UK Charts: Soul Calibur II goes in at number one

Namco's Soul Calibur II has gone straight to the top of the UK All-Formats chart, also topping the GameCube and Xbox chart in the process - while EA has also had a great week, with four new titles in the top ten.

Soul Calibur II displaced Pivotal's Conflict: Desert Storm II at the top of the All-Formats chart, although it couldn't quite shift it from the top of the PS2 chart and had to settle for second place there. Interestingly, several stores have reported to us that the GameCube version of Soul Calibur II has significantly outsold the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game, despite being available on all three formats simultaneously.

EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 arrives in the charts at number three, and the company has a hat-trick of titles further down the top ten - with Command & Conquer Generals expansion pack Zero Hour at number seven, Freedom Fighters at number eight and another expansion pack, Medal of Honour Allied Assault: Breakthrough at number nine.

It's a good week for new releases all around, in fact - just outside of the top ten, THQ's Warhammer 40,000 Fire Warrior is at number 15, just ahead of Sierra's space strategy title Homeworld 2 at number 16. Konami's Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses enters the chart at number 35, a decent enough showing for a PSone title - but rather less impressively, Vivendi's Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter just scrapes into the top 40 at number 40.

There are few surprises in the rest of the chart, with Codemasters' Colin McRae Rally 04 and Sony's Eye Toy: Play both still riding high in the top five, while EA's Rugby 2004 is at number six, down from last weeks number four.

Interestingly, EA's FIFA 2003 is still in the top ten this week, despite the fact that the 2004 iteration of the game is mere weeks away from release. This makes six titles in the top ten into EA releases, or seven if you count the fact that EA handled the European release for the PS2 and Xbox versions of Soul Calibur II - quite an impressive haul.

You can check out the full set of UK sales charts [here].