It'll take more than a little controversy and negative press to keep Homefront down. Despitetepid reviews,ill-advised promo stunts,concerns over itssubject matter,campaign lengthandPS3 performance, Kaos Studios' alternate reality FPS managed to rise above its oppressorsand snag top spot in UK's sales charts.
According to UK retail analyst firmChart Track, Homefront has ousted Dragon Age II as the bestselling multiformat title for the week ending March 19th, marking the first time itspublisher THQ has landed in the coveted top spot since the release of UFC 2009.
The full top 10 was:
1 Homefront (360/PS3/PC)
2 Dragon Age II (360/PS3/PC)
3 Pokémon White (DS)
4 Total War: Shogun 2 (PC)
5 Pokémon Black (DS)
6 Fight Night Champion (360/PS3)
7 Just Dance 2 (Wii)
8 FIFA 11 (PS2/Wii/360/PS3/PC/DS/PSP)
9 Killzone 3 (PS3)
10 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (360/PS3/PC)
Homefront's strong debut was due in large part to Xbox 360 rebels who accounted for 70% of the total sales, followed by PS3 fraggers at 26% and PC run-and-clickers at 4%.
Stateside, THQ's new IP appears to be faring equally well. Last week, Homefront sold over 375,000 copies on the first day of its North American launch. Prior to that, the publisher's VP of Core Games Danny Bilson declared Homefront had become THQ'smost pre-ordered title yet.
The Homefront hype train has been chugging along for some time now, so to sell like gangbusterson its first week may be more of a victory for THQ's marketing department than anything else. Now that critics and players have hada chanceto actually spend time with the title (and not just its trailers, dev diaries, making-of videos, etc.), the true test of Homefront's mettle will be if it can hold its position.
[Source:Metro]
Mar 21, 2011
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