PC Sales Charts – Puzzles and MMOs Edition

Another week has passed and another fresh batch of data from the three biggest video game suppliers in the world of PC gaming has arrived for us to dissect and see just what were the trends in both retail and digital sales. So, without further ado, here are this week's PC Sales Charts from the NPD group, Steam and Direct2Drive.

As no other big blockbuster titles have arrived in retail stores for quite a few weeks, the NPD charts are dominated by old-time favorites World of Warcraft and Sims from Blizzard and Maxis respectively. The only other titles that break the supremacy of these two companies are Relic Entertainment's Dawn of War II RTS and Empire: Total War, which was developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega a few months ago.

Steam charts, however, show that players who prefer digital downloads for their gaming needs are very varied, as, although the number one spot is occupied by Valve's most recent game, Left 4 Dead, the other positions are filled by some very interesting titles. The runner up is independent blockbuster Braid, which we had the honor to spend an hour with yesterday, revealing that a lot of people have been eagerly anticipating this release.

Also, the following two spots are occupied by new releases from Relic Entertainment in the form of the standalone expansion Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor and from Square Enix in the form of The Last Remnant. Besides the other Valve titles like Team Fortress 2 or Counter Strike Source, puzzle phenomenon Peggle from PopCap Games comes in fifth, emphasizing the multitude of gamer profiles that use Steam.

The Direct2Drive charts show us that new games and expansions can boost older titles in popularity, as the Tales of Valor add-on to Company of Heroes has made the original popular once more. The Godfather II on the other hand, is selling very well but hasn't made the original one sell any better.

Another notable trend highlighted by these charts is that the newer Empire: Total War is still being beaten by the older Rome: Total War, both from Creative Assembly. Fallout 3 still proves that you can't keep a good RPG down while EA LA's Red Alert 3: Uprising is still selling quite nicely.

Here are the charts:

NPD Sales Charts Mar 29 - Apr 4

1. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe (EA Maxis) 2. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Blizzard Entertainment) 3. Empire: Total War (The Creative Assembly) 4. The Sims 2 Apartment Life (EA Maxis) 5. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest (Blizzard Entertainment) 6. World Of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment) 7. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War II (Relic Entertainment) 8. The Sims 2 Pets (EA Maxis) 9. Spore (EA Maxis) 10. The Sims 2 University (EA Maxis)

Steam Charts as of April 13

1. Left 4 Dead (Valve Software) 2. Braid (Number None) 3. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (Relic Entertainment) 4. The Last Remnant (Square Enix) 5. Counter-Strike: Source (Valve Software) 6. Peggle Complete (PopCap Games) 7. Empire: Total War (The Creative Assembly) 8. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (Relic Entertainment) 9. Company of Heroes Complete Pack (Relic Entertainment) 10. The Orange Box (Valve Software)

Direct2Drive Charts Mar 29 - Apr 4