UK 2010 Software Charts

It was no surprise that ACTIVISION’S Call of Duty: Black Ops was the biggest game of 2010.

The FPS sold 2m units in its first week, generating record revenues in the process. The game is one of just two Activision games in the entire Top 50, with Modern Warfare 2 making eleventh position.

That means there is no place for DJ Hero or Guitar Hero. In fact there is no Rock Band or SingStar either, which goes to highlight the steep decline in the music games market (and indeed, the peripherals sector). There were two Guitar Hero games in the Top 50 in 2009, for a start.

Perhaps music fans have taken to dancing. Just Dance was the third biggest selling game of the year, despite coming out in 2009, with Just Dance 2 managing No.6. Michael Jackson: The Experience is also in the charts at No. 43.

All of those are UBISOFT games, and it was a great year for the publisher with multiple titles in the Top 50, including Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood at No.7.

TAKE-TWO also had a good year. The firm only had two titles in the lower half of 2009’s Top 50, but this year the publisher has Red Dead Redemption (at No.3), plus BioShock 2, GTA: Episodes from Liberty City and Mafia II all making the cut.

And let’s not forget EA and NINTENDO. The latter has fewer games in the Top Ten than it did in ‘09, but still has a strong presence throughout the chart. Meanwhile, EA has the second biggest seller of the year, with FIFA 11 at No.2.

The following data is for new retail sales and doesn’t include pre-owned sales, iPhone, DLC, Facebook or XBLA, PSN and Steam games.