Walking Dead, the video game based off of the TV series with the same name, has been downloaded more than one million times in two weeks. The game is available for download on the XBLA, PSN, PC, and Mac. This is also the fastest selling Telltale Games in history. The first of many DLC is set to launch in June, which like the series will be released in episodes.

"Premiering The Walking Dead game series to record numbers across so many diverse platforms is a tremendous achievement that shows the value of bringing strong storytelling and game play together," said Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale Games. "The tailored narrative design puts gamers in control of their own story within the universe of The Walking Dead in a way that appeals equally to hardcore gamers and to more casual gamers who are fans of the franchise."

"The most exciting aspect of getting off to such a great start is that this is just the beginning of the five episode series," continued Connors. "The Walking Dead fans are going to experience some really great moments in the months ahead that are uniquely influenced by the choices they make throughout the season."

Retailer GameStop has reported on its quarter one sales for 2012. Year on year revenue fell 12.2 percent to $2 billion in 2012, from $2.28 billion in 2011. Profits dropped from $80.4 million the same quarter a year ago, to $72.5 million. GameStop has forecasted sales for the rest of 2012 to be flat to at most down five percent.

New game hardware dropped from $432.2 million in the first quarter 2011 to $348.6 million quarter one 2012 and new software fell to $731.1 million, from $914.7 million. Used hardware and software dropped slightly from $625.0 million to $619.0 million. Digital, mobile, peripheral and other items are lumped together which was down to $309.3 million, from $303.5 million. The one bright spot is the increase in digital sales, which increased 23 percent year on year.

"GameStop continues to outperform the market in new game sales through the late stages of this console cycle," said CEO Paul Raines. "Despite slower store traffic during the quarter, we achieved our earnings target due primarily to gross margin expansion and positive profit contributions from our pre-owned, mobile and digital businesses. We expect those segments to fill the profitability gap as we transition to the new console cycle."

Overview

There are two games in the top 20 to be in its final week before launch. Diablo III (PC) is the top game before release this week. It added 59,463 pre-orders for a grand total of 823,992.  As a reminder the Pro data is back up, which means that I am taking requests again for games outside the top 20.

The top three games have 200,000 or more pre-orders, the same as last week, and the top 12 has 100,000 or more pre-orders, up from 11 last week. Two games added 20,000 or more, down from three last week and four added 10,000 or more, up from three last week.

Games in Final Week Before Launch

Diablo III (PC) added 59,463 pre-orders for a grand total of 823,992.  Expect first week sales in the USA to be in the 900,000 to 1.1 million unit range.  Expect Diablo III (PC) to sell between 1.5 million to 2.0 million units by the time it stops selling.

• Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (PC,  2010) – 775,852 week one USA, 1.88 million to date

Max Payne 3 (X360) added 19,263 pre-orders for a final total of 158,551. Expect first week sales in the USA to be in the 200,000 to 250,000 unit range. Expect the game to sell between 1.0 million to 1.2 million units by the time it stops selling.

Max Payne 3 (X360) added 10,152 pre-orders for a final total of 123,046. Expect first week sales in the USA to be in the 150,000 to 200,000 unit range. Expect the game to sell between 800,000 to 1.0 million units by the time it stops selling.

Major Performers – Week Ending April 28

StarHawk (PS3) sales are expected to drop to around 25,000 in its second week on sale.

Prototype 2 (X360) sales are expected to drop to around 25,000 units in its third week on sale. The PlayStation 3 version is expected to drop to around 12,000 units in its third week on sale.

Hardware sales overall are expected to drop slightly compared to the previous week.

Other Hot Games

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (X360) is at number two, as it added 20,611 pre-orders, down from 22,487 last week, for a total of 372,866. The PlayStation 3 version is at number 12, as it added 4,486 pre-orders, up from 4,122 last, for a total of 110,736. The game is two weeks away from launch, May 22, 2012 in the USA.

Notable mentions: Halo 4 (X360) added 2,693 pre-orders for a total of 227,344. Guild Wars 2 (PC) added 9,894 pre-orders for a total of 128,454. Dragon’s Dogma (X360) added 4,406 pre-orders for a total of 55,626.

Requests: Metro: Last Light (X360) added 228 pre-orders for a total of 22,744. Metro: Last Light (PS3) added 265 pre-orders for a total of 14,783.  LittleBigPlanet (PSV) added 468 pre-orders for a total of 11,666. God of War: Ascension (PS3) added 1,939 pre-orders for a total of 5,970.

If your favorite game isn't in the top 20, leave a comment requesting which game you want to see and the three most requested games will be added in next week's article!

The Top 50 can be seen below or click here to go to the USA pre-orders page.

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Welcome to this week’s edition of “A Sales History.” This week we will be taking a look at the sales history of the Uncharted franchise developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Last week we looked at sales history of Gears of War and the week before that God of War. If there is a particular franchise (no matter how obscure) you want to see the sales history for, requests are always welcome.

The Uncharted franchise is a third person shooter that is currently a Sony exclusive. The three main games in the series have been released on the PlayStation 3, with one released as a launch title for the PlayStation Vita. It is also the biggest exclusive franchise that was first released on the PlayStation 3.

Sales Overview

While it may not look it, the graph above does show the Uncharted franchise has seen steady sales. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is on the PlayStation Vita, which has a tiny install base compared to the PlayStation 3 which is what the other games are available for. The numbers are total sales and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has only been out for 27 week, compared to two and a half and four and a half years for the other games. To see sales for the equal time frames look below. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has sold 1.35 million units more than the original, which shows that the franchise has increased in popularity.

In the chart above, the Uncharted franchise has achieved lifetime to date sales of 14.59 million. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is currently selling more than the previous two games. It sold 29,341 units in the most recent week, while Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sold 4,268 units and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves sold 8,646 units. If it continues to outsell the second game on an average of 20,000 units a week, it will take about 68 weeks to pass it, an average of 15,000 a week about 90 weeks to outsell it, and an overage of 10,000 a week about 136 weeks to outsell it. Even with the current generation in its twilight years, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception will most likely pass Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to become the bestselling Uncharted game.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss was released as a launch title for the PlayStation Vita and has sold 555,321 units to date. It is also the bestselling Vita game to date. 28 percent of Vita’s owners have bought Golden Abyss, compared to the nine percent of PlayStation 3 owners who have purchased Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Weekly Sales

Looking at the weekly sales of the three games shows a distinct pattern. Each game has outsold the first week sales of the previous game in the series. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sold just 30,215 units in its first week. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves sold 876,089 units in its first week. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception first week sales outsold the previous game by 55 percent, with sales of 1,359,289.

