'The Last of Us' Has The Biggest Launch Of The Year

KillaCham
KillaCham Members, Moderators Posts: 11,417 Regulator
edited June 2013 in IllGaming
'The Last of Us' Has The Biggest Launch Of The Year With 1.3M Sold

We can talk about the review scores and the ending all we want, but there’s one more aspect of The Last of Us that we should be highlighting here. It’s the biggest game of the year so far, selling 1.3M copies in its first week, besting BioShock Infinite’s 1.16M sales over the same period, though you can take the unofficial numbers with a grain of salt.

Those aren’t Call of Duty numbers, but its hugely impressive anyway for a few reasons. First, this is a new IP, the first game (and possibly last) in a completely new and untested series. Yes, it’s from trusted developer Naughty Dog, behind PlayStation 3′? Uncharted trilogy, but it’s still a noteworthy accomplishment and speaks to the faith gamers place in the brand.

Secondly, this is an exclusive title for the PlayStation 3, unlike BioShock Infinite which was released on both PlayStation and Xbox, whose sales numbers combined to form that 1.16M. Very rarely can an exclusive titles put up numbers that best multi-platform AAA titles, but The Last of Us has simply struck a chord with gamers and reviewers alike in a way no exclusive, debut IP has in a very long time. This is a huge win for Sony , as they now have yet another exclusive notch in their belt that will prove to be a deciding factor in which console is picked by gamers in the coming war. Those firmly fixed in the Xbox camp are missing out on an incredible game right now.

The question is, what happens now? With obvious, strong interest in the game, is Naughty Dog “required” to make a sequel by video game law? Without giving anything away, when most people finish the game they’ll conclude that it’s a rather complete story that doesn’t feel like it needs a sequel. That said, such a thing isn’t out of the realm of possibility as the main character(s) could return for a new adventure, or theoretically a sequel could star new characters set in the same dystopia.

If I had to guess however, I would bet that Naughty Dog is indeed developing some sort of Uncharted title for the PlayStation 4 as we speak, despite nothing of the sort being shown or even hinted at during E3. I just don’t think they can resist the temptation to go back and use that brand again, as well as showing off what sort of harrowing destruction Drake can create using the new power of the PlayStation 4. That doesn’t mean we won’t see a Last of Us sequel at some point, but if we do, I’d guess it won’t be for a while.

If you’ve bought and played The Last of Us, have you recommended it to friends? Do you want to see a sequel, or is it best as a stand-alone work?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2013/06/18/the-last-of-us-is-the-biggest-game-of-the-year-with-1-3m-sold/

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