SOCOM, Madden, NBA Live, and Grand Theft Auto dominate the console charts, while PC gamers' cups runneth over with quality titles.
As is the case each October, last month saw some of the bigger guns in the battle for fourth-quarter sales begin firing. Sony Computer Entertainment America's SOCOM 3: US Navy SEALs proved the biggest gun on the console charts, dethroning September champion Madden NFL 06 and landing ahead of NBA Live 06, both from Electronic Arts.
While all three of the top games were for the PlayStation 2, right behind was the first fourth-place finish for Sony's newest platform, the PSP. Take-Two-Interactive-owned Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories enjoyed the best debut of any game on the platform, even though it didn't get as much critical praise as its console cousins.
Overall, the October console charts were dominated by PS2 games, which totaled 14 of the top 20 games that shipped during the month. Notable releases included Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (5th), FIFA Soccer 06 (7th), Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (8th), The Warriors (9th), Shadow of the Colossus (10th), Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (11th), Soul Calibur III (12th), and Blitz: The League (16th).
Behind Liberty City Stories, the best non-PS2 finisher was Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness for the GameCube (6th). Slightly lower on the chart was Ubisoft's Xbox-exclusive shooter Far Cry Instincts (11th), followed by NBA Live 06 (15th) and Madden NFL 06 (19th) for Microsoft's current-gen console. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the DS was the only other non-Sony-platform game, coming in at 14th.
Microsoft Game Studios' Age of Empires III ruled the PC top 20 in October, and was followed by a gaggle of top-tier tiles. Three games had two versions--regular and special editions--which both made the chart, including Civilization IV (3rd and 16th), Quake 4 (8th and 14th), and F.E.A.R. (9th and 10th). If that wasn't enough to keep PC gamers busy through the holidays, the month also saw Black & White 2 (4th), Call of Duty 2 (7th), City of Villains (13th), and the Rome: Total War Barbarian Invasions expansion (17th) hit the market.
ALL CONSOLES
Last Month Rank Title Platform Publisher Release Date Average Price
** 1 SOCOM 3: US Navy SEALs PS2 SCEA Oct-05 $49
2 2 NBA Live 06 PS2 Electronic Arts Sep-05 $49
1 3 Madden NFL 06 PS2 Electronic Arts Aug-05 $47
** 4 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories PSP Take-Two Oct-05 $50
** 5 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi PS2 Atari Oct-05 $49
** 6 Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness GC Nintendo Sep-05 $48
** 7 FIFA Soccer 06 PS2 Electronic Arts Oct-05 $49
** 8 Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves PS2 SCEA Sep-05 $39
** 9 The Warriors PS2 Take-Two Oct-05 $49
** 10 Shadow of the Colossus PS2 SCEA Oct-05 $39
** 11 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland PS2 Activision Oct-05 $48
** 12 Soul Calibur III PS2 Namco Oct-05
$49
** 13 Far Cry Instincts Xbox Ubisoft Sep-05
$47
** 14 Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow DS Konami Oct-05 $35
11 15 NBA Live 06 Xbox Electronic Arts Sep-05 $49
** 16 Blitz: The League PS2 Midway Oct-05
$39
7 17 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 PS2 Electronic Arts Sep-05 $49
** 18 Ultimate Spider-Man PS2 Activision Sep-05 $47
4 19 Madden NFL 06 Xbox Electronic Arts Aug-05 $47
** 20 Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks PS2 Midway Sep-05 $48
PC
Current Rank Last Month Title Publisher Average Price
1 ** Age of Empires III Microsoft $49
2 1 The Sims 2 Nightlife Electronic Arts $33
3 ** Civilization IV Take-Two $50
4 ** Black & White 2 Electronic Arts $49
5 3 Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Atari $25
6 2 World of Warcraft VU Games $44
7 ** Call of Duty 2 Activision $50
8 ** Quake 4 Activision $49
9 ** F.E.A.R. VU Games $48
10 ** F.E.A.R.: Director's Edition VU Games $54
