The games of 2007: Analysis

The more things change…

The majority of these titles were DS and Wii exclusives, which serves as a good example of how Nintendo really surged in popularity throughout the year. While Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training did well to take the eleventh position in 2006, the title’s second place ranking in 2007 represents a remarkably impressive achievement for a title only selling on one format – along with its sequel More Brain Training at number five.

Other single format successes included Wii Play at number eight, New Super Mario Bros at number 13, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games at 17.

… the more they stay the same

However a great deal of the top 50 is dominated by the old guard franchises who consistently muscle out other would-be blockbusters. Special congratulations must go to EA’s FIFA 2008 which tops the year’s listings after being released in late September, repeating its predecessor’s top positioning in 2006.

Fellow football title Pro Evolution Soccer 6 manages to stay in the charts, coming in at number 16 compared to its second place position last year despite the presence of its sequel Pro Evolution Soccer 2008’s presence at the number four position.

WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 slips neatly into the position of its predecessor WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007’s placing at number ten. Other franchise always-do-wells to repeat their success include Call of Duty, The Simpsons, Need for Speed, Grand Theft Auto, Tiger Woods PGA Challenge, Tomb Raider and Lego Star Wars.

To new IP or not to new IP

It is worth pointing out the relative lack of entries based on new intellectual property in the charts. Out of top 50 selling games of 2007, only seven were based on new concepts. Nintendo again cleaned up in this respect, enjoying predictable successes with Brain Training, Big Brain Academy and Wii Play, while Ubisoft’s critically acclaimed Assassin’s Creed, SCEE’s Resistance and 505 Games’s Cooking Mama are also worthy of praise. The remaining hits are mainly based on existing franchises or are sequels.

Check out the full top 50 best selling UK titles of 2007

here.