The QuakeCon expo in Dallas, Texas had a pronounced effect on game downloads for the week of August 9-15: the conference ran from August 12 to 15 and, as well as revealing more about Id Software's upcoming flagship title Rage, it also coincided with time-limited discounts on Id and Bethesda titles, including Oblivion and Fallout 3, and a special back catalogue bundle pack.
Id Software is well known for its heritage, having popularized the First Person Shooter genre with Wolfenstein, and then the Doom and Quake series, licensing the technology behind those games to many other companies as well - for instance, the early Call of Duty games made use of Id's work.
The QuakeCon Pack itself included both Oblivion and Fallout 3 along with 25 other titles, notable amongst which are Oblivion's predecessor, Morrowind, as well as Doom I- III, and one of Id's earliest breakout games, Commander Keen.
In this week's charts, Id's main competitor Epic Games also benefited from a special offer. Unreal Tournament III was the last big PC game from that firm before attentions turned to the Gears of War series on Xbox 360 (with PC versions coming later down the line).
Similarities to February 2011's gnarled Bulletstorm are not mere chance, as both run on the current version of the Unreal Engine - though benefiting from recent advances, Bulletstorm has a few more graphical tricks up its sleeve.
Historical strategy game Victoria II also made its mark, charting in three separate stores' top fives, while pre-orders for Mafia II also make their presence known ahead of its release during the week of August 23.
Steam (General gaming and own label)
1) QuakeCon 2010 Pack
2) Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition
3) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition Deluxe
4) Mafia II: Digital Deluxe Edition
5) Mafia II
Direct2Drive (General gaming)
1) Doctor Who: The Adventure Games - Episode 1 and 2
2) Men of War
3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
4) Civilization 4: The Complete Edition
5) Victoria II
Impulse (Strategy specialists)
1) Victoria II
2) Sins of a Solar Empire Trinity
3) Disciples III: Renaissance
4) Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition
5) Sim City 4 Deluxe
GamersGate (General gaming and own label)
1) Victoria II
2) Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
3) Fort Zombie
4) Hearts of Iron III: Semper Fi
5) Unreal Tournament 3 Black
Good Old Games (Classics)
1) Raptor: Call of the Shadows 2010 Edition
2) Phantasmagoria
3) Phantasmagoria 2
4) Two Worlds
5) Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Note: Steam's chart is based on revenue rather than unit sales. Data collected on August 16. Links lead to YouTube trailers, gameplay videos, or reviews.
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