Resident Evil (2002)

The original Resident Evil was a groundbreaking title, mixing together survival and horror in a way that was never seen before. The PlayStation version was a product of its time, and the developer remastered it for the GameCube generation with a significant overhaul to its visuals and several quality-of-life changes. The fixed camera angles meant better pre-baked reflections and textures, making the visuals a step above what was possible with a free camera.

Elden Ring

It’s easy to dismiss Elden Ring as little more than open-world Dark Souls. But it takes the sheer freedom of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and packs it with weapons, Incantations, Sorceries, armor, enemies, mini-bosses, side quests, lore and quirky characters. Elden Ring is a dense experience that goes from one spectacle to the next.

The charts for boxed video game sales in the UK for last week are in, courtest of Gfk (via GamesIndustry), and the top 3 is dominated by new releases. Marvel’s Avengers was the biggest new release this week, and it has, unsurprisingly, topped the sales charts. Developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, it’s sold 2% more physical copies at launch than 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider (which was primarily developed by Eidos Montreal) did.

However, as compared to Marvel’s Spider-Man, it’s sales are significantly lower, with less than a third as many physical copies sold at launch. Square Enix have said, however, that this being a live service title, they’re more focused on sustained sales over a prolonged period, so this might not come as too much of a surprise to them.

Meanwhile, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 – the collection of remakes of the first two games in the classic skateboarding franchise – debuts in second place, with extremely impressive physical launch sales. It has, in fact, sold 448% more physical copies at launch that the universally panned Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, which launched in 2015.

The third major new release of the week, NBA 2K21, has also charted pretty high. Coming in at No. 3, it has actually seen a dip in physical sales though, with sales 37% lower than NBA 2K20’s physical sales at launch last year.

You can check out the full UK software charts for the week ending September 5 below.

1. Marvel’s Avengers
2. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
3. NBA 2K21
4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. Minecraft (Switch)
7. Grand Theft Auto 5
8. FIFA 20
9. Ghost of Tsushima
10. PGA Tour 2K21