The Sims 3 tops the charts.

Wednesday 17th June 2009 - 11:00


Pole position for legendary little people plus Nintendo not worried about 'whiz bang' competitors and Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker PSP screens



The Sims 3, the latest instalment to the ever-popular PC-based franchise has managed to hold on to the top chart spot in the all format videogames Top 40 for the second consecutive week - in light of some pretty stiff competition. Will Wright's legendary little people remain in pole position, but breathing right down their suburban necks is the ultimate anti hero - the shape shifting, morally ambivalent Alex Mercer, in the free-roaming spectacle that is Prototype. Red Faction Guerrilla sits in third spot with more destructible scenery than you could shake a sledgehammer. Wii Fit is in fourth and the cage fighting exploits of UFC 2009 resides in fifth position.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has once again gone on the offensive by claiming to be unimpressed by its rivals 'whiz bang' technology shown at E3. Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime dismissed the new technology from both Microsoft and Sony (both are set to release rival motion sensor devices) by claiming that it "might not even see the light of day".

In an interview with US website Gamespot the Nintendo head honcho said: In our view, we have to continuously disrupt the market. What I would suggest to you is that even in the competitive E3 announcements, it highlights how different we are. Our competitors chose to talk about technology and all of this 'whiz bang' stuff. We focus on entertainment. When we first showed off the Wii Remote, we did it in the context of Wii Sports, which millions upon millions of consumers have experienced."

He added: "We're going to continue to disrupt and push this marketplace, but always with a smile on our face and a focus on entertainment, versus a focus on the technology - especially technology that may or may not ever come to light."

Finally, we've got some brand new screens of a new PSP exclusive title. Designed as a full sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker is designed by legendary games guru Hideo Kojima with players taking control of the famed Snake, in a stealth action story set in 1974. A full release isn't scheduled until 2010 - so we're sure there'll be lots more screenshots and gameplay info between now and then.