The gap between the three games has shrunk since their opening week, meaning that the games get more frontloaded which is in line with the increased user base of the PlayStation 3. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception has sold 4,234,075 units to date, which is 27 weeks. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves sold 3,257,900 units in its first 27 weeks and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sold 1,498,097 nits. It took Uncharted 2: Among Thieves sold 3,257,900 61 weeks to reach the same number of units sold.

Predictions for Future Releases

There is currently no other Uncharted game announced; however with Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception 3 just released last November and each game in the series released two years apart, another game won’t be released until Holiday 2013 at the earliest. Current rumors put the release of the next generation PlayStation during the same time frame, so it could mean it will be a launch title. If that is true, it would mean opening week sales ranging from 200,000 to 300,000 depending upon how many consoles Sony is able to ship. Lifetime sales should be in line with the rest of the franchise, again it depends on how well the console sells.

Naughty Dog could decide to wait until there are more consoles sold like with the first Uncharted which was released in the PlayStation 3’s second holiday. There were 6.01 million PlayStation 3’s sold at the time it was released. If the next Uncharted game is released one year after the next generation releases, opening week sales of the game should be somewhere between the first game and the second game, due to the franchises growth in popularity. First week sales would most likely be around 500,000.

Likewise the next Uncharted could be released on the PlayStation 3 if Sony decides to wait beyond 2013 to releases their next generation home console. That would most likely put opening week sales between the second and third game and lifetime sales. That would put the opening week around the one million mark. Lifetime sales depend on when Sony releases their next generation home console. If it’s released one year after the next Uncharted that could cut lifetime sales short to 4 – 4.5 million, otherwise it will most likely sell around five million.

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Ubisoft has released today its financial report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. Revenue increased by 2.1 percent to $1.36 billion, with profits of $47.7 million. This is due to a 110 percent increase in online sales which reached $102.74 million. However, sales in its fourth quarter decreased 9.6 percent to $206.77 million.

$742.31 million of its revenue was from the sales of core games, including Assassin's Creed: Revelation, The Settlers Online, Rayman: Origins, and Driver: San Francisco. $620.30 of its revenue was generated from the sale of casual games. This includes titles such as Just Dance, Howrse, and Rocksmith.

"Ubisoft achieved a 90% surge in current operating income in fiscal 2011-12, in the upper range of the targets announced a year ago," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "This achievement was notably spurred by strong growth in online/digital revenue. We ended the year in a solid financial position - all the while having continued to invest in the future - primarily thanks to better-than-expected cash flows."

Guillemot continued, "Lastly, thanks to our focus on ramping up our teams' online expertise, combined with the know-how brought in by our recent acquisitions and with the recruitment of specialized talent, we are now in a position to fully seize the numerous current and future opportunities of the video game industry."

In a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, video game retailer GAME has voluntarily entered administration in Australia. This is the equivalent to Chapter 9 Bankruptcy in the US. The retailer has 90 stores in Australia, along with over 500 employees. This may impact the customers with pre-orders, as well as GAME gift cards.

The retailer has also put a bulletin on its website. "Initially we will continue to trade all of the Company’s stores, operating these on as close to a 'business as usual' basis as is possible in the context of a voluntary administration whilst we get a clearer understanding of the current state of the business. This means that store hours will remain unchanged and all stores will remain open at this stage."

The bulletin continued that they "are still working to clarify the status of pre-orders. At this stage we are intending on honouring certain pre-orders placed on the Diablo III and Max Payne new releases.We will provide clarity on these and other new releases in due course. We are not able to refund customer deposits and customers who have paid a deposit for a pre-ordered item at this stage should continue to monitor the website for further updates."

Electronic Arts and Sony Computer Entertainment veterans have formed a new studio, Checkpoint Studios. The studio will be focusing on social games, with its first game AviNation to be released on Facebook. In the game you use airplanes in order to build your own empire.

Checkpoint Studios describes itself as "committed to creating socially-connected gaming experiences designed to entertain everyone.  By taking a more progressive approach to the rapidly growing world of social games, we are fueled by a mission to make the future of fun a reality by making games for social and mobile platforms more engaging, more connected and, most importantly, more fun-to-play."

"When I first started playing social games, I was frustrated by what I felt was a lack of quality and real game play in so many of the titles," said Brian Wiklem, CEO and Founder of Checkpoint Studios. "The click-reward-repeat nature felt more like an activity or social chore than a game and, while there's clearly an audience for that, I know we can do better."

"While at Heavy Iron, I worked closely with Pixar to create the console versions of several of their properties such as Ratatouille and Up for THQ," Wiklem continued. "I once asked how they made such successful kids' movies, to which they responded that they didn't make kids' movies, but instead 'made movies they would want to watch'. That philosophy really resonated and stuck with me, so our driving force is to make social games we'd actually want to play."

Welcome to the new ‘Top 10’ weekly feature. Each week we will be taking a look at the top 10 selling games in a particular genre, platform, most recent month, even sprinkling in the top 10 selling games from a past year. All sales specified will be worldwide, unless stated otherwise.

Last week we took a look at the top 10 bestselling games published by Sony Computer Entertainment and the week before that the top 10 bestselling Nintendo games. This week we will be taking a look at the top 10 bestselling games published by Microsoft Game Studios that were released on a video game console, including games that were bundled. If there is a particular top 10 you want to see leave a comment and it may be featured in a future top 10.

Looking at the top 10 bestselling games published by Microsoft Game Studios, all but two of them were released on the Xbox 360, and the other two games were released on the original Xbox. The top 10 is dominated by just two franchises Halo and Gears of War and the two original Xbox games are in the Halo franchise. Also the bestselling game, Kinect Adventures!, comes bundled with every Kinect, just like Wii Sports use to be on the Wii.

The top 10 games sold a combined 80.79 million units. The eight Xbox 360 games sold a combined 65.87 million units, while the two original Xbox games sold a combined 14.92 million units.

There are five Halo games in the top 10, and three of them are in the top five. Halo Wars, a spin off RTS, and the remastered Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary are the only two Halo games not in the top 10. The five Halo games in the top 10 has sold a combined 41.44 million units, while the three Xbox 360 games sold 26.52 million units and the two original Xbox games sold 14.92 million units.

All three Gears of War games are in the top 10. As a note the franchise might have been published by Microsoft it is not first party, because it was developed by Epic Games. The three games sold a combined 17.81 million units.

