Fallout 3 - 4.5M Units Shipped

Dhruin

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Bethsoft sends over this PR, announcing a successful launch and 4.5M units shipped to retail:
Bethesda Softworks Announces Successful Launch of Fallout 3
$300 Million Worldwide Launch Across Three Platforms
November 6, 2008 (ROCKVILLE, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced that its hit title, Fallout® 3 has enjoyed record sales at launch, reflecting the huge consumer demand for the game. Approximately 4.7 million units of Fallout 3 were shipped worldwide last week for the Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows® representing retail sales in excess of $300 million.
Released on October 28 in North America at midnight store openings in over 2,000 retail outlets nationwide jammed with fans eager to get the game, Fallout 3 quickly became one of the industry’s top sellers around the world. For example, in the United Kingdom where it was not released until Friday, October 31 the rapid sales of Fallout 3 have led the game to be ranked number one among all video games, as well as being the number one game on each of its three platforms.
Hailed as one of the most anticipated games of 2008, Fallout 3 received a 10 out of 10 review score from Official Xbox Magazine, a result then repeated around the world with perfect scores by some of the industry’s most influential and respected critics including: Gamespy, GamePro, UGO, the Associated Press, MSN, The Washington Post, Guardian, FHM, Scripps Howard, G4-TV, The Toronto Star, MSN, and Eurogamer. MSNBC’s review offered the observation that it viewed “Fallout as a no-brainer for game of the year.” The Daily Star in the UK echoed that conclusion, saying “You can hold all bets on game of the year – I think we have a winner.”
The successful launch of Fallout 3 by Bethesda Softworks follows the success of The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion®, which remains one of the highest scoring games ever published and earned “Game of the Year” honors in 2006. Fallout 3 has been featured on over 100 magazine covers across the globe and is available in eight languages. The initial retail shipments of Fallout 3 included both the Regular version of the game as well as a limited “Collector’s Edition.” A Fallout 3 Official Game Guide in both the regular and collector’s edition versions has also been a strong seller. Fallout 3 is slated for release in Japan on December 4th.
Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, you can create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of Washington, D.C. however you choose. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.
Fallout® 3 has been rated Mature by the ESRB. For more information on Fallout 3, visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com and www.prepareforthefuture.com.
In other Fallout 3 news, IGN Music has an interview with composer Inon Zur.
More information.
 
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For anyone still wringing their hands and crying "Why, oh why did Bethesda have to buy the Fallout li-hi-hi-cense?!" this ought to clear up any confusion.

One week of sales: $300 million gross sales
minus: $7 million, cost of license
equals: a whole lotta margaritas on a beach in Spain
 
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OK, well...then why do they have to drink margaritas? And why on a beach? And why in Spa-ha-hain? (I still want answers).
 
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Cause the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, not the beach!! :)
 
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The 4.5M units are only sell-in. Let's wait until they confirm the sell-through.
 
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The news should be clearer, i missed the "shipped to retail" part, especially if we only scan through the news.
 
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I think its fair to say they will sell quite a bit, and deservedly so:)
 
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Nice for them, but they could have spent a few $ to implement activate shadows for everything and implement body awareness. (two things that can't be modded).
No wait ! Why should they care about that if they sell all these copies ?
 
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Yeah because they did that just too screw people over...
 
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For a game like this activating shadows on everything would make the game unplayable on most if not all systems.
 
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Cause the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, not the beach!! :)
And in Hertfordshire, Herefordshire and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen ;)

I'd have said "sold", otherwise. ;) Still, I imagine it's only a matter of time.
Shipped is still a fairly useful measure of the confidence retailers have in the product, and I would have thought there's still some return even if it would meet sell through (though I think they'll have no problem - stock has actually been a problem at times in the UK - we seem to love this game a lot over here :p)
 
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Completely destroyed opening sales for Oblivion, I bet work on Fallout4 has already started.
 
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For anyone still wringing their hands and crying "Why, oh why did Bethesda have to buy the Fallout li-hi-hi-cense?!" this ought to clear up any confusion.

One week of sales: $300 million gross sales
minus: $7 million, cost of license
equals: a whole lotta margaritas on a beach in Spain

Don't want to start this whole debate over but...
How can you tell it's selling so much because it's "Fallout". What if Bethesda made their post-apoc 1st person RPG in their own setting, perhaps it would have sold as much? No one can tell.

We could have had a Fallout 3 AND Bethesda's post apoc RPG. 2 games are always better than one.

When I ask myself why I like Fallout 3 it's actually for things that have nothing to do with Fallout. It doesn't play like a Fallout game to me, it's not a Fallout game to me, only the setting vaguely reminds me of past Fallout games. It's like saying Scarface is the sequel to The Godfather. It's a great game though.

So yes I still believe they shouldn't have bought the Fallout franchise, and I still believe they failed at doing a proper sequel to Fallout 1 & 2. They succeeded in doing a great game though. But imo Bethesda's game would have been as good had it not been set in "Fallout" only better because we wouldn't be comparing it and complaining about how it's not faithful to Fallout 1 or 2.
 
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No no, some are complaining its not faithful, the rest of us are playing fallout 3.
 
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