Top 20: Sonic speeds back up to number one

Official ELSPA Top 20 Software Chart (all prices) - week ending 17 April

1 (2)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube)
2 (5)
(PS2, Xbox)
3 (4)
(PC)
4 (1)
(Xbox, PC, GBA)
5 (3)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, GBA)
6 (7)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC, PSone, GBA)
7 (6)
(PS2, Xbox)
8 (16)
(PS2, Xbox, PC)
9 (8)
(PS2)
10 (NE)
(PS2, Xbox, PC, GBA)
11 (9)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC)
12 (10)
(PS2, PC)
13 (11)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC)
14 (14)
(PC)
15 (RE)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC, GBA)
16 (12)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube)
17 (19)
(PS2, Xbox)
18 (20)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, GBA)
19 (13)
(PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, GBA)
20 (15)
(PS2, Xbox)

Well, you have to take your hat off to the mercurial blue hedgehog. Yep, Sonic Heroes has clawed its way back into the top spot. The lion's share of sales predictably comes from PS2 but it's also selling reasonably well on Xbox and Gamecube, so it's a genuine multiformat favourite.

If Sonic's nabbing of the top position surprised us, that's nothing compared to our reaction when we saw slots two and three - World Championship Rugby and Norton Internet Security 2004, respectively. Put that little mix together and we have what must be the most unlikely top three of the year. Things are tight at the top though, with only 500 sales' difference between fourth place Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and top dog Sonic Heroes.

Top of the major movers this week is Cat in the Hat, shooting up from last week's 36 to a very respectable number 10. The Sims continues its remarkable success story by moving up eight places to number eight. Finally, Tiger Woods re-enters the chart at 15.

A pretty strange week in the life of the charts, we think. What next? Norton antivirus software at number one? A major virus alert might just help pull that one off...

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