Heralding a victory for RPGs and original franchises everywhere, retail analyst Chart Track announced that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning debuted at number one in the UK in its first week on sale.
Developed by 38 Studios and Big Huge Games, Kingdoms of Amalur is the first new IP to lead the UK charts since Dead Island's release in 2011, and the first original RPG to dominate the competition since the release of Pokemon Red in 2000.
Elsewhere in the list, Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII-2 traded its previous top spot for second place, and Digital Extreme's The Darkness II made its debut in third. The full top twenty multiformat list (by publisher) is as follows:
1 - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (EA)
2 - Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Square Enix)
3 - The Darkness II (2K Games)
4 - Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (Konami)
5 - FIFA 12 (EA)
6 - Battlefield 3 (EA)
7 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)
8 - Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Ubisoft)
9 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
10 - Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
11 - SoulCalibur V (Namco Bandai)
12 - Just Dance 3 (Ubisoft)
13 - Zumba Fitness (505 Games)
14 - Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Activision)
15 - Saints Row: The Third (THQ)
16 - Rage (Bethesda)
17 - Need For Speed: The Run (EA)
18 - Zumba Fitness 2 (505 Games)
19 - Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo)
20 - Catherine (Deep Silver)
Kingdoms of Amalur's success is proof that a new IP made by a relatively new studio can play in the same arena as the major franchises. Read why we dug 38 Studios' fresh approach to action RPGs in our recent review, and why we think it can even teach Bethesda a thing or even “5 things Kingdoms of Amalur does better than Skyrim” feature.
