There were some who thought that Need for Speed: Pro Street’s weaker than normal arrival in the ChartTrack All Formats Top 40 last week meant it could be time for a change in the annual Christmas battle – but such folk will be eating their words this week as EA’s racer shunts the opposition aside to claim the top spot in its second week.

ChartTrack points out that for the past four years whoever has been number one at this stage in the year has always won the festive battle to claim the Christmas Number One crown.

Last week’s number one, Ubisoft’s medieval next-gen romp Assassin’s Creed, falls five spots to number six. Sandwiched in between, Nintendo’s ongoing DS success story Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training claims second spot, one and a half years since it was first released on the UK High Street. Sales show that over a quarter of DS owners now own the entertaining DS puzzle title.

EA’s The Simpsons Game shows that it has some staying power, too, regaining one spot to claim third position, whilst FIFA 08 enjoys a resurgence, climbing five places to number four. Activision’s (or should that be Activision Blizzard’s?) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare falls two places to fifth position.

There are no new entries in the ChartTrack All Formats Top 10 this week, which reads like this:

1. Need for Speed: Pro Street (EA)
2. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)
3. The Simpsons Game (EA)
4. FIFA 08 (EA)
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
6. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft)
7. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega)
8. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 (THQ)
9. More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima (Nintendo)
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami)