It was time for Gran Turismo 4 to hand over its chart-topping crown, after holding it for eleven years. Ubisoft was able to take the UK charts by storm with their latest game, The Division, which was only recently released on March 8. The Division has already taken its the number one spot from Polyphony’s racing game, and doesn’t seem to want to move anytime soon.
“[This is a] tremendous achievement for Ubisoft and demonstrates our unrivalled capacity to create fantastic new game brands and transform them into entertainment blockbusters”
-Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot
Ubisoft has come out and said that the game sold more copies in the first 24 hours than any other game has in their 30-year history. The actual number of copies sold won’t be released to the public, meaning it will only be known by everyone who put in the blood and sweat to produce the game.
This success in part may be due to the face that Ubisoft didn’t cut any corners when it came down to the game launch itself. This open-world shooter got one of the biggest Q1 launches we’ve seen. But it isn’t the first time Ubisoft has made a big marketing campaign — they did the same thing when Watch Dogs which was released in 2014 and Assassin’s Creed III came out in 2012.
While The Division‘s accomplishments are impressive, we can’t forget that two of their other game are also occupying spots on the charts — Far Cry Primal is sitting comfortably behind The Division at number two, and Rainbow Six: Siege nervously waits at number ten.
Many different fans have their own theories as to why this game managed to get an amazing reaction from the gaming industry. Some say it’s because the publisher took its time with the games and didn’t rush it to shelves for our entertainment. Others say something completely different, noting that Ubisoft’s success may be because it made matchmaking available in every mode, regardless of difficulty.
What do you think? Why did The Division take the charts by storm? Let us know your theories in the comments!
