UK charts: FIFA 14 on top again, a look back at a momentous year
2013 began with FIFA 13 leading the UK charts, and it ends with FIFA 14 crowned No. 1 for the second week in a row. The smart money is on EA Sports' MVP making it a hat-trick next week; the opening week's charts for each of the last three years has had a FIFA at the top.
Rather than focusing on a top ten that's so static you'd think it'd just stuffed its face with Christmas dinner, let's look back through the rear view mirror of statistics at what's been a momentous year of UK charts-ery. We've had two console launches in the space of two weeks, an absolute ton of games, and as ever plenty of Call of FIFA in the charts.
24 different games topped the UK charts in 2013, including one-week wonders like Ni no Kuni, Resident Evil: Revelations, Aliens: Colonial Marines, and Payday 2.
The Last of Us spent the most time at the UK's peak, earning six successive weeks as the numero uno in the summer. Pats on the back to FIFA 14 and Call of Duty: Ghosts for each racking five weeks in total, and to four-in-a-row hit Saints Row 4.
Talking of successive No. 1s, six games kept top spot for three weeks running or more: BioShock Infinite, Dead Island: Riptide, The Last of Us, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, Saints Row 4, and Call of Duty: Ghosts.
While Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition did eventually rack up a run at No. 1, it took a good long while to get there. 4J Studios' port spent four weeks in The Last of Us' shadow, before finally taking over the No. 1 spot in its fifth week at retail.
Grand Theft Auto 5 became the UK's fastest-selling game ever when it launched in September, running off with a staggering 2.25 million sales or so in its first week.
No surprises that FIFA 13 stayed in the top ten the longest: It dropped out just before FIFA 14 arrived, making it 37 successive weeks in the top ten across 2013, and 51 in total since its release in September 2012. Special mentions go to Tomb Raider, which departed the top ten after an impressive 25 weeks, and to Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, which was only pushed out on the week the Xbox One launched, some 22 weeks after release.
Some things will never change: Between them, the Call of Duty and FIFA series led the UK charts for a quarter of 2013, including 8 weeks at the end of the year. Keep on shooting and kicking stuff, UK!
Top 10 UK Software Sales (All Formats); week ending December 28
FIFA 14
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
Battlefield 4
Grand Theft Auto 5
Need for Speed: Rivals
Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Just Dance 2014
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
Gran Turismo 6
