Whether you’ve been waiting with anticipated glee or dreading the Christmas period, the festive season is very much upon us and that means one thing: people are rushing to buy games in their droves for family members, friends or, more than likely, themselves. It’s also a time when eye-catching promotions cause charts to fluctuate dramatically, as retailers pull out all the stops to get software off of shelves (or digital storefronts) and into the hands of the consumer.
And this year it’s no different, as price cuts have pulled up a few surprises in this week’s UK all-format charts, with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and DriveClub both re-entering the standings — in fact, the latter racer witnessed a 999% boon in sales courtesy of the PlayStation 4 bundle. But it was Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise that took home the glory for the umpteenth time, as the recently-released Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire earned the biggest launch ever for the long-running series in the UK.
Such a stat means that combined sales of the revamped Ruby and Sapphire outpaced those of its predecessors — last year’s Pokémon X and Y — by a full 17%. Even in 2014, the popularity of Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise can’t be overstated. Here’s this week’s top ten in full.
1) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
2) FIFA 15
3) Grand Theft Auto 5
4) Far Cry 4
5) Assassin’s Creed: Unity
6) Pokémon Omega Ruby
7) Pokémon Alpha Sapphire
8) DriveClub
9) Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
10) Minecraft: Xbox Edition
Aside from the success of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, it was Activision’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare that reigned supreme in this week’s chart, returning to pole position after last week’s new releases knocked it down to 3rd. Elsewhere, fellow Nintendo newcomer Super Smash Bros. for Wii U arrived in at 13th, while LittleBigPlanet 3 made its bow in 18th.
For more on what we thought of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, you can check out our review of the latter monster-hunting adventure.
