And football takes the top spot – I give up!

‘FIFA 14’ (+18%) jumps ahead of ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ (+7%) just in time to secure the coveted Christmas No1 spot that, since 2007 and ‘Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’, has largely been dominated by Activision Blizzard. It is not since 2008 and ‘FIFA 09’ that EA last claimed the Official Christmas No1.

However, since the chart began 28 years ago, EA have secured by far the highest number of Xmas No1s with 14 (8 of which have been FIFA). ‘FIFA 14’ beats ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ by a respectable 17,000 units with ‘Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag’ (+92%) also comfortable at No3, up from No5 thanks to retailer price promotions on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

‘Battlefield 4’ (+17%) has to settle for another week at No4, while ‘Lego Marvel Super Heroes’ ( -17%) at No5 almost gets caught by a buoyant ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ (+94%), up from No8 to No6. Only 400 sales separate Warner’s title from Take 2’s record breaker.

‘Just Dance 2014’ slips one place to No7 despite an 18% increase in sales. ‘Need for Speed: Rivals’ (+25%) is EA’s 3rd Top 10 title this week, also slipping one place, down from No7 to No8. PS4 exclusive ‘Killzone: Shadow Fall’, still benefiting from strong sales of the fixed PS4 hardware bundle, makes a Top 10 re-appearance at No9. Another single format title, ‘Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition’ keeps ‘Gran Turismo 6’ (-5%) out of the Top 10 thanks to a 24% jump in sales.