Gears Of War grind quickly to record sales

by Angus Kidman

Monday, 18 December 2006

Gears of War, the much-hyped Xbox 360 multi-player third-person shooter, has gotten off to a flying start, with shipments of more than 2 million copies in six weeks leading Microsoft to proclaim it the "fast-selling next-generation console game" to date.

Of those copies, half have shipped in the US, suggesting either that Americans have a greater taste for highly detailed virtual carnage, or that the Xbox 360 has had a less notable impact in Japan and Europe. (The US can't claim a first with everything, though. A cover version of Tears For Fears' 'Mad World' by Gary Jules has topped iTunes' sales chart as a result of its use in promos for the game, a mere three years after reaching the number one slot on the UK charts.)

The game has also been a useful boost to Xbox Live, the console's online manifestation, with more than one million registered players. Microsoft officials say that subscriptions to the service have grown by 50% since the release of the game.

"I can't describe how stoked our team is right now," a clearly over-excited Michael Capps, president of game developer Epic Games, said in a statement announcing the sales figures. (Whether this relates to any sales-linked bonuses was not recorded.)

The sales figures provide useful ammunition for Microsoft in the Christmas battle for console sales and the hearts and minds of the controller-wielding public. Most of the early sales honours for hardware have gone to Nintendo's Wii, though supply shortages for the PS3 and the fact that the Xbox 360 is the oldest of the three current systems mean something of a lopsided contest.
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