PC Sales Charts: Buy Now, Play Later

One thing that always gets me about the PC sales charts is the number of times you see a game tagged “pre-sale”.

It’s interesting, because it reveals a level of dedication in the PC market you don’t normally see from console gamers. When you think of a “pre-order” for a game at, say, GameStop, you think of a small investment. $5-10 down up-front, then you pay for the rest once the game comes in. If, that is, you still want it by then.

But the “pre-sales” offered by Steam and Direct2Drive are something else. You are, in effect, committing to purchase a game weeks/months before it’s actually released. That’s dedication. It also gives us these strange sales charts, where games that aren’t even out are able to “outsell” those that are.

PC Digital Download Charts For The Week Ending August 29

Steam

1. Left 4 Dead

2. Aion Collector’s Edition (pre-sale)

3. THQ Collector’s Pack

4. Counter-Strike: Source

5. Killing Floor

6. Team Fortress 2

7. The Orange Box

8. Fallout Collection

9. Call of Duty 4

10. Valve Complete Pack

Direct2Drive

1. Champions Online (pre-sale)

2. Fallen Earth (pre-sale)

3. Aion Collector’s Edition (pre-sale)

4. Rise of Flight

5. Fallout 3

6. Hearts of Iron III

7. Civilization 4: The Complete Edition

8. Call of Duty: World at War

9. The Sims 3

10. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition – Director’s Cut

[via Shacknews]