Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is off to a solid start, becoming the fastest-selling Metal Gear Solid game in the U.K.
That's not surprising. The game has received stellar reviews across the board and positive word-of-mouth is certainly helping to push Hideo Kojima's latest game above previous entries. More detailed sales data from GKF Chart-Track in the U.K. reveals another interesting statistic as well: the game has sold more than three times as many copies on PlayStation 4 than on Xbox One.
The site reports that 72 percent of the game's sales were on Sony's latest console, with Microsoft commanding 2 percent. Sales on last-gen were almost non-existent, with PlayStation 3 making up 3 percent and Xbox 360 making up 2 percent.
It all makes perfect sense, but it's still a little shocking just to see how big the sales disparity between the two consoles is. Metal Gear Solid has always been a traditional Sony franchise, so it makes sense that the majority of Metal Gear fans would still be playing on Sony hardware. There is also the PS4's much larger install base to consider. Sony continues to beat Microsoft in terms of consoles sold — and in Europe, the gap is even larger than in the U.S., where Microsoft commands more of the market. More PlayStation consoles means more likelihood of the game being bought for that console, as opposed to the Xbox.
Trends in the U.S. and worldwide are likely similar, though we don't yet have hard data showing to what extent. Konami says the game has "shipped" 3 million copies worldwide, but that doesn't mean all those copies have yet been sold. Regardless of which system the game was purchased on, gamers seem to be enjoying the franchise's new open-world formula. The game clocks in at No. 3 in terms of first-week game sales in the U.K. for this year, behind Batman: Arkham Knight and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
If you're finally checking out what all the Phantom Pain buzz is about, be sure to take a peek at our beginner's guide so you can start the game off on the right foot.
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