GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
The popular comic-book superhero's recent resurgence has expanded beyond cinemas and into the world of video games, with the wallcrawler's latest self-titled game selling a record 3.3 million copies in the first three days of its release earlier this month.
While Sony did not provide an official number, with a retail price of $59.99 for the game the 3.3 million copies translates to roughly $198 million, crushing the $117 million opening weekend box office of the latest solo Spider-Man film, "Spider-Man: Homecoming."
One million copies were pre-ordered, another record for Sony.
That figure also does not factor in sales of the company's limited edition PlayStation 4 Pro bundle that combines a special Spider-Man version of the console with a copy of the game for $399.99.
The number of copies sold set a record for Sony, makers of the PlayStation 4 and publisher behind the game, as the fastest selling first-party video game release in the company's history. "Spider-Man" takes the title from the latest release of the popular video game franchise "God of War," which sold over 3.1 million copies in its first three days in May.
"Our expectations are always set at the highest levels," said Stephen Turvey, Sony's global senior vice president of sales. While Spider-Man has had a rocky history with video games in the past, Turvey credits developer Insomniac Games and Marvel with "bringing Spider-Man back to gaming in a way that you want to experience it."
"It's met and exceeded all expectations. I think the company, and the campus, and our fans are super proud of it."
The newest Spider-Man game is the first since 2014's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which was loosely tied to the movie of the same name. Similar to the movie, that game was met with a poor reception, receiving only a 49 out of 100 score on Metacritic, a reviews aggregator for video games.
The new version, on the other hand, has been not just a commercial success for Sony and developer Insomniac Games, but a critical one too. Exclusive to the PlayStation 4, the game currently has an 87 rating from 102 reviews on Metacritic, with reviewers praising the game's graphics, story and overall gameplay.
It could get even better for Spider-Man and Sony next month. While the new game doesn't feature any online game modes, Sony has already announced it will be releasing three downloadable stories beginning in October.
Known as a bundle called "The City That Never Sleeps," each update will add new stories, characters and Spider-Man suits to the existing game. The first update, called "The Heist," releases October 23 and features popular Spider-Man character Felicia Hardy, also known as the Black Cat.
The company is offering the three stories as either a $24.99 bundle or independently for $9.99 per release.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/...record-3-3-million-copies-opening/1346187002/
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