11 4 Battlefield 2 Electronic Arts $48
12 8 The Sims 2 Electronic Arts $42
13 ** City of Villians NCsoft $50
14 ** Quake 4: Special Edition Activision $59
15 ** Doom 3 Activision $22
16 ** Civilization IV: Special Edition 2K Games $49
17 ** Rome: Total War Barbarian Invasions Sega $29
18 7 The Sims Deluxe Electronic Arts $19
19 10 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault THQ $28
20 5 Guild Wars NCsoft $48
PLAYSTATION 2
Last Month Current Rank Title Publisher Release Date Average Price
** 1 SOCOM 3: US Navy Seals SCEA Oct-05 $49
2 2 NBA Live 06 Electronic Arts Sep-05 $49
1 3 Madden NFL 06 Electronic Arts Aug-05 $47
** 4 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi Atari Oct-05 $49
** 5 FIFA Soccer 06 Electronic Arts Oct-05 $49
** 6 Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves SCEA Sep-05 $39
** 7 The Warriors Take-Two Oct-05 $49
** 8 Shadow of the Colossus SCEA Oct-05 $39
** 9 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Activision Oct-05 $48
** 10 Soul Calibur III Namco Oct-05 $49
XBOX
Last Month Rank Title Publisher Release Date Average Price
** 1 Far Cry Instincts Ubisoft Sep-05 $47
4 2 NBA Live 06 Electronic Arts Sep-05 $49
1 3 Madden NFL 06 Electronic Arts Aug-05 $47
** 4 Blitz: The League Midway Oct-05 $39
** 5 The Warriors Take-Two Oct-05 $49
** 6 Battlefield 2: Modern Combat Electronic Arts Oct-05 $49
** 7 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Activision Oct-05 $48
5 8 X-Men Legends 2 : Rise of Apocalypse Activision Sep-05 $48
** 9 FIFA Soccer 06 Electronic Arts Oct-05 $50
7 10 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 Electronic Arts Sep-05 $49
GAMECUBE
Last Month Rank Title Publisher Release Date Average Price
10 1 Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness Nintendo Sep-05 $48
1 2 Mario Superstar Baseball Nintendo Sep-05 $46
** 3 Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Nintendo Oct-05 $48
** 4 Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix Konami Oct-05 $46
** 5 Madagascar Activision May-05 $23
** 6 Ultimate Spider-Man Activision Sep-05 $46
5 7 Super Mario Sunshine Nintendo Aug-02 $19
** 8 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom THQ Oct-03 $14
4 9 Madden NFL 06 Electronic Arts Aug-05 $46
7 10 Super Smash Bros. Melee Nintendo Dec-01 $29
GBA
Last Month Rank Title Publisher Release Date Average Price
1 1 Pokemon Emerald Nintendo Apr-05 $35
** 2 Bratz : Rock Angelz THQ Oct-05 $29
2 3 Lego Star Wars Eidos Interactive Mar-05 $30
5 4 Mario Bros 3: Mario 4 Nintendo Oct-03 $30
** 5 Ultimate Spider-Man Activision Sep-05 $29
4 6 Disney Princess THQ Mar-03 $15
** 7 Power Rangers: S.P.D. THQ Sep-05 $20
8 8 Danny Phantom: The Ultimate Enemy THQ Sep-05 $28
** 9 Donkey Kong: King of Swing Nintendo Sep-05 $30
6 10 Madagascar Activision May-05 $30
DS
Last Month Rank Title Publisher Release Date Average Price
** 1 Castlevania : Dawn of Sorrow Konami Oct-05 $35
3 2 Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends Nintendo Aug-05 $31
2 3 Nintendogs: Labrador Retriever & Friends Nintendo Aug-05 $31
1 4 Nintendogs: Chihuahua & Friends Nintendo Aug-05 $31
** 5 Trauma Center: Under The Knife Atlus Oct-05 $30
4 6 Advance Wars : Dual Strike Nintendo Aug-05 $35
6 7 Super Mario 64 Ds Nintendo Nov-04 $30
** 8 Lost In Blue Konami Sep-05 $30
** 9 Zoo Tycoon THQ Oct-05 $30
** 10 Madagascar Activision May-05 $25
PSP
Last Month Rank Title Publisher Release Date Average Price
** 1 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Take-Two Oct-05 $50
1 2 Madden NFL 06 Electronic Arts Sep-05 $49
** 3 Marvel Nemesis: Rise of The Imperfects Electronic Arts Oct-05 $50
** 4 NBA Live 06 Electronic Arts Oct-05 $49
2 5 Burnout Legends Electronic Arts Sep-05 $50
** 6 Virtua Tennis: World Tour Sega Oct-05 $40
** 7 X-Men Legends 2 : Rise of Apocalypse Activision Oct-05 $50
7 8 World Series of Poker Activision Sep-05 $40
3 9 Namco Museum Battle Collection Namco Aug-05 $40
4 10 Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Take-Two Jun-05 $49
