http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=36777&topic=17711685
My roomate subscribes to the NPD-trust stock group. It's a system in which the NPD gives out third party company sales for companies. In this case, Konami. On it--it has the estimated 1st week sales for MGS3....
You have to pay for this subscription or online services just to let you know.
1st Week Sales:
MGS3:
650,000 units.
1st Week Sales typically account for 1/2 of the game's total sales. Estimated by the time of Konami's end of the fiscal year March 30, 2005 the game will have sold roughly 1,300,000-1,600,000 units.
MGS2: First week sales are unavailable, however the total run for MGS2 in the United States was 2,000,000.
Thus it seems MGS3 will run a couple hundred thousand short when compared to MGS2.
However, it's estimated the game will make up for that by a stronger PR in Japan, thus:
MGS2 sold 850,000 units in Japan. It is estimated MGS3 wil sell 1,000,000-1,300,000,000 units in Japan.
The decline in US sales is said to be attributed to a loss of interest, growing state of used game purchases in the United States.
Konami needs to sell 4 million units in order to break even and begin to actually make profit on the game.
That's it. That's all the analysis said for MGS3.
For the most part, it'll end up selling just as much as MGS2 and MGS1.
LHK