Taking a look at the top 10 bestselling games published by Microsoft Game Studios as a bar graph really shows how a game, Kinect Adventures!, that is bundled 100 percent of the time helps a game sell. It has outsold the number two game, Halo 3, by 4.97 million units.

For people who are curious, Microsoft’s other big exclusive franchise Fable is just outside the top 10, with Fable III at number 11, Fable II at number 13 and the original at number 15. Also the second bestselling Kinect game is Kinect Sports at number 12.

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

The PC indie hit Minecraft was released on the Xbox 360 as an Xbox Live Arcade title last Wednesday, May 9. The game has already sold more than one million units in its first five days. This smashes the previous record which was set by Trials Evolution. That game sold over 100,000 units in its first two days on sale.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition sells for 1600 Microsoft Points, which is equivalent to $20. That puts revenue at more than $20 million in just five days. Mojang CEO and Founder Markus "Notch" Persson had also Tweeted that the game made a profit within an hour of release.

Xbox Live's Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, announced that the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft broke the Xbox Live Arcade sales record, but did not give any specific numbers. The PC version of the game has sold 5.98 million units to date according to the games official website. The iOS and Androids version passed the one million mark in March.

GameStop has announced a new partnership with Valve. The U.S. retailer will be selling Steam Cards, as part of Valve's Steam Wallet initiative. They will be used as a means to purchase games from the Steam online store. There is a $20 and $50 Steam Card currently available for purchase at GameStop in store.

This is not the first step that GameStop has done to try to remain relevant in the current digital download market. It had expanded its PC download codes to more than 1,500 PC games last year. They had also purchased Stardock's Impulse download service, which is a competitor to Steam.

Here we see data representing the global sales through to consumers and change in sales performance of the three home consoles over comparable periods for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.  Also shown is the market share for each of the consoles over the same periods.

Year to Date Sales Comparison (Same Periods Covered)

Market Share (Same Periods Covered)

2009 – (Week beginning January 4 to May 9)

2010 – (Week beginning January 3 to May 8)

2011 – (Week beginning January 2 to May 7)

2012 – (Week beginning January 1 to May 5)

Total Sales and Market Share for Each Year

"Year to date" sales for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 sales are shown in series at the top of the table and then just below a comparison of 2012 versus 2010 and 2012 versus 2011 is displayed.  This provides an easy-to-view summary of all the data.

Microsoft

Xbox 360 - Down Year-on-Year 18k, Year to Date -12.5%

Sony

PlayStation 3 - Down Year-on-Year 1k, Year to Date -7.1%
PlayStation Vita - n/a

Nintendo

Nintendo Wii - Down Year-on-Year 30k, Year to Date -35.4%
Nintendo 3DS - Up Year-on-Year 79k, Year to Date 54.5%

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Overview

Hardware sales are down on average just one percent week on week. Year on year sales are down on average 17 percent, however the 3DS is up 50 percent. The Wii and 3DS are the only two platforms to be up week on week, while the 3DS is the only platform to be up year on year.

Two games debuted in the top 30 this week. Sniper Elite V2 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sold a combined 266,020. There are no software milestones this week in the top 30.

Worldwide Hardware

Week on week sales are up for the Wii and 3DS, and are down for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, DS, PSP, and PlayStation Vita. The 3DS is at the top this week with sales of 186,867 units, which is up 17,889 (11%).  The PlayStation 3 is down 9,140 (-6%) to 146,882 units sold.  Xbox 360 sales are down 5,880 (-5%) to 123,867 units sold. The Wii sold 78,683 units, which is up 2,379 (3%).  The PSP sold 68,935, which is down 3,103 (-4%) compared to last week. The PlayStation Vita is down 5,556 (-9%) to 59,323 units sold. The DS is down 1,597 (-2%) to 39,310 units sold. Total week on week sales are down 5,008 (-1%) to 703,867.

Year on year sales are down across the board, except for the 3DS which is up. The PlayStation 3 is down 1,110 (-1%), the Wii is down 28,926 (-27%), and the Xbox 360 is down 17,931 (-13%). The PSP is down 115,087 (-63%) the DS is down 116,526 (-75%) and the 3DS is up 79,015 (73%). Year on year sales are down 141,242 (-17%).

Wii sales have increased slightly for two straight weeks, the PlayStation 3 decreased for one week and the Xbox 260 has decreased for two straight weeks. The PlayStation 3 has led every week this year and the Xbox 360 has been in second every week, except for the week ending January 7 where the Wii outsold it. The PlayStation 3 has a 42 percent market share; the Xbox 360 has a 35 percent market share; and the Wii has a 23 percent market share. Compared with ten weeks ago all three home consoles are down.

The 3DS has outsold its predecessor, the DS, by nearly 5 to 1, while the Vita was outsold by the PSP. The PSP has a 64 percent market share this week for the current generation handhelds and the DS has a 36 percent. The 3DS has a 76 percent market share for the next generation of handhelds, while the Vita has a 24 percent market share. Compared with ten weeks ago the 3DS is up, while the Vita, PSP and DS are down.

Worldwide Software

Two games debuted in the top 30 this week. Sniper Elite V2 (X360) debuted at number two with sales of 142,735. The PlayStation 3 version debuted at number three with sales of 123,285. The game launched in North America and Europe, with no release date in Japan.

TERA (PC) debuted at number four with sales of 101,471. The game launched in North America and Europe.

Other games in the top 10 that are not debuts include Mario Part 9 (Wii) at the top of the charts with sales of 177,382. Prototype 2 (X360) is at number five in its second week with sales of 95,374.

Prototype 2 (PS3) is at number six in its second week with sales of 71,209. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (PS3) is at number seven with sales of 67,584. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) is at number eight with sales of 59,027. Mario Kart 7 (3DS) is at number eight with sales of 59,027. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (PS3) rounds out the top 10 with sales of 46,531.

Week on week software totals are down across the board, except for the 3DS which is up. The PlayStation 3 takes the top spot this week with sales of 1.62 million, a decrease of 280,616 (-15%). The Xbox 360 sold 1.47 million games this week, a decrease of 183,225 (-11%). Wii software sales are down 51,568 (-4%) to 1.10 million. The DS sold 534,789 games, a decrease of 56,029 (-9%). The 3DS sold 430,764 games, which is up 21,427 (5%). PSP game sales are down 56,491 (-18%) to 263,302 games sold. The Vita sold 118,005 games, a decrease of 10,017 (-8%).  Total combined software is down 616,519 (-10%) week on week to 5.53 million.

