of the charts have been livened up a tad, the top five remain pretty much as they were but expect a real shake-up shortly with releases such as Sudeki, Conflict: Vietnam, Juiced, ShellShock: Nam '67, Burnout 3: Takedown, Resident Evil: Outbreak, Second Sight and Sims 2 on the horizon.

Leisure software charts compiled by ChartTrack
(C) 2004 (UK) Ltd