Gears of War 3 sold over 3 million copies in first week

I’m sure it went without saying that Gears of War 3 was going to be at least marginally successful given the sales records of the past two things, but Gears of War 3‘s week one sales actually turned out to be surprising.

According to a press release sent out by Microsoft this morning, Gears of War 3 managed to sell an astounding 3 million copies in its first week alone. It’s not quite the hit that Modern Warfare 2 was, but when you consider Gears of War 3 is only available on a single platform, it’s quite impressive.

“‘Gears of War’ was the first killer app for Xbox 360, and the series has continued to contribute directly to the overall success of the platform ever since,” said Microsoft Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer. “‘Gears of War 3’ kicked off the biggest holiday in Xbox history with a bang last week, setting the standard for the kinds of amazing, action-packed experiences gamers should expect on Xbox 360 this year.”

Gears of War 3 released to overwhelmingly positive reviews – its current rating on Metacritic is 91/100 based on 80 reviews. Some critics were turned off by how little a step forward Gears of War 3 was in comparison to Gears of War 2 over the original, but most critics agreed that Gears of War 3 is a fitting send-off for the trilogy.