Project Cars tops the UK gaming charts

May 11th, 2015

Last week’s big new release Project Cars has debuted as the UK all-format chart number one.

It’s the first motorsport simulation game to do so since GRID 2 in 2013, helping to push last week’s lead Mortal Kombat X into third place.

GTA 5 remains in second, while FIFA 15 and Dying Light complete the top five.

Nintendo’s two new releases have debuted outside of the top 20, with Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush and Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Edition debuting in 21st and 32nd respectively.

2010 Xbox 360 and PS3 game Skate 3 has also re-entered the top 40 in 38th place, following the game’s surge in popularity from YouTube last year.

Meanwhile, recent reports said that game pre-orders had seen a decline in the past year.

The top 20 in full:
1. (-) Project Cars (Namco Bandai)
2. (2) Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
3. (1) Mortal Kombat X (Warner Bros)
4. (4) FIFA 15 (EA Sports)
5. (6) Dying Light (Warner Bros)
6. (8) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Activision)
7. (3) Battlefield Hardline (Electronic Arts)
8. (7) Minecraft: Xbox Edition (Microsoft)
9. (9) Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Microsoft)
10. (16) Destiny (Activision)
11. (5) Minecraft: PlayStation Edition (Sony)
12. (17) Forza Horizon 2 (Microsoft)
13. (19) Skylanders Trap Team (Activision)
14. (10) WWE 2K15 (2K Sports)
15. (12) Terraria (505 Games)
16. (11) Disney Infinity 2.0 (Disney)
17. (20) Assassin’s Creed Unity (Ubisoft)
18. (13) Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft)
19. (15) LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Warner Bros)
20. (25) Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C) 2015 Ukie Ltd.

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OMI retains UK number 1 single with ‘Cheerleader’

May 10th, 2015

OMI’s ‘Cheerleader’ has held on to the top spot of the UK singles chart for a second consecutive week.

The track finished the week more than 14,000 sales ahead of Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, whose tribute song to Paul Walker ‘See You Again’ remains in second place.

OMI thanked his fans, saying: “I knew it was a good song when I recorded it, but I always say, I don’t determine whether it’s a number one. The people do.

“Thanks to the people. I’m a fan of my fans. I love you very much, thank you.”

‘Cheerleader’ was also the most streamed track of the week, amassing over 3.2 million listens.

Carly Rae Jepsen holds on to numbSwedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo achieves her fourth UK top 20 hit with ‘Talking Body’ which is at number 17, while Mumford & Sons re-enter the chart at number 29 with ‘Believe’.

Ariana Grande’s ‘One Last Time’ enters the chart at number 36, while American rapper Fetty Wap lands at number 38 with ‘Trap Queen’.

Source: Official Charts Company

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‘Age of Ultron’ tops UK box office for second week

May 6th, 2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron has triumphed at the box office for the second consecutive weekend.

Marvel’s superhero blockbuster pulled in £8.5 million over the Bank Holiday weekend, taking its total earnings past the £32 million mark in the UK.

Age of Ultron is now closing in on Fast & Furious 7 as the highest-earning film in the UK in 2015. The Vin Diesel-led action sequel has made more than £36 million, while Fifty Shades of Grey sits just behind it in third place with £34.8 million.

Elsewhere in this week’s box office top 10, Far from the Madding Crowd is the highest new entry at number two with £1.4 million. Carey Mulligan’s period drama charts just ahead of horror Unfriended, which made £1.3 million.

Fast & Furious 7 and Home complete the top five, with animation Two by Two the only other new release to make the top 10.

