Fallout: New Vegas ships five million

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 8 November, 2010

Generates over $300m at retail.

Bethesda's shipped a whopping five million units of science-fiction role-playing game Fallout: New Vegas.

This, coupled with a "heavy volume of digital downloads", generated well over $300 million in sales.

Remember, shipped means shipped, as in sent to shops and other retailers. But still, five million's an impressive number.

"We are delighted by the reception Fallout: New Vegas has received from fans around the world," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda.

"Despite the large launch quantities for this title, we have already received substantial re-orders from our retail partners, underscoring the tremendous popularity of this highly entertaining game. We believe Fallout: New Vegas will be the must buy title for gamers throughout the holiday season."

Fallout: New Vegas' commercial success is well-deserved: Dan Whitehead awarded the Obsidian-created open world game 9/10 for Eurogamer.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • slickster #1 2 years ago

    im still waiting for the freezing patch.

  • sfp_noodle #2 2 years ago

    Agreed. I love how publishers swap words around to paint a prettier picture. I don't doubt the quality of a game like Fallout, but shipping 5 million and actually selling 5 million are completely different. I remember a few years ago in 2008 when the new Prince of Persia shipped. They too claimed to ship 5 million but their lifetime sales hang around the 3 and a bit million mark.

  • Smoped #3 2 years ago

    Them having shipped 5 million could mean that those of us who put off buying it until it's patched into working condiiton might be able to pick it up cheap if the sales projections were too optimistic. How much did Fallout 3 sell?

  • dsmx #4 2 years ago

    Surely though the retailers have to buy the copies so that means they got paid for5 million copies of the game. The number that are actually sold doesn't really matter to them, the retailers asked for 5 million and they got 5 million.

  • NimbusTLD #5 2 years ago

    So they're saying we should expect it to be discounted to 10 quid come January? Woot! :)

  • Apaar #6 2 years ago

    Very high numbers. This franchise is clearly more powerful in comparison to something like Mass Effect, at least saleswise. Especially since this was an especially buggy game in the franchise, and to many felt more like a large expansion pack. Sad I can't find much enjoyement in this franchise even though it's apparently a superb one. :/

  • arcam #7 2 years ago

    Surely though the retailers have to buy the copies so that means they got paid for5 million copies of the game.

    True, although many publishers offer buy-back deals to the larger retailers where they will let you return a certain percentage of stock if it doesn't sell.

  • glaeken #8 2 years ago

    This is actually quite encouraging that when people are constantly saying games are being dumbed down that we have a fairly complex RPG doing so well. It at least means more Fallout games to come.

  • paulf #9 2 years ago

    as much as I loved fallout I'm gonna wait for the 'goty' edition of this

  • Shikasama #10 2 years ago

    If they have shipped 5 million they HAVE sold 5 million. They make their money off wholesale people.

  • GamesConnoisseur #11 2 years ago

    Shipped is as good as sold for the publisher yes, also if sales aren't 100 percent and much less, then those who wait will see great discounts and proper patched up too!

    My problem is that the loadings between areas took much too long the longer you played and the more the game and to remember and carry over incidential details of the game world, especially the consequences of your actions.

    Loadings I bleeding hate, and would ge great if there is a patch to half the times took?!

    Probably better off if I ignore all the side quests?!

  • SAMagic #12 2 years ago

    I received a cyborg dog from an Elvis imitator so that I can find a replacement brain for it. It bites the heads off giant mutated gecko's for me.

    And I have to find a sex robot called 'Fisto'.

    And I've encountered two female super mutants.

    You can't get this in any other RPG!

  • Paul_cz #13 2 years ago

    This is pretty awesome. It could sell some 7-8 million in total, which could mean Bethesda/Zenimax buying Obsidian, which could mean Obsidian making Fallout 4 on idtech5, which could mean I would jizz in my pants.

    (not that I already haven't, with NV being so freaking good)

  • waynenot #14 2 years ago

    'Must fix' title, more like.

  • ouchio #15 2 years ago

    Will wait for the goty with all the patches, rip off DLCs etc on one disc. Hope they invest some of their millions in a QA department. But they wont. It will all go to the greedy zenimax share holders who demanded it ship broken in the 1st place.

  • Centrifugal #16 2 years ago

    It really is a fantastic game. I haven't run across any glitches yet (although I touched a plant and flew ten feet in the air at one point, but that wasn't a huge problem) and the game as a whole is fantastic. I've spent hours in it and I'm still in the tiny area of the Mojave you start in.

  • RandomTerrain #17 2 years ago

    Ah, so it seems it has been a success. Perhaps now they'll invest time in having the game work properly so consumers can actually enjoy it. For those of us who have Internet access anyway. Games testers? What are those? :o/

  • Lord_Gremlin #18 2 years ago

    It's so sad that this broken crap yields profit.

  • Discalceaterabbit #19 2 years ago

    Publishers blame piracy and second hand sales........

  • mkreku #20 2 years ago

    My precious GOTY, I am happy for you.

  • CaptainKid #21 2 years ago

    Congratulations, Fallout 3 was a masterpiece and I only scratched the service of that game. After 35 hours.

  • HistoryTeller #22 2 years ago

    Bugs aside, it really is a fantastic RPG.

  • M4RV #23 2 years ago

    This is another way of consumers saying to developers and publishers: Products with game-breaking bugs sell; Keep them coming.

  • ubergine #24 2 years ago

    Sounds to me like they can afford to patch a new engine onto this dog.

  • Farzlepot #25 2 years ago

    glaeken said, "This is actually quite encouraging that when people are constantly saying games are being dumbed down that we have a fairly complex RPG doing so well. It at least means more Fallout games to come."

    Complex RPG? Oh, my heart bleeds...

    As much as I have enjoyed FO3 and FO: NV, neither even approach the complex RPG label. One could, in fact, argue, that they are merely shooters with a couple of RPG elements.

    Still, for such a comparatively intelligent game to ship in such large numbers is impressive and encouraging nevertheless.

  • Vigor_Mortivore #26 2 years ago

    Invest that money into a brand new fallout game on a new engine, stop the rehashed bullshit from now on.
    If the next fallout gets the exact same character creation tool, you know you're getting shafted.

  • Fab4 #27 2 years ago

    I wish every game that shafted me gave me 35 hours of enjoyment without being anywhere close to being finished...on a single run through :p

  • peppergomez #28 2 years ago

    Five million units=twenty billion bugs