Force Unleashed sells 1.5M in first week

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Sep 23, 2008 6:30 pm PT

Despite mixed reviews, the Sith-centric action game becomes fastest-selling LucastArts and Star Wars game yet.

After over a year of being hyped as a full-fledged installment in the Star Wars saga, The Force Unleashed finally shipped to stores last week. So far, though, the game's reviews have been decidedly mixed. While the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable editions garnered mild plaudits from critics, the Wii, DS, and PlayStation 2 versions received unflattering write-ups.

Despite the less-than-glowing praise, The Force Unleashed has been a huge success at retail. Today publisher LucasArts--which self-developed the ambitious game before trimming its payroll--announced that over 1.5 million copies of the game were sold worldwide in the game's first week on the market. So far, LucasArts has shipped 4.3 million copies to retailers internationally, but is ramping up production to meet "unprecedented demand."

The Force Unleashed's retail milestone makes the game the fastest-selling title in both LucasArts and Star Wars history, according to the publisher. "The record-setting sales of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed shows the undiminished power of Star Wars and its popularity across all media types, including video games," said LucasArts president Darrel Rodriguez. He succeeded longtime president Jim Ward, who oversaw the expansion of LucasArts' internal development team for Unleashed. Ward resigned suddenly in February, citing personal reasons.

Set between the films Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, The Force Unleashed casts players as the secret apprentice of Darth Vader. Tasked by the Sith lord to rid the galaxy of Jedi Knights, players must use a host of Force powers to hunt down and rub out the rebellious do-gooders. However, along the way, they are faced with choices that may lead them to wonder if the dark side of the Force is all it is cracked up to be.

For more on The Force Unleashed, read GameSpot's full review of the game.

321 Comments

  • CBENOIT1979

    Posted Oct 21, 2008 10:22 am PT

    STAR WARS FORCE UNLEASHED IS GREAT. I HAD A LOT OF FUN PLAYING THIS GAME. ANY REAL STAR WARS FAN WILL ENJOY IT.

  • antogall

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 12:01 pm PT

    I am really hoping for a revolutionary game from bioware here...a sort of 'serial' mmo that is intensely story driven in which the players take part in the story. That is the only sort of thing that will convince me to buy/pay monthly for an mmo.

  • shaheermian

    Posted Oct 7, 2008 3:16 am PT

    @ Hardly_Alive

    solving those puzzles in God of War requires brains!
    ...plus... since God of War was such an awesome release, hence everyone liked it! (or at least the majority of the gamers worldwide did)

  • Ychi

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 7:10 pm PT

    Everyone forgets the most important thing: that is combined sales so divide that number by the number of platforms they released it on.

    Now the numbers for a single platform do not look so good for what is supposed to be a four star title etc.

    The money machine made a fast cash grab as quick as possible before word got out that its *not* so great of a Starwars game..

    The best way to show real interest/drive demand is to work on that down loadable content and turn it into environment to play in vs a one shot deal.

  • xgalacticax

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 8:39 pm PT

    What!!! Did not think this game would do so well. Its graphics and gameplay were just average compared to other games in the action genre eg. Ninja Gaiden 2. Oh well, guess the Soul Calibur 4 stunt worked out better than they'd hoped. It was the reason I wanted to play Force Unleashed...Because the character is cool with that Red Saber.

  • Deekyo

    Posted Sep 29, 2008 10:47 am PT

    Yeah i know this game got hype which is good, but they didnt deliver quite what we expected.

  • rktPYZQShWz

    Posted Sep 28, 2008 7:13 pm PT

    Its kinda of sad when you look at it the story wasn't as great as many thought it to be and was very predictable. There was also too much frustration and glitches. I'm surprised this game is the fast selling Star Wars game seeing how there are many that are far better. Battlefront and KotOR (1) have way more replay value even though I did quiet find this game okay. Not worth a buy though.

  • link631

    Posted Sep 28, 2008 2:42 pm PT

    yay score!!!!!

  • MacBrother

    Posted Sep 28, 2008 10:22 am PT

    Are you kidding me Hardly_Alive. God of War is a much much better francise than this crappy Forced Unleashed game.

