Fire Emblem: Awakening launches in third place.

DC fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us has dethroned BioShock Infinite’s three-week stint as king of the UK charts.

NetherRealm’s Injustice is the first fighting game to claim top billing in the UK charts since UFC Undisputed 3 last year. It’s also publisher Warner Bros.’ first chart topper since LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

BioShock Infinite drops to second place, with 3DS RPG Fire Emblem: Awakening launching in third. The RPG helped boost hardware sales, too, with a 49 percent week-on-week increase in 3DS sales thanks to the launch of the Fire Emblem limited edition blue 3DS XL.

Tomb Raider drops two places to fourth, with Defiance dropping one spot to fifth.

The regular crop of familiar titles fill out the rest of the top 10: FIFA 13 is sixth, Call of Duty: Black Ops II seventh, Luigi’s Mansion 2 eighth, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 ninth, and Far Cry 3 tenth.

The Top 20 UK chart for the week ending April 20:

1. Injustice: Gods Among Us
2. BioShock Infinite
3. Fire Emblem: Awakening
4. Tomb Raider
5. Defiance
6. FIFA 13
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
8. Luigi’s Mansion 2
9. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
10. Far Cry 3
11. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
12. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
13. Assassin’s Creed III
14. Skylanders Giants
15. Gears of War: Judgment
16. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2
17. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
18. God of War: Ascension
19. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
20. Sleeping Dogs

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The Xbox 360 has passed the Wii in total sales in the UK, according to VGChartz. The Xbox 360 became the number one bestselling home console for the seventh generation in the UK for the week ending March 30.

With the latest sales figures the Xbox 360 has sold 8,732,220 units to date in the UK, while the Wii has sold 8,718,881 units. For the week ending April 6, the Xbox sold 9,002 units, while the Wii sold 1,231 units.

The Xbox 360 also has a shot of outselling lifetime sales of the Wii in the US in the next year. The Xbox currently sits at 39,286,218 units sold, while the Wii has sold 40,911,701 units. The Xbox 360 has outsold the Wii by 30,000 units this week. At that rate it will take 54 weeks, but that is without the holiday boost.

Read more here: VG Charts

Crytek has announced that its free-to-play title Warface has reached nine million registered users in Russia. The game was released one year ago. The game had reached one million players in its first month and reached five million players in November 2012.

“Crytek and Mail.Ru would like to thank players in Russia for the level of support they’ve shown Warface in its first year online, and look forward to offering them more great free-to-play action in the future,” read the news post on Crytek’s website.

Crytek has released an infographic to celebrate the milestone. Of the nine million registered user, more than two million of them play at least once per month. 43 percent of the players are 24 years old or younger and 90 percent of the players are male.

The game is currently in a closed beta in the US and UK.

Read more here: VG Charts

European Commission launches “in-depth” examination of proposed tax break; prominent trade groups call decision a disappointment.

A tax relief program for game developers in the United Kingdom is under investigation. The European Commission announced today that it has launched an “in-depth” examination of the proposed tax break plan for the region.

The purpose of the tax break is to provide an incentive for developers to make games that meet certain cultural criteria. However, the European Commission questioned the need for the take breaks, as “there is no obvious market failure in this dynamic and growing sector and such games are produced even without state aid.”

“The market for developing video games is dynamic and commercially promising. It is not clear whether the taxpayer should be subsidizing this activity,” Commission vice president in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said. “Such subsidies could even distort competition.”

Under the proposed terms of the tax relief, the UK would introduce a 25 percent break on up to 80 percent of the budget for UK-developed games.

In addition to concerns about the need for such a tax relief, the Commission said it believes such a break could create a “subsidy race” between member states and has doubts about the merits of the proposed cultural test.

As Polygon points out, a pair of UK trade organizations voiced disappointment for the Commission’s decision today to launch an investigation.

The Independent Game Developers Association CEO Dr. Richard Wilson called the choice a “very disappointing hold-up which if prolonged could jeopardize much needed investment and job creation in the UK’s games industry.” He pointed out that “this is a delay, not a defeat,” noting that the UK’s film tax relief also faced scrutiny before being introduced.

CEO of The Association for U.K. Interactive Entertainment Dr. Jo Twist also voiced displeasure for the investigation. In a statement, she claimed the proposed tax relief is “vital” for nurturing game talent in the region and expressed optimism that the measure will be successful in time.

“We are extremely disappointed that the European Commission has decided to open an in-depth investigation into production tax credits for the UK games industry,” Twist said. “We believe this support is crucial in opening up the opportunity for developers to make culturally British games, but also as a vital incentive for development studios and large multinationals to base their development in the UK and nurture the talent here. We are still confident of having the scheme introduced and are fully committed to having it in place as soon as possible.”

