Gran Turismo 5 starts at pole position in UK sales chart

by Alexander Sliwinski on Nov 29th 2010 9:07AM

Gran Turismo 5 raced into first place on the UK sales chart last week, becoming the sixth largest PS3 launch ever in the region. In a good sign for the oft-delayed franchise installment, sales were up 6 percent from Gran Turismo 4's launch week numbers in March 2005 on the PS2 (according to Chart-Track).

Call of Duty: Black Ops and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood both took one step back this week, grabbing silver and bronze, respectively. CoD:Blops dropped another 42 percent in sales two weeks after its record-setting premiere, while AC:B slipped off a Borgia tower, but caught itself 32 percent of the way down.

FIFA 11 took the fourth spot with a sales surge, and fifth belongs to... yup, loyal chart watchers, you got it: Just Dance 2 is unstoppable as it waves its arms in the air, selling copies like it just don't care. As for debuts on the chart that didn't go vroom-vroom, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare shambled in at 14, while Ubisoft's Michael Jackson: The Experience had the late king of pop make one duke-y of a debut down at 38. Find the full UK top ten after the break.

Update: We just noticed that Disney Epic Mickey began its retail quest in the UK last week. It didn't even make the Top 40 in the All Formats chart. It debuted at the 11 spot on the Wii Chart. For comparison's sake, Michael Jackson: The Experience premiered at number five on the Wii chart, which ended up being 38 on the All Formats.

Top 10 UK Software Sales (All Formats); week ending November 27:

Gran Turismo 5
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
FIFA 11
Just Dance 2
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Wii Party
Art Academy
Wii Sports Resort
Fallout New Vegas

Source: Chart-Track, Chart-Track All Formats

Tags: assassins-creed-brotherhood, britain, call-of-duty-black-ops, chart-track, chart-track-weekly, fifa-11, Gran-Turismo-5, just-dance-2, microsoft, nintendo, playstation, ps3, uk, wii, xbox

Reader Comments (45)

Dance Central falling to the 30 spot so fast isnt a good sign in the "lol Dance Game War" for Harmonix and neither is RB3 being completely off. Dance gmaes are really big in the UK.

It was a good run guys.

@Jack Kevorkian
If they released Dance Central for Wii... and renamed it Just Dance Central... then it would be on the chart for the next year. (Yes, okay, that might be a bit problematic as they'd first have to release Kinect for Wii...)

As for Disney's Epic Fail (in terms of apparent UK chart sales, not game quality, I'm sure it's great), that's a bit unfortunate but, um, what kind of a brand is Mickey Mouse these days? Same deal for Michael Jackson - great brand, guys... 20 years ago (actually in the case of Mickey, probably more like 50 years ago).

Disney think people still give a damn about Mickey mouse - newsflash, guys, at least in the world of gaming (and probably in the world of 'under 40s') Mario's a much bigger name than your brand. Hell, *Sonic*'s a bigger name than your brand. Hello Kitty? Smashes it.

Maybe it's different in the US, though?

My belated advice for both companies if they want sales: Disney should've put out Epic Disney Princesses and Ubisoft Justin Bieber: The Experience. :)

@hunkyChunky
2 things here. Microsoft controlling the media. LOL.
Forza is the definitive racing game of this generation for a lot more reasons than racing stripes. You should try it.

It's impressive to see that a PS3 Gran Turismo game is selling better than a PS2 Gran Turismo game. When it comes to sales I always get the feeling that PS3 games sell less than they should compared to last-gen sales.

@(Unverified)
As much as I disagree with what @hunkyChunky said, Forza is anything but a "definitive racing game of this generation". Sorry. Still a great game, though.

Epic Mickey was at pos 39 in the indiv chart and didn't track in the combined.
BLOPS is roughly at 121somethingk this week and brotherhood close to 100k. I guess that sort of means NFS:HP didn't even hit 90ks most likely last week but might be a slow-burn (seems doubtful though thanks to sales unless it's price-dropped).