Year on year software totals are up for the PlayStation, Xbox 360 and 3DS, and are down for the Wii, DS and PSP. The PlayStation 3 is up 601,880 (59%), the Wii is down 52,382 (-5%) and the Xbox 360 is up 510,277 (53%). The DS is down 305,100 (-36%), the PSP is down 92,110 (-26%) and the 3DS is up 300,888 (232%). Total combined software is up 1.08 million (24%) games sold year on year.

The PlayStation 3 has sold the most games for a second week in a row, despite sales dropping. It has also lead for six of the last 10 weeks and the Xbox 360 led for the last four weeks. The PlayStation 3 has a 39 percent market share, the Xbox 360 with 35 percent, and the Wii with 26 percent. Compared to ten weeks ago all three home consoles are down.

The DS leads this week and for the seventh time in 10 weeks, while the 3DS lead for three of the other weeks. The DS has a 67 percent market share for the current generation handhelds and the PSP has a 33 percent market share. The 3DS has a 79 percent market share for the next generation handhelds, while the Vita has a 22 percent market share. Compared with ten weeks ago all four handhelds are down.

The Top 100 can be seen below or click here to view the full chart.

Pos	Game	Weekly	Total	Week #
1	Mario Party 9 (Wii) Nintendo, Misc	177,382	1,022,367	10
2	Sniper Elite V2 (X360) 505 Games, Shooter	142,735	142,735	1
3	Sniper Elite V2 (PS3) 505 Games, Shooter	123,285	123,285	1
4	TERA (PC) En Masse, Role-Playing	101,471	101,471	1
5	Prototype 2 (X360) Activision, Action	95,374	356,350	2
6	Prototype 2 (PS3) Activision, Action	71,209	257,394	2
7	Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (PS3) Capcom, Shooter	67,584	826,791	7
8	Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) Nintendo, Platform	59,027	5,992,462	27
9	Mario Kart 7 (3DS) Nintendo, Racing	54,195	5,530,700	23
10	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3) Activision, Shooter	46,531	11,769,229	26
11	Mass Effect 3 (X360) Electronic Arts, Role-Playing	42,597	2,191,856	9
12	Fire Emblem: Kakusei (3DS) Nintendo, Strategy	42,392	349,113	3
13	Kinect Adventures! (X360) Microsoft Game Studios, Misc	42,277	16,476,739	79
14	Kinect Star Wars (X360) Microsoft Game Studios, Action	41,523	709,014	5
15	Just Dance 3 (Wii) Ubisoft, Misc	41,150	8,993,701	31
16	Zumba Fitness 2 (Wii) Majesco Entertainment, Sports	39,229	1,551,509	25
17	The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (X360) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Role-Playing	37,751	320,813	3
18	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (X360) Activision, Shooter	37,531	13,971,905	26
19	Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS) Nintendo, Action	37,144	661,984	7
20	FIFA Soccer 12 (PS3) Electronic Arts, Sports	34,219	5,698,327	32
21	Mario Kart Wii (Wii) Nintendo, Racing	31,980	31,979,976	213
22	New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) Nintendo, Platform	29,908	25,433,959	129
23	FIFA Street (PS3) Electronic Arts, Sports	29,833	640,665	8
24	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3) Sony Computer Entertainment, Action	29,341	4,234,075	27
25	Batman: Arkham City (PS3) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Action	28,892	3,178,508	29
26	Battlefield 3 (PS3) Electronic Arts, Shooter	27,327	5,266,535	28
27	Wii Sports (Wii) Nintendo, Sports	26,777	78,916,077	285
28	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Wii) Activision, Action	26,612	1,636,953	30
29	FIFA Soccer 12 (X360) Electronic Arts, Sports	25,764	3,677,358	32
30	Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) Sony Computer Entertainment, Racing	25,710	7,545,755	76

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Which are you most looking forward to?

• 05/15 - Diablo III (PC)
• 05/15 - Game of Thrones (PS3, X360, PC)
• 05/15 - Max Payne 3 (PS3, X360)
• 05/18 - Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (PC)
• 05/20 - Mario Tennis (3DS)
• 05/22 - Atelier Meruru: Alchemist of Arland 3 (PS3)
• 05/22 - Dragon's Dogma (PS3, X360)
• 05/22 - Risen 2: Dark Waters (PS3, X360)
• 05/22 - Sorcery (PS3)
• 05/22 - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (PS3, X360)
• 05/28 - Damage Inc.: Pacific Squadron WWII (X360)
• 05/29 - Deer Drive: Legends (3DS)
• 05/29 - Max Payne 3 (PC)
• 05/29 - Resistance: Burning Skies (PSV)

• 06/01 - Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (3DS)
• 06/12 - End of Nations (PC)
• 06/12 - Gravity Rush (PSV)
• 06/12 - Gungnir: Mayari no Gunshin to Eiyuu Sensou (PSP)
• 06/12 - Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3, X360)
• 06/12 - Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PSV)
• 06/12 - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (PC)
• 06/18 - Pokemon + Nobunaga no Yabou (DS)
• 06/19 - Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (X360)
• 06/26 - LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, PS3, X360, 3DS)
• 06/26 - Record of Agarest War 2 (PS3)
• 06/26 - Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 (PS3, X360)
• 06/26 - Spec Ops: The Line (PS3, X360, PC)
• 06/26 - The Amazing Spider-Man (DS, Wii, PS3, X360)
• 06/30 - Heroes of Ruin (3DS)
• 06/30 - Inversion (PS3, X360, PC)

• Q2 2012 - Lucius (PC)
• Q2 2012 - The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (PS3, X360, PC)

• 07/03 - Anarchy Reigns (PS3, X360)
• 07/03 - Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy (3DS)
• 07/10 - NCAA Football 13 (PS3, X360)
• 07/10 - Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure (3DS)
• 07/10 - The Last Story (Wii)
• 07/24 - Growlanser IV: Over Reloaded (PSP)
• 07/31 - Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)

• 08/07 - Persona 4: Arena (PS3, X360)
• 08/14 - Darksiders II (PS3, X360, PC)
• 08/21 - Ragnarok Odyssey (PSV)
• 08/28 - Madden NFL 13 (Wii, PS3, X360, PSV)
• 08/28 - Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PS3, X360, PC)
• 08/31 - Order Up!! (3DS)

• 09/04 - Fable: The Journey (X360)
• 09/04 - Far Cry 3 (PS3, X360, PC)
• 09/18 - Borderlands 2 (PS3, X360, PC)
• 09/25 - Dead or Alive 5 (PS3, X360)

