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Australia Charts: Third week at number one for Athens 2004

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=4345

Rob Fahey 13:24 09/09/2004

Sony's Olympic title stays in first place, while Burnout 3 debuts at No.3

PS2 exclusive Olympic Games tie-in title Athens 2004 has taken a third week at number one in the Australian software sales charts, while Activision's Doom 3 held firm at number two and EA's Burnout 3 on Xbox was a new entry at number three.

The appearance of Burnout 3 in the chart is something of a surprise, since the game isn't meant to be out until this week; we can only assume that enough Australian retailers broke the street date of the Xbox version to propel it into third place, which bodes well for its official launch figures.

The remainder of the chart sees several familiar faces; Driv3r (PS2) is up to number four, having been a permanent fixture in the top ten since the start of the summer, while EA's The Sims Deluxe (PC) and Sony's SingStar (PS2) also continue to sell well, at numbers five and seven this week respectively.

One unusual re-entry to the chart, however, was Sega's Bass Fishing (PS2) and fishing rod peripheral bundle, which came back in at number six - apparently due to a retailer promotion.

Next week's chart should cover the official launch of Burnout 3 in Australia - expect the British-developed title to knock Athens 2004 off the top spot at last, as the Xbox and PS2 versions of the game jostle for position in charts all over the world.
 

Scrow

Still Tagged Accordingly
Matlock said:
Australia sure has...strange taste in games.
yeah. we're a stupid breed when it comes to gaming. australians don't buy enough gamecubes.
 

Matlock

Banned
Athens must have a "beat the shit out of the Americans mode" that I'm not aware of to sell that well. Seriously.
 

SantaC

Member
I dont understand why companies develop track and field games with a title that will be outdated after the olympic games.
 

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
I get the impression Australia is Olympics mad (going by their crazy medal tally for such a relatively small population) So this is no great supprise to me.
 

pilonv1

Member
The appearance of Burnout 3 in the chart is something of a surprise, since the game isn't meant to be out until this week; we can only assume that enough Australian retailers broke the street date of the Xbox version to propel it into third place, which bodes well for its official launch figures.

The official street date was Friday the 3rd. PS2 version has been pushed back to 16/9. Do some research gamesindustry.biz!
 

Grubdog

Banned
Australians are sheep, we could buy enough copies of a game called "Australian Idol" on a blank disc to send it to number one.

Also, my EB said Burnout 3 for PS2 would be out on Saturday (the 11th).. I hope they're right.
 

Scrow

Still Tagged Accordingly
Ghost said:
I get the impression Australia is Olympics mad (going by their crazy medal tally for such a relatively small population) So this is no great supprise to me.
yes, australia is very much a sporting country. olympics is a big deal here.
 
Scrow said:
yes, australia is very much a sporting country. olympics is a big deal here.

The game has also done very well in the UK. We'll have to wait for Monday with NPD to see how it's doing here. I would be extremely surprised if it could crack the top 10, given that 6 of the top 10 will be football, and at least two of the other top 10 will be Spider-Man 2.
 

hirokazu

Member
i guess Sony's heavy TV advertising campaign during the olympics really paid off, especially the "How much gold can you win for Australia?" thing it had going.
 
SantaCruZer said:
I dont understand why companies develop track and field games with a title that will be outdated after the olympic games.

You think that's f'ed up, then wrap your mind around this. Listings surfaced today that strongly hint Eidos could be publishing a PC version of Athens 2004.
 

Shinobi

Member
Matlock said:
Athens must have a "beat the shit out of the Americans mode" that I'm not aware of to sell that well. Seriously.

People outside North America give a shit about track and field and other amatuer sports year round, as opposed to the two weeks every two years deal that occurs here. Besides that, Athens is a pretty fun game, with a lot of different events represented.



SantaCruZer said:
I dont understand why companies develop track and field games with a title that will be outdated after the olympic games.

What the hell are you talking about? The vast majority of games are going to see 90% of it's sales occur in the first two to three months of release, so no one's gonna be buying it next year anyway. Having the Olympic license with the current year's event represented is an easy way to add some extra juice to it's sales potential.
 
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