FIFA surged up thanks to a pricedrop at most stores and Art Academy thanks to an ad campaign. The rest well it's the holidays.

As for practically No shows - TRON Evolution and Majin.
Splatterhouse pretty much fares the same fate but when you see that it at the very least managed 37th place in the full price 360 charts means it had a tiny tiny moment.
But yeah these three titles tanked terribly. Epic Mickey didn't do well but did better than these 3 games that were multi-format.

@incognito016 Do you think TRON is as big in the UK as it is in the states? I have no idea personally but the movie and game is getting some adverts over oon this side.

@Jack Kevorkian There's an audience for TRON here in the UK, and a far more receptive audience than for certain films.
For instance Cloverfield didn't translate well for UK cinemas, most people didn't enjoy it as much. However there's nostalgia value, christmas and most people have heard enough. Not to mention Disney tries to keep increasing interest via its various outlets including getting cable and their channels to show the original movie again.

As for movie-game tie-ins most people are clueless. I mean they do avoid direct cash-ins but this is a complete absence from all charts for those games I mentioned which is quite frankly rare given that games like Naughty Bear did sell quite well here and the video nasty market (for splatterhouse) isn't quite dead yet.

@hunkyChunky

You sound like a fanboy yourself...

@Jack Kevorkian

"Forza is the definitive racing game of this generation"

Lol, nice pr.

@hunkyChunky

Did Sony pay you? How much did they pay? I want some of that money!

@Jack Kevorkian
Two things:
Forza is the definitive racing game of this generation!? LOL.
I tried Forza 2 and 3. Gran Turismo 1-5 is better in my opinion, so what's your point?

Glad GT5 did well, its addictive and well worth the buck, may have gotten some mixed reviews, but it's been well worth my pennies, hope it stays up top for a while.

What I find funny is how Just Dance 2 is just hold on up there :D Just chilling out in that fifth place, unbudging, unmoving, "ain't no one gunna stop my shine cos fifth spot is mine mine mine :D"

@Spunky Monkey 190906

Yeah, and Dance Central is bungee jumping to the bottom of the canyon. It's understandable though because Kinect is still not covering enough users. I suppose with time its sales will increase a bit.

@hunkyChunky

IGN said that GT5 was a 10/10 simulator combined with a 5/10 game, or something like that. As someone who hasn't played it, I wonder if that's the reason behind the review scores. I know it's not as exciting as a Microsoft owning the media conspiracy, but from all the reviews I've read that seems to be the general consensus.

@LanciaRally My point? That you do not understand realistic racing games. I could go into it but why bother? Fanchildren have made up their minds or have had their minds made up by the MS lockdown on the media.

@hunkyChunky

No brah...
You lost me with, "worth every minute of the wait for it." - and thats where i take your opinion for blind fanaticism. Did you get your first Ps3 last year? If so, then that is acceptable. Ps3 was released late 2006 with a taste (demo) for the game...its damn near 2011...

@hunkyChunky

Normally I'm not too into that whole "Reviewers are biased" paranoia, but after I read how some reviewers were talking about how GT5's damage model wasn't as good as they made it out to be, among other things, I realized right away that they were just writing this game off... Seeing as how you unlock features in the game as you level up, including the complete damage model.

Honestly, you'd think a reviewer would put a solid amount of time into games like this before they review them. It's increasingly disappointing.

@hunkyChunky,
Your comment is as insulting as it is naive.
Yes GT fanboys, downvote me all the way down, but just because you disagree with reviewers does NOT mean they're under Microsoft's thumb. Games are getting more similar to movies in the critics aspect, every new game we're usually getting more and more mixed reviews. You have to respect that. I'm sorry if your precious game didn't get as much praise as you wanted it to. Maybe as much as the reviewers appreciate all the effort that was put into GT5, they just don't find it as fun as you do? It doesn't matter if the game only gets fun when you get to level 17. That's your opinion.
There are LOTS of reviews I've read that I've disagreed with, sometimes I've found myself with a different opinion than most reviewers but it's their opinion and I'm not going to attack their professional integrity because of it. I thought all Halo games had shitty campaigns (yet awesome multiplayers) and yet you don't see me bashing anyone's professionalism or accusing them of being under Microsoft's influence.