• Q3 2012 - Attouteki Yuugi: Mugen Souls (PS3)
• Q3 2012 - Bellator: MMA Onslaught (PS3, X360)
• Q3 2012 - Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 (PS3, X360, PC)
• Q3 2012 - Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion (3DS)
• Q3 2012 - New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
• Q3 2012 - Sleeping Dogs (PS3, X360, PC)
• Q3 2012 - Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3)

• 10/01 - Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (Wii, PS3, X360)
• 10/02 - Outdoors Unlimited (Wii, PS3, X360, PC)
• 10/02 - Resident Evil 6 (PS3, X360)
• 10/23 - Medal of Honor: Warfighter (PS3, X360, PC)
• 10/30 - Assassin's Creed III (PS3, X360, PC)

• 11/06 - Halo 4 (X360)
• 11/13 - Call of Duty: Black Ops II (PS3, X360, PC)
• 11/20 - Hitman: Absolution (PS3, X360, PC)

• Q4 2012 - Grand Theft Auto V (PS3, X360)
• Q4 2012 - LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3)
• Q4 2012 - Persona 4: The Golden (PSV)
• Q4 2012 - Pokemon Black / White Version 2 (DS)
• Q4 2012 - Silent Hill: Book of Memories (PSV)

• TBA 2012 - Aliens: Colonial Marines (PS3, X360, PC)
• TBA 2012 - Animal Crossing (3DS)
• TBA 2012 - Darksiders II (WiiU)
• TBA 2012 - Grand Knights History (PSP)
• TBA 2012 - Guild Wars 2 (PC)
• TBA 2012 - Heavy Fire: Afghanistan (X360)
• TBA 2012 - Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)
• TBA 2012 - Ninokuni: Shiroki Seihai no Joou (PS3)
• TBA 2012 - Paper Mario (3DS)
• TBA 2012 - Quantum Conundrum (PS3, X360, PC)
• TBA 2012 - Ridge Racer Unbounded (PC)
• TBA 2012 - Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3)
• TBA 2012 - Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 (PC)
• TBA 2012 - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (DS, PSP)
• TBA 2012 - UnchainBlades ReXX (PSP, 3DS)

• Q1 2013 - BioShock Infinite (PS3, X360, PC)
• Q1 2013 - Crysis 3 (PS3, X360, PC)
• Q1 2013 - Tomb Raider (PS3, X360, PC)

• Q2 2013 - Star Trek (PS3, X360, PC)

• TBA 2013 - Devil's Third (PS3, X360)
• TBA 2013 - God of War: Ascension (PS3)
• TBA 2013 - Homefront 2 (PS3, X360)
• TBA 2013 - Lost Planet 3 (PS3, X360)
• TBA 2013 - Medal of Honor: Warfighter (WiiU)
• TBA 2013 - Metro: Last Light (PS3, X360, PC)
• TBA 2013 - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots (PS3, X360, PC)
• TBA 2013 - XCOM (PS3, X360, PC)

• TBA - 4 Elements (3DS)
• TBA - Assassin's Creed III (WiiU)
• TBA - Blizzard DOTA (PC)
• TBA - Deep Black (PS3, X360)
• TBA - DEFIANCE (PS3, X360, PC)
• TBA - DMC (PS3, X360, PC)
• TBA - Doom 4 (PC)
• TBA - DOTA 2 (PC)
• TBA - Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP)
• TBA - Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
• TBA - Ghost Whisperer: Shadowlands (PC)
• TBA - Jewel Quest 6: The Sapphire Dragon (PC)
• TBA - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3, X360, PC)
• TBA - Mystery Legends: Beauty and the Beast (PC)
• TBA - NCIS 3D (3DS)
• TBA - PlanetSide 2 (PC)
• TBA - Rayman Origins (3DS)
• TBA - Resident Evil 6 (PC)
• TBA - Street Fighter X Tekken (PSV)
• TBA - The Last Guardian (PS3)
• TBA - The Last of Us (PS3)
• TBA - Top Trumps NBA All Stars (DS, 3DS)
• TBA - World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (PC)

Overview

There is one game in the top 20 to be in its final week before launch. StarHawk (PS3) added 4,284 pre-orders in its final week for a grand total of 55,622.  As a reminder the Pro data is back up, which means that I am taking requests again for games outside the top 20.

The top three games have 200,000 or more pre-orders, the same as last week, and the top 12 has 100,000 or more pre-orders, up from 11 last week. Three games added 20,000 or more, the same as last week and three added 10,000 or more, the same as last week.

Games in Final Week Before Launch

StarHawk (PS3) added 4,284 pre-orders in its final week for a grand total of 55,622. Expect first week sales in the USA to be in the 60,000 to 80,000 unit range.  Expect StarHawk (PS3) to sell between 150,000 to 200,000 units by the time it stops selling. This is the first game in series.

Major Performers – Week Ending April 28

Sniper Elite V2 (X360) sales are expected to drop to around 25,000 in its second week on sale, while the PlayStation 3 version is expected to drop to around 20,000.

TERA (PC) sales are expected to drop to around 25,000 in its second week on sale.

Prototype 2 (X360) sales are expected to drop to around 30,000 units in its third week on sale. The PlayStation 3 version is expected to drop to around 20,000 units in its third week on sale.

Hardware sales overall are expected to drop slightly compared to the previous week.

Other Hot Games

Diablo III (PC) is at the top spot, as it added 38,016 pre-orders, down from 70,444 last week, for a total of 764,529. The game is two weeks away from launch, May 15 in North America and Europe.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (X360) is at number two, as it added 22,487 pre-orders, down from 27,097 last week, for a total of 352,255. The PlayStation 3 version is down one spot to number 12, as it added 4,122 pre-orders, down from 4,747 last, for a total of 106,250. The game is three weeks away from launch, May 22, 2012 in the USA.

Notable mentions: Max Payne 3 (X360) added 8,901 pre-orders for a total of 139,288. Max Payne 3 (PS3) added 5,989 pre-orders for a total of 112,894. Guild Wars 2 (PC) added 21,814 pre-orders for a total of 118,560.

Requests: Resident Evil 6 (PS3) added 1,477 pre-orders for a total of 23,114. Resident Evil 6 (X360) added 1,418 pre-orders for a total of 22,524. Heroes of Ruin (3DS) added 410 pre-orders for a total of 18,179.

If your favorite game isn't in the top 20, leave a comment requesting which game you want to see and the three most requested games will be added in next week's article!

The Top 50 can be seen below or click here to go to the USA pre-orders page.