  • Hardly_Alive

    Posted Sep 27, 2008 1:26 pm PT

    I'm not sure why reviewers disliked this game so much. I thought it was phenominal. It's all just opinion I guess. I played through this game twice without getting bored, yet couldn't even stomach one pass through God of War, a pretty much universally lauded game... I just hope that the numbers aren't misread, leading to a flood of actually mediocre Star Wars games...

  • jonbynoe

    Posted Sep 27, 2008 12:40 pm PT

    All I can say is that I am completely baffled about the score and the review on the Force Unleashed. Most people can be right that different games sites can't write a review properly. This game is worth the wait. Krome Studios worked hard on this game and the game was reschedueled their release date a couple of times. I think they took their time and did a good job. I have the game, but I haven't played it yet.

  • ironscoug

    Posted Sep 27, 2008 8:18 am PT

    Here's a huge spoiler... DARTH VADER IN THE MOVIES IS NOT ANIKAN

  • theWanderer80

    Posted Sep 26, 2008 10:23 pm PT

    The dilemma facing game reviewers is that if they score a game lower than expected there is uproar about how they are losing the point of what it is to be a "good" game reviewer. If they score too high then they are seen as being in the pockets of publishers so they really can't win, can they? However, I'm sure the perks of being a games journo, like getting to play all the hottest upcoming releases before anyone else, mingling with the movers and shakers of the industry, fully paid worldwide trips etc outweigh a few whinging gamers. Gamers really are a whiny b!tch of a bunch aren't we?

    Back on topic, looks like a decent game, I'm sure it won't rock my world but it'll be a few hours of mindless jedi-slaughtering fun. My copy's on the way! WooHoo!

  • jedioutkast

    Posted Sep 26, 2008 12:39 am PT

    At the end of this article it sounds like a spoiler alert!!!!
    """However, along the way, they are faced with choices that may lead them to wonder if the dark side of the Force is all it is cracked up to be."""

  • Wii60Joe

    Posted Sep 25, 2008 8:54 pm PT

    I knew this would happen, the game was awesome. It's just apparant that game sites don't know how to rate games anymore.

    hah yea game sites suck i just go on the Forums..

  • dimitry0102

    Posted Sep 25, 2008 2:47 pm PT

    WHAT PROBLEMS are you talking about? is it "hard to play an easy game" because of them?

  • Marcster1994

    Posted Sep 25, 2008 1:45 pm PT

    I'll probably get the PS2 version since
    1.I still have Soul Calibur 4 on my Gamefly
    2. I have no PS3

  • dungeonboss

    Posted Sep 25, 2008 12:14 pm PT

    Lately, I've actually been more disappointed with Gamespot's reviews more than anything. A lot of games that ended up being mediocre are getting 9-10 and other games such as TFU get okay scores while I feel like, aside from a few hiccups, are great games. I guess it's all personal opinion. Also, After renting the 360 version and playing Wii version at a friend's house, I decidedly like the Wii version more (despite the crappy graphics). The controls are actually pretty good and not the complete "waggle-fest" Gamespot claims it to be. And dual mode is a lot of fun, but only against another experienced gamer. My wife and sisters can't stand it.

  • ColeLink

    Posted Sep 25, 2008 9:41 am PT

    Wow,I expected it to sell well,but not that well.

    I'll admit,I am a HUGE Star Wars fan,and I loved the Prequel films.But I was a little disapointed with TFU.I expected there to be balancing issues,and sadly I was correct about that.And the DMM and Euphoria engines were not used as well as they could have been.It also wasn't as mind blowing as I thought it would be.

    Although I did not experience many of the problems I have heard about(I have the PS3 version).I have experienced hardly any slowdown,the only time the game lagged was in Felucia where you fight the 3 Rancors and about 20 Felucians.

    The sound also never cut out like I've heard.There was a "pop" at the end of the first few cutscenes on my first playthrough but that was it.It also never crashed on me.I did however experience a big glitch where I was knocked down,and as I was getting up a door closed on me,then the enviroment disappeared.But after walking around for a few seconds I entered a door and everything came back.

    Overall,I'd give it an 8.5.As the critics have said,the best part is the story.Its certainly not the best Star Wars game,more like 5th best in my opinion.KOTOR being number #1 for me,followed by KOTOR II,Jedi Outcast,and Jedi Academy.

    Its a great rental for fans of action games,but only TRUE Star Wars fans should purchase it.Especially if you want to unlock everything.

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