Best-selling PC download game of the week: 'Battlefield: Bad Company 2'

(All rights reserved - Electronic Arts)

Battlefield Bad Company 2 stands strong, holding its ground as the best selling game on the Steam Network store for the week of March 8-14, a position it has now enjoyed for three consecutive weeks. Prior to general retail release it was riding high thanks to the multiplayer beta test that was made widely available -- now it reaps the rewards of great review scores and good word of mouth.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 stands strong, holding its ground as the best selling game on the Steam Network store for the week of March 8-14, a position it has now enjoyed for three consecutive weeks. Prior to general retail release it was riding high thanks to the multiplayer beta test that was made widely available - now it reaps the rewards of great review scores and good word of mouth.

Publisher Electronic Arts will be hoping that it proves to have the longevity of Activision's Modern Warfare 2, which has been a fixture in the download top 10 prior to its own release in November 2009.

It looks like word got around regarding the latest Digital Rights Management approach integrated into Assassin's Creed 2 if not its stablemate Silent Hunter 5, as AC2 drops out of the top 10 following a decent debut in second place last week.

Ubisoft quite rightly want to make sure their game designers receive the revenue that's due by preventing the piracy of their games. However, their latest method for doing so, the Online Services Platform, requires a near constant net connection during play , something that many commentators feel is unduly harsh on paying customers.

Silent Hunter 5, on the other hand, is likely to fare better since it has an established following who are more willing to put up with the DRM's requirements, especially as the submarine sim has a compelling online multiplayer component - unlike AC2, which is a steadfastly single player experience.

The Settlers 7 is the next big Ubisoft release with that DRM system included, due out on March 23. It will be interesting to see how players take to it, as the historical strategy game can be appreciated just as much for its single player content as for its multiplayer aspect.

01) Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition
02) Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising
03) Supreme Commander 2
04) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
05) Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
06) Left 4 Dead 2
07) Counter-Strike: Source
08) Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic
09) Napoleon: Total War Imperial Edition
10) Mass Effect 2

Chart positions reflect total revenue gained by the Steam Network.