UK Charts: Pokemon holds firm

It was a Nintendo double header at the top of the UK All Format chart once again this week, with Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire proving that their debut performance was no fluke.

Elsewhere, Sony's Eye Toy: Play continued to ride high, holding its own at No.3, while the much maligned Tomb Raider: Angel Of Darkness also held firm at No.4.

EA's canny deluge of cut-priced hits reaped rewards last week, with no fewer than four of last year's Christmas blockbusters back in the Top 10, with another four of its titles inside the Top 20. FIFA 2003 took top honours, back up to No.5 in the All Formats, and No.1 in both the Xbox and Cube charts, and No.2 in the PS2 budget priced chart - and all this with the 2004 version only two months away. The price promotion looks to have been a masterstroke by EA, and will have taken its competitors by surprise in the quiet summer months.

New release wise, it was a typically quiet week, with just two games making any impression on the All Formats; MS Flight Sim 2004 at No.20 (No.2 in the PC Full Price chart), and SCi's Futurama at No.31 (No.15 Xbox, No.14 PS2 full price), while Titus' year-delayed Metal Slug X finally entered at No.5 on the PSone chart.

Neither of the PS2's challengers managed a single exclusive title in the All Formats between them, with neither Brute Force nor Sonic Adventure DX figuring. Even taking budget titles out of the equation, Brute Force managed just No.35 in the listings, while no GameCube exclusives made it at all.

Next week is likely to remain much the same, with only EA's Alien Vs Predator: Extinction (PS2 and Xbox) and CDV's Sudden Strike - Hidden Stroke likely to trouble the Top 40.