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Tomb Raider clings on to second place in the UK charts.

Irrational Games’ BioShock Infinite has remained top of the UK charts for its second week of release, despite a 75 percent drop in overall sales, while Trion’s MMO shooter Defiance has landed in third position.

Defiance is a new IP designed to tie-in to the SyFy TV series of the same name, which premieres in the UK on April 16. The game sold the vast majority of its copies on Xbox 360, with 76 per cent of sales attributed to Microsoft’s platform.

Square Enix’s Tomb Raider clings on to second place for the third week running, with EA’s FIFA 13 also remaining in fourth.

3DS-exclusive Luigi’s Mansion 2 remains fifth for its second week, while Epic Games’ Gears of War: Judgement drops three places to sixth.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is seventh, Assassin’s Creed III eighth, Skylanders Giants ninth, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted is in tenth.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on the 3DS and Wii U is nowhere to be seen in the full top 40, although Nintendo has said it is having issues providing copies of the game to retailers.

The Top 20 UK chart for the week ending April 6:

1. BioShock Infinite
2. Tomb Raider
3. Defiance
4. FIFA 13
5. Luigi’s Mansion 2
6. Gears of War: Judgment
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
8. Assassin’s Creed III
9. Skylanders Giants
10. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
11. Crysis 3
12. Far Cry 3
13. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
14. Halo 4
15. Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel
16. LEGO The Lord of the Rings
17. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
18. SimCity
19. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2
20. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

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Ubisoft offering extra content for preorders in the US and four different special editions in the UK.

Ubisoft has detailed the various preorder bonuses and special editions of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

In North America, customers who preorder Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag at GameStop will gain access to The Black Island Pack. This gives players an additional treasure-hunting quest at Black Island, access to the Black Ship, special silver flintock pistols used by Captain Morgan for single-player, and additional Captain Morgan items for use in multiplayer. Customers will also get a poster designed by comic artist Todd McFarlane.

In Europe, four additional versions of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag are being made available: the Special Edition, Skull Edition, Buccaneer Edition, and Black Chest Edition.

The Black Chest Edition is exclusive to the Uplay store, and comes with a 55cm model of protagonist Captain Edward Kenway on the bow of his ship, the Jackdaw. There’s also a parchment copy of the game’s world map, and a real-life replica of the Black Flag. A steelbook copy of the game is also included, which contains an artbook, soundtrack, two lithograph and two canvas prints, and unspecified additional in-game content. The contents are enclosed in a custom, special edition box.

The Buccaneer Edition, meanwhile, is exclusive to Game in the UK and GameStop in Ireland. It contains the Edward Kenway figurine, artbook, soundtrack, two lithograph prints, a collector’s box and additional content.

The Skull Edition, which is available across all participating retailers, includes a jumbo steel case alongside the artbook, soundtrack, in-game content, and two lithograph prints.

Ubisoft’s Uplay Store is pricing the Black Chest Edition at £109.99, the Buccaneer Edition at £69.99, and the Skull Edition at £54.99.

Finally, there’s the Special Edition, which contains exclusive content and is only available through Game in the UK and XtraVision in Ireland. It’s available at standard RRP for customers who preorder the game, and promises additional content at launch.

Additionally, the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game are also set to come with 60 minutes of additional content exclusive to Sony platforms.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will be released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U this October. Ubisoft has also released the first gameplay footage of the game.

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The price of the Wii U is being slashed by UK retailers, according to MCVUK. HMV is selling the Wii U Premium bundle that includes NintendoLand and ZombiU for £199.99. This is £140 off the recommended retail price. GameStop is selling the same bundle at £244.97.

“We have taken the decision to reduce the price of the Basic Wii U to test the market and assess the impact of a price change for a short period of time,” said ShopTo purchasing director James Rowson. “This has resulted in a smaller than desired increase in sales at this stage.”

In the US, Best Buy has the Basic Bundle on sale for $249.99 today and Saturday. This is a $50 reduction in price.

Read more here: VG Charts

Maxis reports that SimCity game crashes have been reduced by 92% since the game’s disastrous launch last week, but that it needs a few more days before it can say the problems have been solved.

Maxis says the troubled launch of SimCity is being rectified, but the developer isn’t ready to give the “all-clear” just yet.

Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw has said the “core problem” of being able to actually connect to the game is “almost behind us.” Game crashes have been reduced by 92 per cent from day one, according to Bradshaw, and nearly 8 million hours of gameplay time have been logged in total.

Bradshaw says server architectures have been optimised and response times shortened, and Maxis has released a number of patches to help makes things easier; the latest, patch 1.4, fixes the problem of the game getting stuck when switching servers.