Although there are some really good games in this list, it's a bit disturbing to see that only sequels will sell well these days.

I just ordered Enslaved, Singularity and Vanquish dirt cheap and while that is good for my wallet it probably means that these games didn't sell too good and won't be getting any sequels in time.

And that makes me a sad panda...

@Pure Black World Tendency

Vanquish was actually a very pleasant surprise for me.. rented it one night when I couldn't get Front Mission Evolved, or anything else really.. and I ended up keeping it a couple extra days...

My main thing is this: Since I was a wee lad playing games on the PC, ect, I've always been about multiplayer games, and playing with friends around, So i don't really get into too many single player adventure/action games (RPGs are a totally different ball game).

The game that converted me over was Uncharted 2, but even that had some sweet multiplayer to boot, I just can't play these games by myself...I lose interest fast....I'm trying though, just got 3D Dot Game Heroes and Singularity as well...

@hunkyChunky
I don't want to get into the whole fanboy name-calling business, but you're fawking delusional, friend.
Conspiracy plots to artificially lower GT5 review scores? You must be joking.

@A Sandwich
So its 15/20?

Why is GT being treated differently to other games?
Never seen them review other games this way!
All games have flaws but they don't usually cut a huge chunk of the score for something so minor.

@Negatron did you get your PS3 only for GT5? because it has a crapton of great games you know?

GT5 is a great game, and since polyphony didn't hold you at a gunpoint not to play anything else until it was released, the "oh my god we waited!" argument is absolutely moot.

Games should be judged for what they are, not on how much you pwerceive you waited for them.

@vmenge microsoft thumb or not, it's evident to anyone with a brain that GT5 has been reviewed by many on a different standard than any other game out there.

Which is obviously idiotic.

@IREWolfman

I don't get your point. I think they give it an 8 or an 8.5, which is higher than what a 15/20 would translate to. I think they meant that it was a great simulation but that it wasn't a very fun game. I think they review every realistic sports type game like that.

@hunkyChunky
"Microsoft controlling much of the media"

[Citation needed]

@hunkyChunky

Conspiracy? No...

Lazy reviewers who didn't even bother playing the game far enough to see what they said sucked... Yes.

Joystiq, I'm lookin' at you.

Epic Mickey PS3/360 port confirmed.

Ouch on the Epic Mickey update. If Mickey doesn't do well on Wii then it might be safe to conclude that if its not a minigame collection, a first party Wii game or a game with Mario then it's not worth it anymore.

Just Dance and Wii Sports might be the only Wii games selling from now on.

@Shockwave

GT has always been a game with a dedicated fanbase. its a car racing simulator at its core. this game should have been reviewed by one of those GT dedicated players

@A Sandwich

I'm not even sure I'd call it a great simulator, at least in all regards. Dopey AI and minimal damage physics are major areas with shortcomings in what is called the "Real Driving Simulator". There are more realistic driving simulators on PC out there. In some cases, Forza "simulates" actual driving more accurately, imo. Both the Forza series and GT series are phenomenal, it really comes down to taste. As a car enthusiast, I personally think Gran Turismo has simulated what racers would do in regards to event types and qualifications wonderfully, but I feel Forza simulates actual driving in a better manner.

GT 5 is such an awesome game. It's so fun and really delivers a complete racing package. I wish there was more personalization and customization but it doesn't detract heavily from what the game does right.

@Abriael
wtf are you talking about? read my response to @HunkyChunky again.
- I am not condoning the reviews for GTA 5 nor am i implying Ps3 has no games besides GTA5 in the past 5 -6 years.

