Australia Charts: Third week at number one for Athens 2004

PS2 exclusive Olympic Games tie-in title Athens 2004 has taken a third week at number one in the Australian software sales charts, while Activision's Doom 3 held firm at number two and EA's Burnout 3 on Xbox was a new entry at number three.

The appearance of Burnout 3 in the chart is something of a surprise, since the game isn't meant to be out until this week; we can only assume that enough Australian retailers broke the street date of the Xbox version to propel it into third place, which bodes well for its official launch figures.

The remainder of the chart sees several familiar faces; Driv3r (PS2) is up to number four, having been a permanent fixture in the top ten since the start of the summer, while EA's The Sims Deluxe (PC) and Sony's SingStar (PS2) also continue to sell well, at numbers five and seven this week respectively.

One unusual re-entry to the chart, however, was Sega's Bass Fishing (PS2) and fishing rod peripheral bundle, which came back in at number six - apparently due to a retailer promotion.

Next week's chart should cover the official launch of Burnout 3 in Australia - expect the British-developed title to knock Athens 2004 off the top spot at last, as the Xbox and PS2 versions of the game jostle for position in charts all over the world.

Australian chart data provided by GfK Australia. For further details, visit the GfK Australia Website.