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Xbox Live's Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, has announced that the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft has broken a sales record for the Xbox Live Arcade. The game has sold more units in its first 24 hours on Xbox live than any other game. No exact number was given but Hryb did say "there are over 400,000 people playing…so that will give you an idea at how well it is doing."

Mojang CEO and Founder Markus "Notch" Persson Tweeted that the game made a profit within an hour of release. "Saw the official sales numbers for the first 24 hours of Minecraft Xbox 360, and it's very, very good. Profitable in an hour."

Nintendo has announced in a press release they will be cutting the price of the DSi and DSi XL on May 20. The DSi will drop to $100 from $150 and the DSi XL will be cut to $130 from $170. The DS line has more than 2,000 games in its line-up and the systems themselves comes preloaded with several games and applications.

"The new suggested retail prices provide an even greater incentive to pick up the systems, and provide an easy option for parents who want to introduce younger kids to their first portable games," said Nintendo. "With graduations looming, Father's Day approaching and the start of the summer travel season imminent, the new suggested retail prices appeal to all kinds of shoppers."

Sony has posted a record loss for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2012. Revenue dropped 9.6 percent to $81.5 billion and losses increased to $5.7 billion, from $3.3 billion for the previous fiscal year. Sony’s Consumer Products and Services division revenue reached $39.3 billion, an 18.5 percent decrease, while losses increased to $2.9 billion, compared to profits of $135.5 for the previous fiscal year.

Sony has shipped 13.9 million PlayStation 3s worldwide for the fiscal year, which is a drop of 400,000 compared to the previous fiscal year. 4.1 million PlayStation 2s were shipped, which is a drop of 2.3 million and the PSP shipped 6.8 million units, a drop of 1.2 million. PlayStation 3 software shipments did increase to 156.6 million, from 147.9 million. PlayStation 2 software shipments decreased from 16.4 million to 7.9 million. PSP software shipments decreased from 46.6 million to 32.2 million.

Sony expects that in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2013, it will return to profits with revenue of $92.9 billion, a 14 percent increase. $376.5 million of profits are expected. Sony also estimates PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 combined shipments of around 16 million. Also 16 million combined shipments of the PlayStation Vita and PSP. With 10 million Vitas expected to be shipped, that would put PSP shipments at six million.

Sony has announced they have shipped 1.8 million PlayStation Vitas for the last fiscal year which ended March 31 of this year. Sony projects it will ship 10 million for the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2013.

"The last year, 1.8 million units for US, Japan, Asia and Europe [were sold]. And as a starting phase, I think it was a good start," said Kaz Hirai, Sony CEO. "For a game platform, like Vita, the software is the key to success -- how good the software is, that is the key to business success. We have to reinforce the software area in order to improve the business that is the basic line. Vis-a-vis Vita, at this moment, there is no decline or lack of motivation as a portable platform. This is a very important product indeed for us, and therefore we still have a very high motivation to develop this further. There is no change."

He did mention that the Vita does need bigger games that will help move more systems. "Software and services must be strengthened,” he added. “In other words, the collaborative approach is very important, so is third-party. And from first-party studios, the titles will be presented one after the other, so please look at them and give your evaluation based on them."

Check out the official launch trailer for Starhawk below. With current pre-orders around the 55,000 mark, do you think this will do well at launch?

From the creators of Warhawk, Starhawk revolutionizes shooters with the new Build & Battle System. Call down buildings, weapons and vehicles to shape the battlefield and dominate your enemies. Featuring a full single player campaign, Co-op modes, and epic 32 person multiplayer battles Starhawk is a must have for all shooter fans.

Here we see data representing the global sales through to consumers and change in sales performance of the three home consoles over comparable periods for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.  Also shown is the market share for each of the consoles over the same periods.

Year to Date Sales Comparison (Same Periods Covered)

Market Share (Same Periods Covered)

2009 – (Week beginning January 4 to May 2)

2010 – (Week beginning January 3 to May 1)

2011 – (Week beginning January 2 to April 30)

2012 – (Week beginning January 1 to April 28)

Total Sales and Market Share for Each Year

"Year to date" sales for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 sales are shown in series at the top of the table and then just below a comparison of 2012 versus 2010 and 2012 versus 2011 is displayed.  This provides an easy-to-view summary of all the data.

Microsoft

Xbox 360 - Down Year-on-Year 21k, Year to Date -12.5%

Sony

 PlayStation3 - Up Year-on-Year 8k, Year to Date -6.8%
 PlayStationVita - n/a

Nintendo

Nintendo Wii - Down Year-on-Year 38k, Year to Date -35.1%
Nintendo 3DS - Up Year-on-Year 58k, Year to Date 53.9%

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Overview

Hardware sales are mixed week on week, with the PSP up 30 percent, the PlayStation 3, Wii and PlayStation Vita up slightly and the Xbox 360, DS and 3DS down. Year on year sales are down on average 18 percent, however the 3DS is up 50 percent.

Three games debuted in the top 30 this week. Prototype 2 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sold a combined 447,161. There are no software milestones this week in the top 30.

Worldwide Hardware

Week on week sales are up for the PlayStation 3, Wii, PSP, and the PlayStation Vita, and are down for the Xbox 360, DS and 3DS. The 3DS is at the top this week with sales of 172,920 units, which is down 16,841 (-9%).  The PlayStation 3 is up 8,719 (5%) to 167,470 units sold.  Xbox 360 sales are down 4,247 (-3%) to 129,747 units sold. The Wii sold 83,537 units, which is up 2,979 (4%).  The PlayStation Vita is up 1,067 (2%) to 65,925 units sold. The PSP sold 72,038, which is up 16,562 (30%) compared to last week. The DS is down 682 (-2%) to 40,907 units sold. Total week on week sales are up 7,561 (1%) to 732,544.

Year on year sales are up for the 3DS and PlayStation 3, and down for the Wii, Xbox 360, DS, and PSP. The PlayStation 3 is up 8,262 (5%), the Wii is down 38,193 (-31%), and the Xbox 360 is down 20,969 (-14%). The PSP is down 112,283 (-61%) the DS is down 1117,346 (-74%) and the 3DS is up 57,611 (50%). Year on year sales are down 156,993 (-18%).

PlayStation 3 and Wii sales have increased for a single week, while the Xbox 360 has decreased for one week. The PlayStation 3 has led every week this year and the Xbox 360 has been in second every week, except for the week ending January 7 where the Wii outsold it. The PlayStation 3 has a 44 percent market share; the Xbox 360 has a 34 percent market share; and the Wii has a 22 percent market share. Compared with ten weeks ago all three home consoles are down.