The updates mean that Maxis is now “getting virtually everyone into the game,” but the developer is not yet ready to issue an “all-clear” for SimCity just yet. “We need a few more days of data before we can assure you that the problem is completely solved and the game is running at 100 percent,” says Bradshaw.

GameSpot UK’s Danny O’Dwyer, Chris Beaumont and myself were all playing last night on various European servers, but with occasional connectivity errors.

SimCity, which requires a constant connection to the game’s servers in order to function, has suffered from major issues since its launch in the US last Tuesday, and claims that the UK launch would go by without a hitch were proved wrong before the end of its first day on sale. EA has switched off some of the game’s features to help the servers cope, and will offer a free game to anyone who has purchased SimCity to apologise for the inconvenience.

Finally, Bradshaw once again apologised for the game’s tumultuous launch. “You bought the game with the understanding that we’d quickly fix the server issues. For that support–that incredible commitment from our fans–we are deeply grateful. As the general manager of Maxis, I want you to know that we cherish your faith in us, and the love you’ve shown for this franchise,” she said.

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Tomb Raider reboot sets new sales record for the series, and enjoys the best-selling opening weekend of the year so far.

Square Enix’s reboot of Tomb Raider has topped the UK charts this week, comfortably beating Aliens: Colonial Marines to become the best-selling launch of 2013 so far.

Tomb Raider’s week one sales were over double what Aliens: Colonial Marines managed when it launched three weeks ago. Both games were released on a Tuesday, and are therefore dubbed “event” titles by UK sales collator Chart-Track. Games in the UK traditionally launch on Friday.

All in all, developer Crystal Dynamics’ new take on Lara Croft has set new opening week sales records for the franchise, selling twice as many copies as Tomb Raider: Legend, the previous strongest launch for the series, managed way back in 2006.

EA’s SimCity finished in second place, managing a strong launch despite a weekend of connectivity problems for its users. EA has promised anyone who tried to play SimCity over the weekend a free game, but hasn’t given any more details yet.

Namco Bandai’s Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 debuts in third place, with The Sims 3: University Life starting in fourth place. This is the first week in 2013 when four new games have occupied the top of the charts.

FIFA 13 is hanging on reliably in fifth, and Crysis 3–last week’s chart topper–drops to sixth.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is seventh, Far Cry 3 eighth, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ninth and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is tenth.

The Top 20 UK charts for the week ending March 9:

1. Tomb Raider
2. SimCity
3. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
4. The Sims 3: University Life
5. FIFA 13
6. Crysis 3
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
8. Far Cry 3
9. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
10. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
11. Assassin’s Creed III
12. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
13. Skylanders Giants
14. Hitman Absolution
15. Aliens: Colonial Marines
16. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
17. Halo 4
18. Grand Theft Auto IV
19. Dead Space 3
20. Forza Horizon

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Problems that plagued US launch of SimCity seem to avoid the UK for now.

The launch problems that have hobbled SimCity since its US release on Tuesday seem to have avoided the game’s UK launch.

SimCity was made available in the UK at midnight and, so far, seems to be working. GameSpot has managed to successfully and repeatedly login to SimCity, which requires a constant connection to the game’s servers in order to function, and play the game this morning.

EA said this week that it was “confident” the game’s European launch would avoid the same missteps that saw the game’s US release completely hobbled by connectivity problems.

“Good news, Mayors–we just added a brand new #SimCity server: Europe East 3. Hop on and start building,” tweeted the official SimCity account this morning. In total two new servers for Western Europe and an additional server for Eastern Europe.

EA’s next test will be whether the game’s European launch can cope with the stress of the peak evening and weekend period.

Overnight, Amazon pulled digital copies of the game from sale, citing the ongoing server issues, while EA disabled some of the game’s features–including Cheetah speed, leaderboards, and achievements–to reduce stress on the servers.

GameSpot’s SimCity review has also gone live, where the game received a score 5.0. “The bugs will probably be fixed, the wrinkles smoothed, and the online problems sorted out. What hurts most, though, is that it didn’t have to be this way. SimCity’s makers looked to MMOGs for ideas on how to bring players together, but didn’t absorb the lessons MMOG developers learned long ago on how to implement practical online play. SimCity (the game) isn’t the pinnacle of the series, but it’s super fun. SimCity (the service) is a disaster,” said reviewer Kevin VanOrd.

After posting yesterday to say that EA was committing “everything we have” to fixing the game, SimCity senior producer Kip Katsarelis returned to the EA forums to once again apologise for the troubled launch and to update fans on the current status of the game.

“Server capacity is our biggest obstacle,” said Katsarelis. “We launched in North America on Tuesday and our servers filled up within a matter of hours. What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn’t want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join. We added more servers to accommodate the launch in Australia and Japan, and then more yesterday to …read more
Source: Game Spot News