GT3 sales soar
Nearly 100,000 sold in the first week
Gran Turismo 3, harshly described by observers as the PlayStation 2's first triple-A title, has sold nearly 100,000 copies in its first two days on store shelves. This figure and the week's sales performance overall makes GT3 the fourth fastest selling game in the UK of all time, although its older sibling GT2 along with Pokemon Yellow and WWF Smackdown 2 still managed to sell more in the same short period of time. The PS2 installed base is estimated at around 540,000, which means one in six PS2 owners bought Gran Turismo 3, a fantastic achievement. Highlights of the successful launch were the TV advertising campaign, which featured footage of the game as well as a glitzy public launch party in Central London with a couple of Page 3 models and superstar designer Kazunori Yamauchi, the man behind Gran Turismo. The party was a triumph for Sony, with plenty of mainstream coverage and people queuing overnight to buy the game, something unheard of in this country. Gran Turismo 3 reportedly accounted for over half of PS2 software sales in the last week. Yours truly's only comment on the game so far has been "veeery pretty replays". Stay tuned for a full review later in the week. Related Feature - Come join the party