@Hunky tried to pull off a trolls Inception. A light hearted / honest post within a Trolling Rant, within a Trolling Rant. "MS controlling media" ? Please...so while SOME reviewers did a shabby job, its still received good to great marks. Not like its getting 3/5 stars or 7.5's...

Breathe...

@A Sandwich

...Thank you
Certain people seem to want it to receive 9's 10s' or 5/5 stars yet fail to see its the genre of game. I love sports/sims, EVERY YEAR i buy them; NBA 2K's, the Madden's, Boxing etc. Year in year out, new features, tweaks (for better or worse) on game-play, the games never surpass an 8.7. Even FIFA(Soccer) the worlds most played sport can only seem to drum up an above average rating from reviews, both in the US and EU.

I think the update needs come clarification.

Epic Mickey only launched on Friday. It is now Monday. Also, I did not see any Epic Mickey ads until today, when I saw one poster and one on the underground.

@Chibi Chaingun
That's the issue. The AI and Damage scale up with your levels. A good amount of reviewers didn't bother to do their job and play it past a couple of hours.

@hunkyChunky

Said the GT5 fanboy

@hunkyChunky

"The sad thing is, with Microsoft controlling much of the media"

lol, you're delusional.

@hunkyChunky

Wow. You seem awfully upset that the game didn't get the score you think it should have gotten. Maybe you should start up your own gaming blog so you could give it an 11/10.

lol@ all this talk about GT fanboyism, and the haters coming out left right and centre about Forza etc.

I own both consoles, and both Forza 3 and GT5, and they are both excellent imo, in what they set out to do. End of argument imo.

PS3/360 - both have their good games and their bad games, I dont revere one over the other because it has 500 more cars or whatever, I buy the games I want to play because I know I will enjoy them.

Why can't that be enough for people?

No... they have to admit that Forza can put stripes on, so its a better game, or GT is not a game, its a simulation with a steep learning curve so the reviewers no diddly-crap.

Get over it people, buy the games you wanna play because you LOVE playing it, not because Metacritic told you so!

GT5 got mix review ? All the reviews I saw was 8-10. That pretty good. By the way play the game with a "Driving Force GT" and in 3D, its amazing.

@brendon987

I hear good things about GT with the DF GT Wheel.
Wish I could join you all using one, but I am not allowed to open it until Xmas day lol

Piss coming from my ass!!!

Gran Turismo 5

Gran Turismo 5 starts at pole position in UK sales chart

Reader Comments (45)

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:28AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 7:37PM xxxsam said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:31AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:31AM Dark Archon PSN Archonik XBL Dar said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:33AM Dark Archon PSN Archonik XBL Dar said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:36AM incognito016 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:45AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 12:04PM incognito016 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:36AM Chibi Chaingun said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:36AM AltairArcanum said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:36AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:40AM LanciaRally said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:44AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:21AM Nekki said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:48AM A Sandwich said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:48AM Jack Kevorkian said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 9:55AM Negatron said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:01AM CrimsonRyan said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:04AM vmenge said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:04AM vmenge said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:17AM Pure Black World Tendency said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 4:47PM Omnistatic said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:20AM blueskyv201 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:31AM IREWolfman said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:41AM Abriael said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:44AM Abriael said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 10:48AM A Sandwich said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:01AM Premature ejaculation man said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:01AM Shockwave said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:20AM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:24AM Lerkero said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:40AM PR0F3TA said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:53AM Chibi Chaingun said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 11:56AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 12:28PM Negatron said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 12:41PM Negatron said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 12:45PM Kaminaaa said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 2:05PM Kodros said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 3:05PM Tuxy79 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 3:05PM maveric101 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 3:10PM Dismissile said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 7:06PM DigitalFortress said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 8:04PM brendon987 said

Posted: Nov 29th 2010 8:17PM DigitalFortress said

Posted: Nov 30th 2010 4:14AM The Last Ninja said

Gran Turismo 5 Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is a stranger in a strange land

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW