The year 2006 is set to end on a footballing note for British gamers. EA has at least three reasons to be cheerful during the festive season. In the all-formats sales chart for games in the UK, FIFA 07 was the top-selling game for the week of December 10 to 16, Need for Speed Carbon was at number two, and The Sims 2: Pets held steady in sixth position.

　　It wasn't all EA for the week, as THQ's WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 pushed its way back up to third place following the release of the PlayStation Portable version, relegating Pro Evolution Soccer 6 to fourth. Activision's Call of Duty 3 dropped one place to fifth, but Gears of War--the only single-format game in the top 10--nudged up from eighth to seventh position. The last three spots on the top 10 were taken up by Happy Feet, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, and Cars, in that order.

　　Nintendo titles have had mixed fortunes in the run-up to Christmas--Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (released in the US as Brain Age) moved up from 13 to 11 while The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess fell out of the top 10 to number 12, despite the release of the GameCube version. However, Rockstar can celebrate a surge of sales for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, which moved up five places from 18 to 13.

　　Expect many of the same names to show up in the charts for the week of December 17 to 23, as there are few newcomers looking to shake things up. The standout titles heading to shops on Friday are Wii versions of the previously released games Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.