Modern Warfare 2 is UK’s Christmas No.1

There’s been no Rage Against The Machine-style upset in the video game charts, as Modern Warfare 2 easily takes 2009’s Christmas No. 1 spot in the ELSPA GfK-ChartTrack Top 40.

The record-breaking FPSwas the runaway favourite to take the Christmas crown, and betting agency Paddy Power even started paying out on the game in early December. The game has now been at No. 1 for six consecutive weeks – and sales of the shooter were even up three per cent week on week.

Taking second spot is EA’s acclaimed FIFA 10 – with the game seeing a 24 per cent rise in sales off the back of Christmas shopping.

The football sim was in fifth spot last week, but a sales jump of 24 per cent has seen it shoot up the charts. If FIFA had managed to unseat Modern Warfare 2, it would have been EA’s 12th Christmas No. 1.

Snapping at FIFA’s heels is a duo of Nintendo titles. Wii Fit Plus saw its sales increase 9 per cent and rose into third place, while last week’s No. 2 Wii Sports Resort slipped into fourth. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II makes up the rest of the Top Five.

The game that rose the furthest this week was Ubisoft’s James Cameron’s Avatar. The title’s sales rocketed 129 per cent, boosted by the release of the movie and a heavy price promotion on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

The Gfk-ChartTrack top ten for the week ending December 19th is as follows:

1: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)
2: FIFA 10 (EA)
3: Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
4: Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)
5: Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft)
6: Mario & Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games (Sega)
7: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
8: Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft)
9: Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
10: Just Dance (Ubisoft)