MS Sees Gear of War As the Big One
Epic's big game is out this weekend in Europe, and already Microsoft is boasting about potential future sales - a lot of them.
The months of primping and preening are over for Gears of War and the time has come to put up or shut up. Emergence Day is here, and Microsoft says it's going to be a biggie.
In an interesting twist, the company was boasting on Thursday about sales that have yet to be made. Microsoft said Epic's new shooter "is expected to sell more than 1 million copies worldwide this Christmas, setting a new mark for the fastest-selling original game for Xbox 360."
It's exactly this kind of success that the Xbox 360 needs right now. The PlayStation 3 has already debuted in Japan and it's out in the US this weekend, but supplies will be low until into the new year. This gives Microsoft room to breath so that it can inch closer to its self-imposed target of 10 million Xbox 360s sold by the end of the year.
Gears of War is being positioned as a system seller. So far critics agree. The game has come in for universal praise, not only for its graphics but for its emphasis of cover in its stop-and-pop gameplay too.
Gears of War is out in Europe on Friday, 17 November, in both regular and deluxe editions. Find out more about the game at www.gearsofwar.com. Be sure to check out our full review and video interview.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo
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