Halo 3 smashes UK 360 record

Halo 3 has become the second fastest selling game in UK chart history, according to Chart-Track, with one in three Xbox 360 owners in the UK buying the Microsoft-published title.

With the UK Xbox 360 installed base at 1.4 millon in the UK, estimates suggest that the Bungie-developed game shifted more than 466,000 copies in the UK alone in its first four days on sale. That figure is dwarfed only by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which shifted an incredible 677,000 copies in two days when it was released on PS2 back in October 2004 - but, then again, the PS2 installed base in the UK at the time was some 6.4 million according to Chart-Track.

Needless to say, then, that Halo 3 topped the all formats chart for the week ending 29th September. But it was also a strong week for new releases across the board.

Despite Halo 3 fever sweeping the nation, EA still managed to enjoy its best-ever opening weekend for a FIFA release with FIFA 08 charting in second place. All told, Halo 3 and FIFA 08 accounted for some 83 per cent of all 360 software sales last week. Meanwhile, last week's one and two - Tiger Woods 08 and MySims - dropped down to third and fourth.

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights rather unpredictably outsold the far superior SEGA Rally by landing two places ahead in fifth - we blame the television advert with the boobs - while new EA IP Skate just missed out on the top ten by entering at 11th.

Activision, though, failed to break into the best sellers with Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, which was only able to manage 16th - although Transformers managed to hold onto ninth.

The rest of the top ten was padded out with familiar Nintendo names: More Brain Training, Super Paper Mario and Wii Play.

Ratatouille also failed to impact, sniffing around in 39th, but then the Pixar film on which it is based has yet to be released here.

Overall, Halo 3 managed to double the total 360 sales for the week, which prompted Forza Motorsport 2 to surge forwards 22 places, from 35 to 13.