The 3DS has outsold its predecessor, the DS, by more than 4 to 1, while the Vita was outsold by the PSP. The PSP has a 64 percent market share this week for the current generation handhelds and the DS has a 36 percent. The 3DS has a 72 percent market share for the next generation of handhelds, while the Vita has a 28 percent market share. Compared with ten weeks ago all four handhelds are down.

Worldwide Software

Three games debuted in the top 30 this week. Prototype 2 (X360) debuted at number two with sales of 260,976. The PlayStation 3 version debuted at number four with sales of 186,185. The game launched in North America and Europe on April 24 and has no plans to be released in Japan.

Conception: Please Give Birth to My Child! (PSP) debuted at number 25 with sales of 28,934. The game launched in Japan, with no plans to be released elsewhere.

Ciel Nosurge: Ushinawareta Hoshi e Sasagu Uta (PSV) debuted at number 26 with sales of 27,952. The game launched in Japan, with no plans to be released elsewhere.

Other games in the top 10 that are not debuts include Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (PS3) at the top with sales of 275,357. Mario Part 9 (Wii) is at number three with sales of 63,993. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (PS3) is at number five with sales of 63,993.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (X360) is at number six with sales of 62,536. Fire Emblem: Kakusei (3DS) is at number seven with sales of 61,319. Kinect Star Wars (X360) is at number eight with sales of 54,754. Mass Effect 3 (X360) is at number nine with sales of 54,072. Kinect Adventures (X360) rounds out the top 10 with sales of 49,836.

Week on week software totals are up for the PlayStation 3, Wii, PSP, and Vita, and are down for the Xbox 360, DS and 3DS. The PlayStation 3 takes the top spot this week with sales of 1.99 million, an increase of 403,938 (25%). The Xbox 360 sold 1.77 million games this week, a decrease of 77,266 (-4%). Wii software sales are up 82,138 (7%) to 1.24 million. The DS sold 648,157 games, a decrease of 12,419 (-2%). The 3DS sold 425,563 games, which is down 209,556 (-33%). PSP game sales are up 61,938 (23%) to 331,018 games sold. The Vita sold 134,738 games, a decrease of 21,422 (19%).  Total combined software is up 270,195 (4%) week on week to 6.54 million.

Year on year software totals are up for the PlayStation, Xbox 360 and 3DS, and are down for the Wii, DS and PSP. The PlayStation 3 is up 577,234 (41%), the Wii is down 144,834 (-10%) and the Xbox 360 is up 426,163 (32%). The DS is down 382,280 (-37%), the PSP is down 193,849 (-37%) and the 3DS is up 279,042 (190%). Total combined software is up 696,214 (12%) games sold year on year.

The PlayStation 3 has taken the top spot for the first time since the week ending March 31. It has also lead for six of the last 10 weeks and the Xbox 360 led for the last four weeks. The PlayStation 3 has a 40 percent market share, the Xbox 360 with 35 percent, and the Wii with 25 percent. Compared to ten weeks ago all three home consoles are down.

The DS leads this week and for the sixth time in 10 weeks, while the 3DS lead for three of the other weeks and the Vita for one. The DS has a 66 percent market share for the current generation handhelds and the PSP has a 34 percent market share. The 3DS has a 76 percent market share for the next generation handhelds, while the Vita has a 24 percent market share. Compared with ten weeks ago the DS is up, while the 3DS, Vita and PSP are down.

The Top 100 can be seen below or click here to view the full chart.

Pos	Game	Weekly	Total	Week #
1	Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (PS3) Capcom, Shooter	275,357	760,714	6
2	Prototype 2 (X360) Activision, Action	260,976	260,976	1
3	Mario Party 9 (Wii) Nintendo, Misc	196,084	848,473	9
4	Prototype 2 (PS3) Activision, Action	186,185	186,185	1
5	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (PS3) Activision, Shooter	63,993	11,728,859	25
6	The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (X360) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Role-Playing	62,536	287,336	2
7	Fire Emblem: Kakusei (3DS) Nintendo, Strategy	61,319	306,721	2
8	Kinect Star Wars (X360) Microsoft Game Studios, Action	54,754	672,681	4
9	Mass Effect 3 (X360) Electronic Arts, Role-Playing	54,072	2,155,747	8
10	Kinect Adventures! (X360) Microsoft Game Studios, Misc	49,836	16,439,267	78
11	Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) Nintendo, Platform	46,868	5,935,921	26
12	Mario Kart 7 (3DS) Nintendo, Racing	45,812	5,479,412	22
13	Just Dance 3 (Wii) Ubisoft, Misc	44,065	8,958,486	30
14	Zumba Fitness 2 (Wii) Majesco Entertainment, Sports	43,568	1,517,223	24
15	FIFA Soccer 12 (PS3) Electronic Arts, Sports	37,126	5,665,626	31
16	Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS) Nintendo, Action	36,241	626,964	6
17	FIFA Street (PS3) Electronic Arts, Sports	35,360	611,354	7
18	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3) Sony Computer Entertainment, Action	34,120	4,206,632	26
19	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (X360) Activision, Shooter	33,129	13,939,064	25
20	Mario Kart Wii (Wii) Nintendo, Racing	30,634	31,950,194	212
21	Mass Effect 3 (PS3) Electronic Arts, Role-Playing	30,570	729,243	8
22	Battlefield 3 (PS3) Electronic Arts, Shooter	30,324	5,240,491	27
23	New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) Nintendo, Platform	29,860	25,406,658	128
24	Batman: Arkham City (PS3) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Action	29,229	3,152,239	28
25	Conception: Please Give Birth to My Child! (PSP) Spike, Role-Playing	28,934	28,934	1
26	Ciel Nosurge: Ushinawareta Hoshi e Sasagu Uta (PSV) Gust, Misc	27,952	27,952	1
27	Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) Sony Computer Entertainment, Racing	26,518	7,520,967	75
28	Wii Sports (Wii) Nintendo, Sports	26,478	78,891,887	284
29	FIFA Soccer 12 (X360) Electronic Arts, Sports	24,897	3,652,800	31
30	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Wii) Activision, Action	24,786	1,613,073	29

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Welcome to this week’s edition of “A Sales History.” This week we will be taking a look at the sales history of the Gears of War franchise developed by Epic. Last week we looked at sales history of God of War and the week before that Grand Theft Auto. If there is a particular franchise (no matter how obscure) you want to see the sales history for, requests are always welcome.