The UK box office top 10 in full:
1. (1) Avengers: Age of Ultron – £8,591,670
2. (-) Far from the Madding Crowd – £1,450,297
3. (-) Unfriended – £1,346,952
4. (2) Fast & Furious 7 – £1,113,888
5. (4) Home – £732,514
6. (3) Cinderella – £675,425
7. (-) Two by Two – £566,871
8. (7) SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – £203,935
9. (6) Woman in Gold – £190,175
10. (8) Child 44 – £114,301

Source: Rentrak

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Hot Chocolate’s Errol Brown dies at the age of 71

May 6th, 2015

Hot Chocolate frontman Errol Brown has died at the age of 71.

The singer’s manager Phil Dale confirmed today (May 6) that Brown passed away at home in the Bahamas.

Brown had suffered from liver cancer.

Dale described Brown as “a wonderful gentleman” and added: “There was always music around wherever he was. I’ve been with him in the middle of Australia and he has got an idea for a song and started writing.”

The singer’s career kicked off in 1969 with a cover version of ‘Give Peace a Chance’, which was released on The Beatles’ Apple label.

Originally given the name The Hot Chocolate Band by a secretary at the company, the group later became Hot Chocolate.

Hot Chocolate released their debut single ‘Love Is Life’ in 1970, reaching number six in the charts and sparking a run of hit singles over the next 15 years, including ‘Emma’, ‘A Child’s Prayer’, ‘You Sexy Thing’, ‘So You Win Again’ and ‘It Started with a Kiss’.

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Mortal Kombat X is UK’s best-selling game for a third week

May 5th, 2015

Mortal Kombat X is the UK’s best-selling game across all-formats for a third week in a row.

The gory fighting game has almost matched the four-week record set by Battlefield Hardline back in March to be 2015’s most chart-topping release.

It is once again followed by GTA 5 and Battlefield Hardline in second and third respectively. Meanwhile, FIFA 15 climbs a place in fourth following an Xbox 360 hardware bundle.

A recent report said that game pre-orders had seen a decline in the past year.

The top 20 in full:
1. (1) Mortal Kombat X (Warner Bros)
2. (2) Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
3. (3) Battlefield Hardline (Electronic Arts)
4. (5) FIFA 15 (EA Sports)
5. (4) Minecraft: PlayStation Edition (Sony)
6. (8) Dying Light (Warner Bros)
7. (6) Minecraft: Xbox Edition (Microsoft)
8. (7) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Activision)
9. (14) Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Microsoft)
10. (10) WWE 2K15 (2K Sports)
11. (13) Disney Infinity 2.0 (Disney)
12. (15) Terraria (505 Games)
13. (11) Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft)
14. (9) Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (2K Games)
15. (16) LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Warner Bros)
16. (25) Destiny (Activision)
17. (17) Forza Horizon 2 (Microsoft)
18. (28) Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Warner Bros)
19. (23) Skylanders Trap Team (Activision)
20. (24) Assassin’s Creed Unity (Ubisoft)

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C) 2015 Ukie Ltd.

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Twitter pulls the plug on classic PC games

May 4th, 2015

It felt like several Christmases had come at once when fans discovered that Internet Archive’s library of classic PC games could be accessed from within Twitter – but all good things must come to an end.

The social network pulled the plug on in-tweet MS-DOS gaming on May 1, likely because embedding playable games within posts violates its terms of service.

“Do not build end-to-end interactive experiences inside the video or audio player unrelated to Player Card content, such as the following: purchasing, gaming, polling, messaging, and data entry,” reads an excerpt from Twitter’s terms and conditions.

During a glorious few days, Twitter users were able to play the likes of Street Fighter 2, Doom, and Prince of Persia for free without logging out of the service.

However, all 2,400 of Internet Archive’s PC classics are still available to access via the organisation’s official website.

The non-profit group’s archive is also home to millions of free books, movies, software, music and more.

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Simon Pegg has magical powers in ‘Absolutely Anything’

May 3rd, 2015

Simon Pegg has the power to change the world in the first trailer for the Terry Jones comedy Absolutely Anything.

The actor plays a school teacher who has magical powers bestowed upon him by a group of aliens.

