Assassin's Creed II Beckons 1.6 Million First Week

The original Assassin’s Creed was a breakout hit, becoming the fastest selling new game IP in the U.S. and putting up 2.5 million in sales worldwide in less than four weeks. Now, it appears as though Assassin’s Creed II is set to surpass its predecessor, with Ubisoft announcing that the game has sold 1.6 million worldwide in its first week, 32% better than its prequel.

Assassin’s Creed II has also managed a GameRankings.com score around 91 percent, a full ten points higher than its predecessor, with many reviews claiming the repetitive mission structure of the first Assassin’s Creed has been done away with.  Still, Assassin’s Creed II has a long way to go to match Assassin’s Creed's eventual sales total of over eight million units.

Ben Schachter, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, commented that the game's momentum should continue this holiday but that "the title must continue to show 'legs' at retail however, given company expectations embedded in guidance of ~7.5mil units for the fiscal year (the original Assasin's Creed first quarter sell-in was 5mil). Despite the lofty target for Assasin's, we think it is doable." 

We’re sure that Assassin’s Creed II will do well for itself, even if Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has completely altered the barometer for first week success with its $550 million take over five days with nearly nine million in sales.