UK Charts: Potter poaches the top spot
Perhaps predictably, the cinematic release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has given EA's videogame tie-in the boost in sales it needed to knock THQ's wrestling title from the top spot of the all formats chart this week.
WWE: Smackdown Vs Raw slips to third place, while LucasArts manages to hold second place for another week with Star Wars: Battlefront II, in spite of a 32 per cent drop in unit sales. Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 5 keeps its lead over rival FIFA 06, climbing one place to four, while FIFA is relegated to fifth position.
Atari's sci-fi movie license, The Matrix: Path of Neo climbs three places from nine to six, resting just above this weeks most successful chart entry for Sony. Thanks to a widespread bundling deal with the release of the PSP Giga Pack, World Tour Soccer enjoyed a phenomenal sales surge, entering the chart at number seven.
EA's console versions of The Sims 2 slip one place from seven to eight, with ninth place secured by a five place climb for Activision's Wild West adventure, Gun. Tenth place goes to Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories on the PSP, which has slipped a disappointing six places since last week.
Despite a strong line-up, new releases failed to set the retail world alight last week - perhaps reflecting the fact that with so many major games hitting the shelves, and so many key titles already on release, sales - and shelf space - are being divided up between a large number of games and it's tough for any new title to dent the top ten.
Activision holds the new release lead this week, with Call of Duty 2: Big Red One entering the charts in twelfth place. Unlucky for some, Codemasters debut at thirteen with the latest sports management sim, LMA Manager 2006, stealing the lead over Ubisoft's official film tie-in, King Kong. The forthcoming cinema release and generally positive reviews of the game should help secure a higher position for the angry ape in the coming weeks.
The Xbox chart has seen a general downward shift, as a high number of new releases, albeit largely multi-format titles, vie for position. Half Life 2 takes the top spot, while SEGA's Shadow the Hedgehog only manages to sneaks in at number 17.
This week's scheduled releases include the latest in EA's street racing franchise, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, True Crime: New York City from Activision, and Mario Kart DS from Nintendo. The safe bet however, would be for a chart topping win for Buena Vista Games with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The epic movie tie-in is already tipped as the bookies favourite for a Christmas number one, with odds of 5/1 from Ladbrokes.