14 DAY TRIAL // PC gaming has been condemned by quite a lot of developers and publishers to a slow and painful death, but luckily things are going pretty good for the old platform, which is still fighting the good fight against the current generation of consoles in terms of game sales.
As always, we have just received the PC Sales Charts for the last few weeks, and, with a lack of blockbuster titles, things are pretty diversified over the three charts from the NPD group, which study retail sales, and from the online Steam and Direct2Drive distribution networks.
Fan favorites World of Warcraft and Sims are once more duking it out in the NPD charts, as various iterations and expansions are making it quite hard to spot other games like Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor or Empire: Total War, which, after being the best-selling game of March, isn't doing so well now. Valve's Left 4 Dead makes a surprising appearance, as well as the StarCraft: Battle Chest edition, which shows that there are a lot of people who eagerly anticipate the upcoming sequel and want to get reacquainted with the gameplay.
Steam sales on the other hand are pretty predictable, as the recent Survival Pack free DLC has made Left 4 Dead popular once more and has claimed the number one spot in sales. Zeno Clash makes a surprising appearance at number two, showing that independent games can be quite popular on digital networks. The rest of the chart is pretty much the same, with a notable exception being Plants vs Zombies, which is enjoying a lot of popularity.
Direct2Drive charts confirm the popularity of Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, which holds the number one spot in its hands. Rome: Total War shows some remarkable fan appeal, as it has been present in the sales charts for quite a lot of weeks, even though it is a five-year-old game. Another notable presence is EA's Godfather II, which was an offer a lot of fans couldn't refuse.
NPD Sales Charts April 5-11
1. WoW: Wrath of the Lich King 2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe 3. Company Of Heroes: Tales Of Valor 4. WoW: Battle Chest 5. Empire: Total War 6. Left 4 Dead 7. Starcraft: Battle Chest 8. The Sims 2 Apartment Life 9. World Of Warcraft 10. Nancy Drew: Ghost Dogs Of Moon Lake
Steam Charts as of April 22
1. Left 4 Dead 2. Zeno Clash 3. Counter-Strike Source 4. Plants vs Zombies 5. Dawn of War II 6. The Orange Box 7. Empire: Total War 8. Fallout 3 9. Team Fortress 2 10. Braid Direct2Drive Charts April 12-18
1. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor 2. Final Fantasy XI 3. MLB2K9 4. Rome: Total War 5. Civilization IV 6. Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena 7. Fallout 3 8. DCS: Black Shark 9. Red Alert 3: Uprising 10. Godfather 2
All in all, PC gaming is doing quite well, but the lack of blockbuster titles has handed the market back to popular titles like World of Warcraft or Sims. Hopefully things will change when new titles will appear.