Activision and EA face off in odds for Christmas Number One

The race for the Christmas number one spot is officially underway, with ELSPA and betting firm Ladbrokes this morning announcing the official odds for this year's Christmas number one in the UK software charts.

Activision and EA are joint favourites to win, with Call of Duty: Finest Hour and GoldenEye: Rogue Agent tied at the top with odds of 4/1, while Rockstar's GTA: San Andreas has 7/1 odds, as does EA's Need for Speed Underground 2.

Halo 2 is ranked at eight to one, while FIFA 2005 and Burnout 3: Takedown are at 10/1 - which seems unusually high given how long they'll have been out for by the time December 24th rolls around - and The Getaway Black Monday is also at 10/1, although we'd advise against taking a punt on that one, given the weak reviews the title has been receiving.

Further down the chart, those who feel very lucky might want to put a few quid on the likes of Football Manager 2005, Ratchet & Clank 3, Miami Vice or movie tie-in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, each of which comes in at 50/1.

"This year promises to be incredibly exciting with many titles in real contention for the number one slot," enthused keen gambler Roger Bennett, who's also director general of ELSPA. "But it also looks certain that record books will need to be re-written once again as all the expectations are that the industry will enjoy a truly bumper festive season."

"Projected revenues for the period firmly establish video games above both music and film, putting games and consoles at the top of Christmas wish lists up and down the country," he continued. "The UK industry should be especially proud of its achievements as homegrown British-developed software will account for much of this season's revenues."