The first trailer also features Dennis the dog, voiced by Robin Williams in his final role.

Monty Python stars Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam will provide the voices of the alien creatures.

Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Eddie Izzard and Rob Riggle also star in the comedy.

Absolutely Anything launches in UK cinemas on August 14, 2015.

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OMI claims the UK’s number one single with ‘Cheerleader’

May 3rd, 2015

OMI has scored a last-minute victory in the singles chart, earning this week’s number one with ‘Cheerleader’.

The reggae-pop track overtook midweek leader Carly Rae Jepsen and knocked last week’s number one Wiz Khalifa’s ‘See You Again’ off the top spot.

Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s Fast & Furious 7 track falls to number two, as Jepsen’s ‘I Really Like You’ debuts at number three.

‘Lean On’ by Major Lazer featuring MO and DJ Snake climbs to number four, while Jess Glynne’s ‘Hold My Hand’ falls two places and rounds out this week’s top five singles.

Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Hudson’s ‘Trouble’ climbs six places to number seven, earning Azalea her fifth top ten single, and Skillex, Diplo and Justin Bieber’s ‘Where Are U Now’ moves up to number 18.

AronChupa debuts in the chart at 25 with ‘I’m An Albatraoz’, while ‘Someone New’ by Hozier enters at number 36.

Finally, Skepta earns his eighth top 40 track with ‘Shutdown’.

Source: Official Charts Company

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Avengers: Age of Ultron dominates UK box office

April 28th, 2015

Avengers: Age of Ultron has topped the UK box office, delivering record-breaking figures.

The Marvel blockbuster earned more than £18 million to record the biggest ever April opening, as well as the highest ever for a superhero movie.

Fast & Furious 7 drops to second place after three consecutive weekends at the top, ahead of Cinderella and Home.

The Met Opera’s Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci is a new entry at number five, while Get Hard re-enters the top ten at number nine.

The UK box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Avengers: Age of Ultron – £18,015,774
2. (1) Fast & Furious 7 – £1,607,659
3. (2) Cinderella – £757,113
4. (3) Home – £675,401
5. (-) Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci – £337,698
6. (5) Woman in Gold – £281,230
7. (6) The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – £251,199
8. (4) Child 44 – £229,653
9. (RE) Get Hard – £155,632
10. (8) The DUFF – £151,514

Source: Rentrak

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Mortal Kombat X remains the UK’s best-selling game

April 27th, 2015

Mortal Kombat X is the UK’s best-selling game across all-formats for a second week.

The gory fighting sequel is once again followed by GTA 5 and Battlefield Hardline in second and third place.

Elsewhere, Minecraft PlayStation Edition has jumped five places to fourth position, while FIFA 15 is in fifth.

The PS4 edition of Tropico 4 was the only new release last week, which saw the game re-enter the chart in 18th place following the Xbox 360 and PC release last year.

A recent report said game pre-orders had seen a decline in the past year.

The top 20 in full:
1. (1) Mortal Kombat X (Warner Bros)
2. (2) Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)
3. (3) Battlefield Hardline (Electronic Arts)
4. (9) Minecraft: PlayStation Edition (Sony)
5. (4) FIFA 15 (EA Sports)
6. (8) Minecraft: Xbox Edition (Microsoft)
7. (7) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Activision)
8. (10) Dying Light (Warner Bros)
9. (11) Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (2K Games)
10. (12) WWE 2K15 (2K Sports)
11. (6) Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft)
12. (5) Bloodborne (Sony Computer Entertainment)
13. (15) Disney Infinity 2.0 (Disney)
14. 14) Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Microsoft)
15. (16) Terraria (505 Games)
16. (18) LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Warner Bros)
17. (13) Forza Horizon 2 (Microsoft)
18. (-) Tropico 5 (Kalypso Media)
19. (17) Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin (Bandai Namco)
20. (22) LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Warner Bros Interactive)

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C) 2015 Ukie Ltd.

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