The Gears of War franchise is a third person shooter that is currently a Microsoft exclusive. The three games in the series have all been released on the Xbox 360. It is also the second biggest Xbox franchise, behind only Halo.

Sales Overview

As you can see from the graph above, the Gears of War franchise has seen steady sales. The numbers are total sales and Gears of War 3 has only been out for 31 week, compared to two and a half and four and a half years for the other games. To see sales for the equal time frames look below. Gears of War 2 has sold more than 500,000 units than the original game, which does show that the franchise has grown in popularity from the first to the second game.

In the chart above, the Gears of War franchise has achieved lifetime to date sales of 17.77 million. Gears of War 3 is currently selling more than the previous two games. It sold 11,025 in the most recent week, while Gears of War sold 1,551 and Gears of War 2 sold 3,307. If it continues to outsell the first game on an average of 10,000 units a week, it will take about a year for it to outsell it. Likewise if it outsells the second game on average of 8,000 units a week, it will take nearly three years to outsell it. With the current generation in its twilight years, it is unlikely Gears of War 3 will outsell Gears of War 2, however it will most likely outsell the first game by the time it stops selling.

Weekly Sales

Looking at the weekly sales of the three games shows a distinct pattern. Each game in the first game outsold the previous game. Gears of War sold 607,265 in its first week. Gears of War 2 outsold the first by three times in its first week, with sales of 1,868,440. Gears of War 3 first week sales outsold the previous game by 60 percent, with sales of 3,020,354.

The gap between the three games has shrunk since their opening week, meaning that the games get more frontloaded which is in line with the increased user base of the Xbox 360. To make clear however the first two games were released in November, while Gears of War 3 was released in September. This explains the drop in sales from week five to nine and why the sales almost drop below Gears of War 2.

Gears of War 3 has sold 5,361,914 units to date, which is 31 weeks. Gears of War 2 sold 4,793,422 in its first 31 weeks and Gears of War sold 3,934,198 units. It took Gears of War 117 weeks to reach the same number of units sold and Gears of War 2 exactly twice as long, 62 weeks.

Predictions for Future Releases

There is currently no other Gears of War game announced; however with Gears of War 3 just released last September and each game in the series released two years apart, another game won’t be released until Holiday 2013 at the earliest. Current rumors put the release of the next generation Xbox during the same time frame, so it could mean it will be a launch title. If that is true, it would mean opening week sales ranging from 200,000 to 300,000 depending upon how many consoles Microsoft is able to ship. Lifetime sales should be in line with the rest of the franchise, again it depends on how well the console sells.

Epic could decide to wait until there are more consoles sold like with the first Gears of War which was released in the Xbox 360’s second holiday. There were 5.38 million Xbox 360’s sold at the time it was released. If the next Gears of War game is released one year after the next generation releases, opening week sales of the game should be more in line with the original Gears of War.

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Welcome to the new ‘Top 10’ weekly feature. Each week we will be taking a look at the top 10 selling games in a particular genre, platform, most recent month, even sprinkling in the top 10 selling games from a past year. All sales specified will be worldwide, unless stated otherwise.

This week we will be taking a look at the top 10 bestselling games published by Sony Computer Entertainment, including games that were bundled. If there is a particular top 10 you want to see leave a comment and it may be featured in a future top 10.

Looking at the top 10 bestselling games published by Sony Computer Entertainment, six of them are for the PlayStation, while there are two apiece for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. That does mean none of them are for Sony’s handhelds, the PSP and the PlayStation Vita which was just released. While there may only be two PlayStation 2 games, they are the bestselling Sony games to date.

The top 10 games sold a combined 86.34 million units. The six PlayStation games sold a combined 47.05 million units for an average of 7.84 million units per game. The two PlayStation 2 games sold a combined 26.24 million units for an average of 13.12 million units per game. The two PlayStation 3 games sold a combined 13.06 million unit for an average of 6.53 million units per game.

Four of the top five bestselling games are for the Gran Turismo franchise and Gran Turismo 5 should pass Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back soon, as the game is now less than 100,000 behind in sales. The five Gran Turismo games have sold a combined 54.24 million units, making it one of the bestselling franchises in gaming.

Taking a look at the top 10 bestselling games published by Sony Computer Entertainment as a bar graph really shows how Gran Turismo is the bestselling Sony games. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec is not only the bestselling Sony game but is also the bestselling exclusive on a Sony platform. It is also the 26th bestselling game of all time and the third bestselling game on a Sony Platform. Sales would drop in the series but it remains the biggest exclusive that Sony has.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the only game in a franchise in the top 10 to have started in the current generation. All of the other games are either on the PlayStation or the first game in that particular franchise was released on the PlayStation.

Contact VGChartz at wdangelo@vgchartz.com

Analysts speaking with GamesIndustry International discuss the possible sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The first Black Ops has sold over 25 million units worldwide and not all analysts believe that Black Ops II can outsell all the other Call of Duty. Reasons for the lower sales include that the current generation is winding down and new consoles are needed, as well as competition from Halo 4.

Michael Pachter, the Wedbush Securities analyst said, "I don't think Modern Warfare 3 is going to sell more than the last Black Ops, so I doubt that this one will break a record. I think that Call of Duty is a phenomenon, selling way more than 20 million units annually, and it's unrealistic to think that number can grow meaningfully with each annual release."

Colin Sebastian of RW Baird said, "We are forecasting Black Ops 2 to sell roughly the same number of copies as Modern Warfare 2 in 2011. Call of Duty is the only mass market core video game and the console industry continues to consolidate around a small number of top franchises. Halo 4 is a potential wrinkle in the ointment with a November launch, but on the flip side, GTA V likely not shipping until March helps. Overall, I think games like Call of Duty need new console hardware - developers are working with 7-year-old technology in an environment when tablets and smart TVs will soon be just as powerful."

Jesse Divnich an analyst at EEDAR said, "The entire HD market is very soft at the moment, and it is understandable that retailers, publishers, and analysts are likely to be conservative on any Black Ops II forecast. Whether Black Ops II sets any records this year will depend entirely upon the overall engagement of HD consumers, which is largely out of the control of Activision and Treyarch. Every year we question whether the Call of Duty franchises can set new records, and for the last four years they have proven us wrong. Personally, I wouldn't under-estimate Activision, even against the odds of a more torpid HD market this holiday season."

Billy Pidgeon at M2 Research said, "Call of Duty should continue to do very well and is likely to continue to break records as it will sell into a larger installed base of consoles," he stated. "I think other big hits will also continue to perform strongly until we get into the console transition and enthusiast spending begins to shift towards hardware again."